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Corporate Governance Certification
To get more information click here. AuditNet® Community Sponsor News!
The AuditNet® community has grown by leaps and bounds over the past ten years thanks to your continued support. Yes it is hard to imagine but it has been a decade since this community was created! Support AuditNet® by supporting our sponsors. Without sponsor and affiliate advertising and contributions from the AuditNet® community everyone would have to pay for use of this site.
This month check out Pentana which produces software for audit professionals, including integrated risk and audit management, staff scheduling and information security questionnaires. Remember! Clicking on sponsored ads helps support AuditNet®. Remember: visiting sponsors helps support AuditNet®. Building a corporate ethics program Corporate ethics programs have become a priority for many company
executives in response to new regulatory requirements. In this article,
Chris Yost, Whole Foods director of internal audit, Donna Passal, Office
Depot director of corporate governance, and Scott Mitchell, OCEG This article was contributed by Protiviti KnowledgeLeader, an online service providing tools, templates, and other resources for internal audit and risk management. Free trials available at www.knowledgeleader.com. For a limited time KnowledgeLeader memberships are available for the reduced rate of $595 per year. Tell them you heard about it from AuditNet.org. Click here for the article! Policies and Procedures Column How to Write Procedures to Increase ControlReprinted with permission from BizManualz Aren’t procedures really about decreasing variability? As we decrease process variability we increase process control. Management wants control: Management control, process control, internal controls, or controlled outputs. For the rest of the story click here! AuditNet® Creates A Policy & Procedure Exchange Library AuditNet® is proud to announce the AuditNet® Policy and Procedure Library Exchange (APPLE). As with other AuditNet® services, together, we will build this page to serve policy and procedure needs including links to Policy and Procedure available on the Internet and an "Ask the Policyguru" section. For details click here! Shortage of U.S. skilled workers by 2020 ? Part 7 ---- Never Say Never By Tom Crouch, CPA, CIA, CISA, and Attorney People tend to make assumptions based on what they have observed in the past. We have been through a long period in which there were skilled labor surpluses. In just a few years, those skilled labor surpluses are expected to disappear. This part will address some things which most of us never thought that we might see. These things might not happen but the need for skilled workers might cause these. For the rest of the story click here! The first installment of this story appeared in the December 2004 newsletter. The second installment appeared in the April 2005 newsletter. T
Management of
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AuditNet Job Listings (& more)
Looking for an audit job? Go to the AuditNet® Audit Jobs section for the latest job opportunities. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week you have the ability to not only look at available jobs, but you can also post your resume, apply for open jobs, research companies and obtain career advice. If you are in the market for a new job, make AuditNet® your first stop to check out what's available.
This is just another benefit of using AuditNet® as your one stop shop for all your audit and career resources.
Click here for more jobs!
AuditNet® Fraud Auditing Corner
An Interview with Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
By Dick Carozza
|
Irwin Cotler, minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, has a passion for protecting the rights of others - including those citizens hurt by corporate fraud and securities violations. |
This article is from Fraud Magazine, the professional magazine
of the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners
For the rest of the article from the latest ACFE Fraud Magazine click here.
Audimation Services
Fighting Fraud with Data Mining Techniques
New 2005 Schedule
Learn how to create, implement, and
maintain a fraud program – start to
finish! ... Tighten controls, strengthen
your fraud program, and recover
millions!
AuditNet® Information Security
Protect Yourself at Wireless Hotspots
by Rey LeClerc
If you're spending a lot of time at coffee shops or using public wireless hotspots, you run the risk of losing valuable data. ITS Information Security can help you protect yourself.
Click here for the rest of the story!
AuditNet® Resource List Updates
Please let us know of links that are not working!
Free Tools for Auditors
Sarbanes-Oxley Software
To address the mounting debate about the requirement to
document the
internal controls in order to comply with SOX, a new software is now
available
free.
The only periodical of its kind bringing useful and timely advice and insights into the prevention detection, and investigation of all forms of computer and Internet crime. For more information visit www.cybercrimefighter.net
2nd Annual Software Expo
| The market is awash in software to help
auditors meet their respective challenges, especially in light of new
regulations. In response, on April 19, 2005, the North Jersey IIA
Chapter held an all-day software expo at Prime Hotel in Fairfield New
Jersey. The event, with educational presentations throughout the day,
aimed to help auditors sort through software tools and discuss their
associated benefits. It was a follow-up on last year's inaugural event
held on March 11, 2004. With 24 of the top audit and assurance software vendors and over 200 participants, the expo was the second of it's kind and a truly exciting event. Vendors had an opportunity to learn more of their users' needs in order to shape future development efforts. On the other hand, users had a fantastic opportunity to learn which products they need to buy in the coming year, based on the associated benefits. Now that the day has ended, we have captured in this website all of the presentations and other tools used throughout the day to assist anyone who could benefit from such information. For more info and links to the material click here! |
AuditNet® Conference & Training News
Want to announce your professional association conference to the global audit community? Send us conference name, date and URL details or your
Managing Spreadsheets in
the light of Sarbanes-Oxley July 7/8 2005 London, UK EuSpRIG
2005 ACFE Fraud Conferences and Training
2005 IIA Conferences and Training
* indicates events where Jim Kaplan is speaking
AuditNet® Vendor News
Check here for the latest news from our AuditNet® sponsors!
Paisley Consulting press releases
Pentana news and announcements
Preview of Coming Attractions!
AuditNet® will also introduce a new sharing exchange library for audit presentations. Similar to the popular audit program exchange library, these new sections will provide sample polices and procedures and training/briefing presentations from auditors. We will start with sample documents and PowerPoint presentations and encourage contributed material from the audit community. These resources will be of great benefit to companies undergoing S-Ox reviews especially non-accelerated filers. Watch for details!
The AuditNet Monograph Series provides useful guides for all levels of auditors from juniors right up to audit directors. New guides are under development for Sarbanes-Oxley, internal controls and Internet for auditors. If you are interested in developing a monograph on a contract basis, contact us.
Watch for new articles on Sarbanes-Oxley, Information Security, Software Auditing, CAATTs, and more from contributors. Reviews are in the works for audit books, PowerPoint Personal Trainer, and Excel Personal Trainer. Watch the newsletter for more products, services and tools for auditors. Have an idea for a column? Contact us.
AuditNet® continues adding new specialized resources for auditors. Watch the newsletter and keep checking the Library page for updates and new resources.
AuditNet® Statistics
For those who like to wade through the details on how popular AuditNet® is, click here for the current stats.
E-Books for
Subscribers to the Annual Audit Programs
Note: The SarbOx Section 404 Compliance Tips for IT Managers was updated to reflect new compliance dates.
Heard on the Net!
AuditNet® Corporate Internal Threats
A recent article in the Washington Post (June 26, 2005) focused on Internet security issues and possible solutions by upgrading the network. One section in particular caught my eye. "When the Internet's founding fathers were designing the network in the 1960s and 1970s, they thought a lot about how the network would survive attacks from the outside... What they didn't spend much time thinking about was internal sabotage." My sense is that they didn't ask any auditors to perform a risk assessment. They wanted a free and open network and were willing to trust that users would honor that code. Unfortunately they did not listen to the words of Clifford Stoll, an astronomer and author of the Cuckoo's Egg, who stated that "the only secure network is the one that doesn't exist." Corporate managers still do not accept internal sabotage as a major risk in their organizations. They have been forced to strengthen internal controls by legislation rather than because it is the right thing to do. I would like to know how many auditors feel that companies would willingly place an emphasis on enhancing controls and spending as much money on addressing internal threats as they are currently spending on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
Thanks for your support and until next month!
If you have a tip on how you are using the Internet or software applications for auditing send them to editor@auditnet.org Watch for more Internet boot camp tips from the auditing Internet guru!
Audit Work Programs Corner
Auditors Sharing Audit Programs and Working Papers
The following audit programs, ICQs, checklist
or working papers were added this month. They are in
format unless noted otherwise.
Some may only be available in exchange for an audit work program
contribution not currently in the inventory.
Beginning in August 2003 all new programs contributed will include the
date the program was added to the inventory (mm/yy). This was at the
suggestion of an AuditNet® user.
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Banking ICQ (July 05)
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Freedom of Information ICQ (July 05)
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Letters of Credit Audit Program (July 05)
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Organization Structure ICQ (July 05)
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Sports Development ICQ (July 05)
Documents in the Queue!
The following audit documents will be posted next month. Interested in them now? Send an audit work program, ICQ, checklist or other audit template and receive them via e-mail. Your contribution must include your name and email address.
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Bank Branch Consumer Compliance Questionnaire (Aug 05)
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Conflict Management Policy ICQ (Aug 05)
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CSR Infrastructure ICQ (Aug 05)
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Foreign Currency Collection Items (Aug 05)
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Project Management Audit Procedures (Aug 05)
Contribution Required Audit Documents!
The following documents require the contribution of an audit program not currently in the inventory. They are also available to subscribers to the Audit Programs Subscription Service.
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Audit Process Checklist (X Ref to IIA Standards) (July 05)
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Health Insurance-New Business Audit (July 05)
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Purchasing/Accounts Payable 3 Way Test Plan (July 05)
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Project Audit Templates (Prince 2 Methodology) (July 05)
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Property & Casualty Loss Control Audit Program (July 05)
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Retail Drug Store Audit Program (July 05)
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SAP HR Audit Program (Functional) (July 05)
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SAS 70 Type 1 Fraud Assessment Template (July 05)
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SAS 70 Type 2 Fraud Assessment Template (July 05)
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S-Ox Process Documentation Form (July 05)
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Vendor Review Audit Program (July 05)
AuditNet® What's New This Month?
This month we added new policies to the policy and procedure exchange library. A corporate subscription rate was added to the annual subscription program. Organizations that need more than 2 staff members accessing the service will benefit from this new rate. Watch for new additions to the audit programs subscription service available as an alternative for those auditors that are unable to contribute material to AuditNet®. There are many new audit programs in the queue for the AuditNet® community. All this and more! The best way to find all the resources on the site is by going to the Virtual Library or use the site search.
Looking for Auditors?
If your company has any audit job vacancies that you are looking to fill, have your HR people contact AuditNet® to post the job and search for candidates. Using the jobs section helps support AuditNet® as well! For more information click here.
Sarbanes-Oxley Column
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Upcoming Conferences
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AuditNet® CAATT Corner
Preventing Errors and Fraud in Spreadsheets
By Richard B. Lanza, CPA, CFE, PMP
The spreadsheet is one of the most brilliant software tools for almost any industry including accounting and finance. However, because everyone is so comfortable with them, spreadsheets can be excellent tools for committing fraud or for material errors. Spreadsheets therefore become a least expected weak-link in financial statement or operational data analysis.
For the rest of the story click here!
Also check out the 2005 Buyer's Guide To Audit, Anti-Fraud, and Assurance Software
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rich Lanza (CPA, CFE, PMP) enables organizations in the use of technology to (1) generate cash recoveries, (2) stop profit leaks, (3) move away from control issues, and (4) work towards process improvements. To contact Rich, receive his free e-newsletter, get a free diagnostic, or to order his products/services, e-mail him at rich@auditsoftware.net, call him at 973-601-3701, or visit his website at www.infomagician.com.
Accounts Payable Auditing
Duplicate Payments and
Duplicate Vendors:
How to Identify All of Them
by Christine L. Warner
When Sarbanes-Oxley was passed in 2002, many companies were forced to take an in-depth look at internal controls. Despite efforts to tighten controls, duplicate payments still occur by the millions. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General “…estimated that Medicare made $89 million in potential duplicate payments for 2,000 other procedure codes.” [1] In a rush to find the overpayments, many companies have emerged: A/P Recap, Automated Auditors, AP Recovery, ACL, IDEA, and more. That these companies are thriving is a testament to the fact that duplicate payments still occur at an alarming rate.
For the rest of the story click here!
AuditNet® Book Reviews
Essential Communication Books for Auditors
You might think that the three books on communication skills for auditors were written by different authors. You would be wrong as they were all written by Angela J. Maniak, a business communications expert. I have met and worked with Angela in my audit past and found her approach to be both insightful and useful for auditors at all levels. One of the critical skills that auditors need is the ability to clearly and concisely communicate findings and recommendations to senior management and the Board. The author’s presentation in each of these books is in an easy to read format with a summary card and CD. The CD provides key points, writing tips, worksheets, a sample report and a review exercise for each chapter.
For a summaries of these books click here!
AuditNet® Software Compliance Audit Corner
“Is Your IP Leaking?”
This new AuditNet® monograph focuses on the issues auditors face with intellectual property. If you are an auditor one of the tasks you need to do from time to time is audit and validate the list of intellectual property held by your organization. Never done this before? Then add it to your list of tasks to do as the issue faced in one specific area regarding Open Source software might alert you to some risks you have not known until now even existed!
For the new monograph click here!
Current Views on Governance and Compliance
Your Secret Weapon in the War on Fraud
The June 2005 issue of this fraud newsletter features articles on the When to Conduct an Internal Fraud Investigation...and How, Using Digital Evidence to Nail Dishonest Employees and more. AuditNet® users qualify for special rates on this publication. For more information click here.
The AuditNet® Audit Bookstore Corner
Looking for books on auditing related topics? We suggest using the AuditNet® bookstore. The bookstore focuses on Internal Audit but includes other related subjects as well. AuditNet® uses Amazon to power the bookstore so each purchase you make through this link helps support AuditNet®.
Book Reviews
|
Essential Communication Books for Auditors
You might think that the three books on communication skills for auditors were written by different authors. You would be wrong as they were all written by Angela J. Maniak, a business communications expert. I have met and worked with Angela in my audit past and found her approach to be both insightful and useful for auditors at all levels. One of the critical skills that auditors need is the ability to clearly and concisely communicate findings and recommendations to senior management and the Board. The author’s presentation in each of these books is in an easy to read format with a summary card and CD. The CD provides key points, writing tips, worksheets, a sample report and a review exercise for each chapter. For a summaries of these books click here! |
How to Say It When You Don't Know What to Say The Right Words for Difficult Times
By Robbie Miller Kaplan
As
auditors we constantly interact with diverse stakeholders such as
colleagues, managers, employees and others. Frequently we encounter
people dealing with challenging and difficult times that may or may
not be related to work. Our reaction to these situations is conveyed
in our behavior both nonverbal and verbal.
For the rest of the review click here.
FREE! The Auditor's Guide to Internet Resources 2nd Edition
Interested in a free copy of The Auditor's Guide to Internet Resources, 2nd Edition? Write an article for the next newsletter on how you are integrating the Internet in auditing. If your article is selected, I will send you an electronic copy of the book. Contact us for details.
AuditNet® Partner Discounts
Check out all the software vendors that offer discounts to the AuditNet® community.
AuditNet® It pays to be a member!
For information on partner discounts click here.
Opportunities to Share Your Knowledge and Earn Royalties
Pleier Corporation is still seeking additional authors
to publish on CD and earn royalties.
AuditNet's last posting resulted in the publishing of "A
Practitioner's Guide to Performance Auditing" by Muhammad Akram Khan -
see
http://www.pleier.com/pacd.htm and "Auditing IT Infrastructures"
by Alan Oliphant - see
www.pleier.com/aiti.html.
Pleier Corporation is looking for additional authors who have quality
and quantity of Internal Audit-related material appropriate for an
entire CD title.
Pleier Corporation would especially like to publish a CD on
Contract/Construction Auditing by an author with practical experience
and an ability to communicate that information for distribution on CD
or DVD.
Available topics continue to grow especially with new authors from
AuditNet like Muhammad Akran Khan and Alan Oliphant.
Publish your own CD or DVD to earn royalties and receive worldwide
exposure.
Available titles currently completed include:
21st Century Audit Management
A Practitioner's Guide to Performance Auditing
Auditing Fraud
Auditing IT Infrastructures
Auditing Purchasing and Contracts
Control Self Assessment
Internal Auditor Toolkit
Modern Integrated Audit Approach
Risk Management: Best Practices
Risk Management and Risk Assessment
Systems Analysis and Design
INTERESTED IN PUBLISHING
For additional information email pleier@pleier.com or call Joe Pleier
at (949) 830-1575.
DISCOUNTS TO AUDITNET READERS
As a reminder, Pleier Corporation offers 10 % discounts to AuditNet
readers at
www.pleier.com. To take this discount order online and enter
the word AUDITNET in the coupon field at checkout.
