The Lead Auditor Role
- Defining the role and responsibilities
- Promoting the internal audit function
- Selecting and leading a team
- Understanding and managing the client interface
- Developing the audit terms of reference
- Assuring the quality of the audit
Internal Audit Today and the Wider Context
- Evidence of the changing control environment
- An overview of Sarbanes-Oxley legislation and its impact
- Standards for the professional practice of internal audit
- The internal audit governance framework
- Responsibilities of the internal audit department
- Identifying the overall assurance framework
- Understanding the different types of internal audits and understanding their emphasis
- Understanding the differences between the differing assurance providers and managing the relationships
- Identifying internal audit’s stakeholders
Corporate Governance and Ethics
- Defining ethics and governance
- Understanding the importance of “tone at the top” and organisational culture
- Developing benchmarks for comparing your organisation against best practice standards.
- Strategies for auditing ethics compliance
The Role of Risk in the Internal Audit Function
- Risk management terminology, Internal audit’s role and risk management
- Guidance, what is risk based auditing?
- The advantages of risk based auditing and using risk based annual audit plans
- Defining the role of risk assessment in planning individual audits
Preliminary Fieldwork and Program Planning and Development
- The importance of preliminary work
- Areas to consider for a more productive audit
- The audit program
- The benefits of regular communication and fieldwork review
Managing Fieldwork
- Fieldwork methodology tools
- Fieldwork and working papers review
- Sample evaluations
- Conducting effective fieldwork reviews
- Agreeing audit findings and action plans
- Editing the work of others
- Top tips for effective report writing
Applying Project Management to Internal Audit
- Issues that make project management relevant to internal audit
- Key factors for successful audit/project management
- Using project management to plan your audits
- Time estimate difficulties
- Common workflow planning problems
- Resource management
- Strategies for improving time management
Effective Communications
- Managing the audit team and client relationships
- Do’s and don’ts of effective meeting management
- The importance of effective communications
- Guidelines for issuing more timely report
- Closing conferences
Fraud Awareness
- Identifying internal audit’s role
- High-potential areas for fraud occurrence
- Indicators of potential fraud
- Techniques for preventing fraud
- Using the computer to detect fraud