Jim Kaplan's
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Corporate Governance Certification
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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 This month check out ACL Services Ltd. Business Assurance solutions to financial executives and audit professionals worldwide. Combining market-leading software and professional services, ACL's proven solutions enable internal auditors to assure compliance, reduce risk, and minimize loss. ACL's global customer base includes 89 of the Fortune 100 and over half of the Global 500. Remember! Clicking on sponsored ads helps support AuditNet®. Remember: visiting sponsors helps support AuditNet®. Recognizing and reporting material changes in internal control It is important companies remember that in Year Two of SOA compliance
they must disclose information about material changes made to internal 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! AuditNet® Policies and Procedures Column Addressing Financial Compliance with Policies and Proceduresby Rose Hightower Policy Guru for APPLE In today’s compliance-focused corporate world of business, the person assigned the task of determining and documenting a company policy on any topic has more to think about then did their predecessor. In past years, policy advisors could get by with a general description of the line of command for authorization purposes and what should and should not be delegated from a procedure point of view. Policies and procedures were used as documenting the current process and reviewed occasionally, often with a change in senior leadership. In today’s compliance-conscious environment, policies and procedures are living breathing documents that are referred to and used by internal and external stakeholders. 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!
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
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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.
Avoiding A Common Fraud
By Tom Crouch, CPA, CIA, CISA, and Attorney
Money stolen from a bank account is a very common fraud. This usually happens in small organizations. These include small businesses, non-profit groups, churches, scout groups, and clubs. In most of these situations, a minimum level of controls would have greatly reduced the fraud risks. Adequate controls protect innocent people from suspicion of wrongdoing, which protects their reputation.
For the rest of the article 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
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AuditNet® Information Security
How to Prevent Identity Theft
by Rey LeClerc
In one of the largest breaches of personal information to date, Citigroup announced recently that a box of computer tapes containing information on 3.9 million individual customers was lost by United Parcel Service last month while in transit to a credit reporting agency. It was the latest in a series of data losses or breaches that have forced financial institutions and other data collectors to warn customers that their personal information may be at risk of identity theft.
Click here for the rest of the story!
AuditNet® Resource List Updates
Please let us know of links that are not working!
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. (A reciprocal link to AuditNet is required).
Spreadsheet Auditing Masterclass September 15, 2005 Ft. Worth, Texas
Asia Pacific Chief
Auditor Summit, September 26, 27, 2005 Kuala Lampur
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
Pleier Corporation is still seeking
additional authors to publish on CD and earn royalties. |
New Guidelines for Ask the Auditor Forum
Ask the Auditor has been a popular section of AuditNet® for several years. Previously I required the contribution of an audit program or payment as quid pro quo for the research. Effective immediately there will be no requirement of either payment or the contribution of an audit program. I will decide which questions are posted in the Forum archives. Questioners may not receive an email response answering their question. Therefore to see if your question and answer are posted you may have to check the appropriate Forum archives. The Archive sections are currently as follows:
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More sections may be added. Thanks for supporting AuditNet®! |
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® AuditNet Web Site Navigation Guide
I often hear from visitors to the site that they have difficulty finding information on the Web site. So I thought I would provide a short article on navigating the AuditNet site.
For the rest of the story click here!
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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IT Risk Assessment Form (Sep 05)
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Security Management (Sep 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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Accounts Payable Questionnaire (Healthcare) (Oct 05)
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Cataclysmic Disasters ICQ (Oct 05)
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Claim File Review Form (P&C) (Oct 05)
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Claim Sample Testing Worksheet (P&C) (Oct 05)
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Physician Contract Review (Healthcare) (Oct 05)
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QA Risk Library (Oct 05)
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Scaffolding ICQ (Construction Industy) (Oct 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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Configuration Management Based on NIST 800-53 CM Controls (Professional Services) (Sep 05)
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E-Mail Security Controls Audit Program (Federal) (Sep 05)
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Foreign Currency Translation Audit Program (Sep 05)
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Fraud Financial Performance Indicators (Sep 05)
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Interplant Shipping-Receiving (Manufacturing) (Sep 05)
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ITIL Incident Problem & Change Management Audit Program (Federal) (Sep 05)
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Lumber Mill Audit Program (Sep 05)
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Riesgo Seguros (Insurance Risk-Spanish) (Sep 05) Resort Industry
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Riesgo Funcionarios y Empleados (Loan Risk-Spanish) (Sep 05) Resort Industry
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SQL Server Security & Control Checklist (Aug 05)
AuditNet® What's New This Month?
This month we added new policies to the policy and procedure exchange library. A new page was added for Expressing an Opinion on Internal Controls. 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
Complying with SOX 302 Reporting Requirements: The Practical Benefits of an Issue Reporting and Remediation Management System
by Bruce McCuaig CA, CCSA, CIA
Since August 2003 SOX 302 has required quarterly CEO/CFO certifications of “disclosure control effectiveness” and additional certification that all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses are being reported each quarter to audit committees and external auditors.
Accelerated filers have justifiably been focused on meeting their SOX 404 certification requirements. With that hurdle passed, these companies now need to integrate their quarterly review of disclosure controls with sub certification processes, remediation management and the preparation and review of quarterly disclosures.
For the rest of the story click here!
Bruce McCuaig CA, CCSA, CIA, Principal Consultant, Collaborative Assurance & Risk Design with Paisley Consulting, the Cokato Minnesota business accountability solutions provider. Contact: bruce.mccuaig@paisleyconsulting.com
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Upcoming Conferences
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AuditNet® CAATT Corner
Variance and Ratio Analysis
by David G. Coderre
In the same way that financial ratios that give indications of the relative health of a company, fraud ratios point to possible symptoms of waste, abuse, and fraud. In this article we will examine the techniques of ratio analysis for fraud auditors.
For the rest of the story click here!
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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
Check out this month's book reviews on:
Brink's Modern Internal Auditing
PowerPoint 2003 and Excel 2003 Personal Trainer
AuditNet® Software Compliance Audit Corner
PCProfile Offers Discounted Prices to AuditNet® for the Software Compliance Toolbox©
The Software Compliance Toolbox
provides detailed information and guidance on how you can manage
software compliance affairs across the whole organization with a large
set (over 70 articles) of self help articles that are based on audit
experiences and knowledge gained over 15 years in this industry. To
gain this level of detail most sites traditionally engage
consultants at expensive hourly rates to gain the same level of
awareness. The details in the Software Compliance Toolbox (templates,
policy, declarations etc, resources and tools) are designed to enable
sites to "do it themselves", saving costs all round by focusing on
getting back to business basics.
For AuditNet special pricing click here!
Your Secret Weapon in the War on Fraud
The July 2005 issue of this fraud newsletter features articles on Payroll Fraud, Conducting International Investigations How to Protect Your Organization from Organized Healthcare Fraud Schemes and more. AuditNet® users qualify for special rates on this publication. For more information click here.
Fraud Awareness Free Pilot Program Available for AuditNet® users
FraudAware is a unique interactive on-line awareness course designed to help managers and line employees recognize the red flags of accounting fraud, embezzlement, theft of trade secrets or confidential customer data, vendor and payroll schemes, identity theft and more. Customizable to your specific risk management policies and procedures and code of conduct, FraudAware also directly supports compliance with the whistleblower provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley by equipping employees with the awareness and knowledge necessary to make effective use of the new law’s mandatory fraud reporting hotline.
AuditNet.org and White-Collar Crime 101 LLC, developers of FraudAware, are pleased to offer Free Pilot programs of the FraudAware course for up to 20 managers or line employees at your company.
For information on this program go to www.auditnet.org/fraudaware.htm
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®.
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.
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, Sarbanes-Oxley book series from Wiley and more. 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.