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Audit Projects without Opinions are Pointless

I am Still amazed by the number of audit functions that produce audit Reports without providing opinions about the control environment. After all, Internal Auditing is an objective assurance function. There is no way one can provide assurance without a formal Concluding opinion.

December 2012. I had the privilege of authoring an article for the IIA magazine titled “‘Your Opinion Matters”. It is presented below in its entirety with permission from the I IA.

The power of opinions has forever changed the way we purch

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Taming audit client tantrums

Most audit clients understand that the purpose of an audit is to perform an independent evaluation of functions to determine if operations are effective and efficient. It is a strenuous process on clients. In many instances, it may not be enjoyable, however, most clients tend to respect the process. Occasionally, there are clients who exhibit behavior that is less than mutually respectful. I have said it before, being audited is just as stressful as auditing. I have personally seen clients scream, curse and toss items. While some clients are simply wired to be difficult (see related article on audit client types), I truly believe that a majority of clients are mature enough to

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Internal Audit Leaders Must Be Readers (part 2 of 3)

In a recent article titled Internal Audit Leaders Must Be Readers (part 1 of 3), I discussed the many benefits of reading including increased intelligence, improved communication skills and stress relief.

None can deny the positive impact of reading. Time is probably one of the biggest obstacles to more and better reading. Before the digital revolution, it was necessary to subscribe to many different publications and hope that at least one contained enough items of interest to warrant your time and monetary investment. Thanks to modern technology, there are tools and services that allow you to find, store, sort and filter content for immediate online viewing or later perusal. This article is part 2 of a 3 part series discussing tools to help you become more efficient readers. So, without further ado, the tools:

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Risky Business as Usual

Risk! Auditors are constantly addressing this four letter word. There are unrelenting attempt to better identify, assess and report risks. However, many auditors tend to allocate audit efforts and resources to and concentrate on negative risk impacts. In the planning phase, risks assessments center around negative outcomes. Audit testing is designed to determine

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An Amazonian Lesson on Third Party Provider Management Risks (part 1 of 2)

We have all heard the terms outsource and co-source. In its basic form, the words mean that organizations have entrusted parts of their operational processes to others. Sometimes this is done to save money while in other instances it allows organizations to tap into a resource of experts that they may not otherwise have exposure to. Either way, in this marriage of sorts, it is important to understand

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