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Advice in Meeting the Quality Assessment Deadline For some companies, there are still many hurdles to clear as they hasten to comply with The IIA's Standard 1312 requiring an independent quality assessment (QA). In this article, Protiviti's Basil Woller discusses common misunderstandings about this Standard and company trends in picking a QA option. Woller also offers advice in how to better prepare for the reality of a quality assessment. Click here for the rest of the story! This tool 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. AuditNet® What's New This Month? The new AuditNet Career Center debuted this month. Register to take advantage of all the benefits of this new career resource. There is an Internal Audit Guide (draft) available from the OCEG with the opportunity to comment. Check out the new CD Store with training material from Pleier and Associates including discount offers for AuditNet users. The audit programs section of AuditNet now requires registration in order to access. New audit program contributions are available only to paid subscribers or on a one-for-one exchange basis. There are over 29,000 registered users. A multi-user subscription rate was added to the individual subscription program to the premium content. Organizations that need more than 2 staff members accessing the service will benefit from this new rate. There are new additions to the audit programs subscription service available as an alternative for those auditors that are unable to contribute material to AuditNet®. Site licenses are also available for organizations with more than 15 users. AuditNet continues to receive new books for review. If you would like to review books please let me know as I could also use a fresh set of eyes! The AuditNet discussion forum page has over 400 registered members. There are threads for special interest groups, Sarbanes-Oxley and more. The more auditors that participate, the livelier the exchange so get connected and start posting! The AuditNet PowerPoint Presentation Library Exchange offers another medium for auditors to share their work to help the entire community. The best way to find all the resources on the site is by going to the Virtual Library or use the site search.
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As the top civilian in charge of contract procurement in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bunny Greenhouse says she saw contract abuse leading up to the Iraq War. She went public with her accusations and says she was demoted for her honesty. |
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.
Wrong Strategy + Wrong People = Fraud/Theft/Abuse
by Gary D. Zeune
Pretend you’re a small business owner: you spend years of hard work building your business, only to discover a long-term trusted employee is stealing you blind. Don’t think so? The average business loses 6% of revenue or $9 per day per employee to fraud, theft and abuse. And I’ll bet 6% of revenue is material to every one of you reading this article.
So what’s the best way to prevent someone from robbing you blind?
For the rest of the story click here!
Auditing and Fraud in Publics Schools - Recent News
This column will features articles and news on the topic of auditing in public schools. If you have an article or story link you would like to contribute please contact us.
An auditor shortage in Portland schools
The Portland School Board should pursue contracting with the
county to hire an auditor with full access to district books and
staff
MISSING: one watchdog.
Actually, two. Portland Public Schools burned through two auditors and irritated a few others over the past couple of years. The school board should use its summer retreat to talk about what went wrong -- and how they might keep their next auditor from running away.
For the complete story click here!
Schools to undergo state audit
HOLYOKE (MA) - Independent state auditors will examine the school curriculum, budgets, leadership and Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System scores this fall to decide if the system is operating correctly.
The state Office for Educational Quality and Accountability informed school officials it will visit this fall for a Tier III Review, which is a comprehensive examination of the entire school system, said Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr.
The office, which is independent of the state Department of Education, reports its findings directly to the state Board of Education.
For the rest of the story click here!
AuditNet® Conference & Training News
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Internal Controls for State and Local Government July 26 - 27, Arlington, VA Discount available to AuditNet users 25% (Code P537MO1)
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Continuous Sarbanes Oxley Compliance -
Best Practices for Sustainable SOX Compliance, Sep 12-14, 2006 New York,
NY
9th Annual Risk Management and Internal Audit in Telecoms 2006 Sep 18-19, 2006 London, UK
This event uniquely addresses the current operational and functional concerns of risk and audit within an organization. It is a perfect opportunity to learn from major telecom operators how to promote internal audit coverage of all risks, understand what executives want from risk reporting and implement and maintain a simple and appropriate structure. Gain insight into these issues from our panel of top industry speakers as they deliver brand new, case study based presentations. (15% discount on all bookings before July 15, 2006)
2006 ACFE Fraud Conferences and Training
2006 IIA Conferences and Training
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Receive all the benefits of attending a seminar at your
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Coming Attractions!
Beginning in January all new audit programs became available only to annual subscribers. Subscribe now to lock in the subscription rate for 2006.
AuditNet will be offering links to low cost training courses from the Internal Control Institute. Watch for breaking news!
One of the frequently asked questions I receive pertains to internal audit manuals. AuditNet has arranged for a free trial for users of an excellent Internal Audit Manual that follows the IIA guidelines. The link should be available in August 2006 to all registered users.
AuditNet will be working with AccountingWeb to provide readers with knowledge feeds to deliver digital content directly to AuditNet users. Watch for details.
Also a security audit column is in the works for later this year featuring a recognized and respected audit professional.
The AuditNet Monograph Series provides useful guides for all levels of auditors from juniors right up to audit directors. As soon as I can make some time I will be working on new guides for Sarbanes-Oxley, internal controls and Internet for auditors and other relevant subjects. These guides will be available to premium subscribers. 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 more audit and SOx books. 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.
Ask the Auditor Column
Each month I select one question submitted to Ask the Auditor and provide an answer using the same digital tools and techniques that I recommend to all auditors.
Q: Is there an expense authorization policy that help me get compliance with SOX and yet, easily to implement?
A: I'm not sure if you are referring to travel and expense, purchasing authorization limits or an authorization policy. Each of these would require a different policy statement and scope for the procedure. For the complete answer click here!
Heard on the Net!
AuditNet® Tools for Conducting Searches on the Internet
Many auditors begin and end their search for audit-related information on the Internet by going to Yahoo or Google. Internet Discussion forums and email discussion lists represent an underutilized tool by many auditors when conducting Internet research. There are several ways to maximize the effectiveness of these search tools. The first step is differentiating between discussion forums and discussion lists. The former is like an online bulletin board where auditors post messages for others to read and respond to. Typically you must register as a user to post messages to the "Board". The latter is email based and requires subscribing to the discussion list. Once you are subscribed you then start receiving emails sent to the list and you can send messages to the list which all subscribers receive. I recommend whichever route you chose begin by monitoring before posting. See what types of messages are posted and some of the replies. Once you are comfortable you can jump in and participate. Another benefit of these is the ability to view past postings either in the forum or in an archive section for the discussion list. Once you try these tools for audit research you will see how useful they can be. They put an "army" of audit professionals as close as your keyboard.
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 contact us. Watch for more Internet boot camp tips from the auditing Internet guru!
Audit Work Programs Corner
Access to the free audit program section now requires registration. The following audit programs, ICQs, checklists or working papers were added this month. They are available on a 1 for 1 exchange for an original audit work program not currently in the inventory. If you unable to share audit programs then consider subscribing to the premium content which provides you with access free and premium content 24/7/365.
E-Books for
Subscribers to the Annual Audit Programs
-
ATM ICQ-Banking (July 06)
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Balance Sheet Reconciliation Audit Program (July 06)
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BSA Exemptions-Banking (July 06)
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Credit & Collection-Wholesale/Trading (July 06)
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Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Questionnaire and Audit Program (July 06)
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Invoice Reconciliation & Payment Control-Wholesale/Trading (July 06)
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IS General Controls Review Manage the Physical Environment-Mfg (July 06)
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Procurement Contract Lifecycle Management (July 06)
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Sales Contract Lifecycle Management (July 06)
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Spend Management Review (July 06)
AuditNet Career Center
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Sarbanes-Oxley Corner
Sarbanes Oxley Section 404 Compliance For IT Managers E-book Updated
This popular e-book available to current subscribers for free or to non-subscribers for purchase was recently updated. The Section 404 compliance date for smaller companies has been pushed back twice. But it appears now that the new target date for compliance, July 2007 will go ahead as scheduled and there will be no further extensions. The larger public companies or accelerated filers, have gone through two rounds of SOX audits now and many lessons have been learned regarding the scope of these audits and their costs.
The second edition of this publication hopes to shed some light on what those lessons are and how small public companies can benefit.
Need more information? Click for the Table of Contents or a Sample Chapter!
There are plenty of articles in the news on the topic of Sarbanes-Oxley. Here is a link to a site that does the research and provides you with links to all the relevant stories.
AuditNet Job Listings (& more)
AuditNet recently signed a new agreement with eFinancialCareers to power a career center for auditors on AuditNet. This newly launched site will be an important resource in the AuditNet family providing you with quality information on jobs and careers. Go to the AuditNet® Career Center now for the latest job opportunities and career-related information and tools. 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.
AuditNet® CAATT Corner
Automated T&E Systems Reduce Fraud and Save Processing Costs
How companies can prevent travel and entertainment (T&E) fraud.
By Richard B. Lanza, CPA/CITP, CFE, PMP
Expense report fraud is a significant cost and is time-consuming to detect. Since most expense fraud is non-recoverable (the employee has already spent the money), organizations tend to treat such loss as a cost of doing business, rather than pursue it vigorously.
For the rest of the story click here!
Editors Note: Also see a free Webinar on fighting T&E expense fraud - Improve Your Bottom Line: Eliminate T&E Fraud Through Expense Automation
AuditNet® Book Reviews
AuditNet® Software Compliance Audit Corner
An Emerging Threat You May Not Have Counted On
This news is relevant for security and audit and management professionals in USA and around the world.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) in USA announced in the last few days that it has increased its cash incentive (reward) to $US200,000 for information on software piracy that leads to an infringement settlement with software vendors. Of course there are conditions, but suffice to day many have already put their hands up to claim their cash prize!
The previous USA reward which ended on 28th February 2006 was $US50,000 (which was the highest we have known in the last 15 years) and it generated over 1,000 “reports” which means there are 1,000 organizations “under investigation”.
Will this reward scheme have any effect outside USA? It sure will, where organizations have a US parent and/or an offshore subsidiary or vice versa. It will also induce other countries anti-piracy bodies to offer rewards seeing the successes to date with reports flooding in.
The “anti-piracy net” could well widen to your country due to the
very size and nature of the reward scheme on offer. As auditors and
managers and chief executives in organizations you really need to take
notice of what is going on and make sure you are well protected!
Get the facts on the reward scheme from
BSA and
PCProfile.
If you want to know how they can knock on your door and seize your
assets (Can they do this ? Sure can!) read
this!
If you want to know more about what this “reward system” can do to both you your organization send an e-mail to pcprofile@internode.on.net and we’ll give you an inside rundown on the risks you face. They are really very substantial now that the stakes have been raised to this level! Wait until the music and the movie industry catch on to this reward scheme and see what sort of fun you will have then.
There are some very simple and pragmatic steps you can take to ease
the pain being created by this reward system. (besides taking a
headache tablet or 2 to calm your nerves).
Your Secret Weapon in the War on Fraud
The May 2006 issue of this fraud newsletter features articles on Management Override: Practical Steps for Reducing the Risk, What to do When You Suspect Internal Theft 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®.
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.
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Paisley Consulting press releases
Free Audit Guide from OCEG
The Open Compliance and Ethics Group (OCEG), a non-profit organization with a mission to help organizations align their governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management activities to drive business performance and promote integrity, announced the release of an internal audit guide (The Guide) exposure draft.
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