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AuditNet® Community Sponsor News!
The AuditNet® community has grown by leaps and bounds thanks to your continued support. Yes it is hard to imagine but it has been more 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 Paisley Consulting products that address the needs of today's changing internal audit departments. Products include AutoAudit (audit automation software), and Workforce (audit staff scheduling software). Remember! Clicking on sponsored ads and visiting their sites helps support AuditNet®. IT Project Pain? By Ed Hau, Protiviti Managing Director When undertaking major IT initiatives, a carefully defined and planned effort will yield the most value every time. Protiviti's Ed Hau identifies 10 principles that should be applied with rigor and discipline throughout IT initiatives. Hau believes the root of all problems encountered during these IT efforts can be traced to lack of attention to one or more of these 10 factors. Click here for the rest of the story! 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. Resume Tune-Up When less is more Mwaka Kaonga is a Certified Management Accountant and an Economist with 16 years of experience. While highly qualified, his resume contains too much information and hiring managers will lose interest after page one. What information is essential? Hiring managers are seeking qualifications that match their job requirements; anything else is clutter. They already know the daily job responsibilities but they want to know that you can solve problems; so demonstrate for each position what you did, how you did it, and quantify your results. Here are 12 suggestions for revising the resume:
Get a Free Resume Analysis! AuditNet Adds a New Career Feature: The Resume Tune-Up. Nationally recognized resume expert and author of How to Say It In Your Job Search, Robbie Miller Kaplan will select one auditor resume each month and suggest ways to transform the resume from passable to powerful. If you would like your resume to be considered for a tune-up, please e-mail it to Ms. Kaplan. You will be notified by e-mail if your resume is selected. You will need to make yourself available via e-mail to answer a few questions witha tight deadline. Ms. Kaplan will send a critique and suggestions to the individual selected and a summary Resume Tune-Up will appear in the monthly newsletter column. If selected you give AuditNet the right to display your resume for the column. AuditNet® What's New This Month? Online Training for Auditors AuditNet has teamed with the Quality Assurance Institute and Internal Control Institute to offer online audit training at a low cost. Get quality CPE at a cost you can afford! Online Internal Audit Manual For those of you who are starting an audit function, check out the Internal Audit Manual. New Design Preview! AuditNet is updating the site with a new design format. Check out the following pages and let me know what you think by clicking here! New Columnist Dan Swanson, a senior security and internal audit professional will now provide his list of recommended resources for AuditNet readers. Audit Programs 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. However 181 standard management audit programs were added this month to the free content thanks to Professor Andrew Chambers of the UK. There are over 38,000 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 premium audit programs 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. 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.
New Exchange Group Formed for Law Firm Internal Auditors
The internal audit function is a relatively new concept to law firms and only within the past few years did law firms begin to develop or consider such a program. This Internal Audit Exchange Group was borne from a desire to share ideas amongst professional managers at law firms, national and international, on how to approach and perform internal audits on processes and functions specific to the industry and environment and improve internal controls. The group consists of internal audit and finance managers of law firms, that range from having well established to non-existent internal audit programs. We hold meetings at least twice a year via conference call and often invite speakers from public accounting firms or related industries to address the group on various topics.
If you are interested in information about this group, please contact Karen Watkins at kwatkins@mofo.com.
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.
Audit Finds Good
Financial Practices at
Deposit Central School District
A Comptroller’s audit of the Deposit Central School District found good financial management practices, State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi’s office said today.
The audit of the Deposit School District, which covers the Towns of Deposit, Masonville and Tompkins in Delaware County and the Town of Sanford in Broome County, is part of a statewide effort by the State Comptroller’s office to improve oversight and fiscal practices at schools. The initiative began in response to widespread theft and other questionable actions that came to light in several school districts on Long Island in 2004.
For the rest of the story click here!
For more school and local government news from New York State 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).
IIA Mid-Atlantic Region District 1 Conference, October 19 & 20, 2006 Virginia Beach, VA
Proactively Testing Journal Entries To Detect Management Override and Ensure Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance October 24, 2006 Webinar (FREE)
2006 Auditing Conference Addressing the recent SASs and activities of the PCAOB, ASB, and IFAC October 26, 2006 New York City
Auditing IT Initiatives- Assessing Implementation "Preparedness" and Reducing IT Risk Webinar October 26, 2006
2006 ACFE Fraud Conferences and Training
2006 IIA Conferences and Training
* indicates events where Jim Kaplan is speaking
Opportunities to Share Your Knowledge and Earn Royalties Pleier Corporation is still seeking
additional authors to publish on CD and earn royalties. |
Ask the Auditor
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: Are there any matrices are formulas for estimating numbers of staff per activity: in particular, I am looking at an IT Dept with 6 main in-house built systems and all of the usual support/security functions for a staff of 550 mainly based at one site. I am amazed at how much the ratios vary from one IT Dept to another (of similar sizes/ops). Very grateful for any thoughts.
A: Great question! Because each industry is different there is no "common or standard" formula. Forrester Research has studies which you can purchase. You can also try Infotech for research reports. Another possibility is the Gartner Group. Reports on staffing trends are typically available for sale (no free lunch) and can cost as much as $495. If you need this information for an engagement I suggest making the investment and consider it a cost of doing business. You could also try the professional associations as they may have research studies that are available. These may only be available at no charge for members.
Heard on the Net!
AuditNet® Adds 181 New Programs to the Free Content Area
AuditNet added 181 standard management audit programs
to the free content area available to registered users. Thanks to
Professor Andrew Chambers of
Management-Audit, registered AuditNet users now have access
to the standard audit programs he developed.
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
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Audio Response Unit (Oct 06)
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Anti-Money Laundering Audit (Oct 06)
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Bank Audit Program-UK (Oct 06)
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Data Center Security (Oct 06)
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Information Security for Computer Installations (Sep 06)
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Information Security Testing - Application (Oct 06)
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Information Security Critical Business Applications (Oct 06)
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Lotus Notes (Oct 06)
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Public Works Expenditures (Oct 06)
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Retail Store Sales (Oct 06)
Internal Audit Manual
Looking for the "technically correct" answer to an internal audit related question or inquiry? Don't have a manual or yours does not include the current professional requirements? Not a problem - just go to Your IAM. It's as easy as that!
Based upon past internal audit experiences and observations of current internal audit practices, the benefits to be gained by using Your IAM are numerous. For example:
- Your IAM is always on-line and can be accessed from anywhere, at any time
- It is always current and more importantly, you don't have to up-date it
- Become more efficient and effective - do it the "right way" the first time
- Reduce your training costs
- Become "State-of-the-Art" - especially now in preparation for that required external QAR
AuditNet users will get a 5% discount off the published rates. In order to get this discount click here!
AuditNet Training for Auditors
AuditNet has teamed with the Quality Assurance Institute and the Internal Control Institute to offer you the following online cost-effective audit-related courses. The courses cost from $30 to $90 depending on the course and provide 1 to 3 continuing professional education units. An easy way to get CPE!
For a list of course offerings click here!
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 Career Center
Auditors Looking for Jobs!
Companies Looking for Auditors!
The Matching Service for Auditors!
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.
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.
This is just another benefit of using AuditNet® as your one stop shop for all your audit and career resources.
AuditNet® CAATT Corner
Excel 2007 Offers Vast Improvements for Corporate Finance Professionals
By Bill Jelen (Mr. Excel) and Richard B. Lanza, CPA/CITP, CFE, PMP
After a decade of not many significant improvements to its popular Excel application, Microsoft has completely rewritten the software for 2007. The new features are a joy for power Excelers. Excel 2007 offers a larger row/column grid, improved duplicate handling, better sorting and filtering. Microsoft has also exposed auditing tools such as Formula Evaluation and the Watch Window. They've added a new Document Inspector to locate hidden or invisible content in the worksheets.
For the rest of the story click here!
Editors Note: Also see a free Webinar 1 CPE - Proactively Testing Journal Entries To Detect Management Override and Ensure Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance
AuditNet® Book Reviews
AuditNet® Software Compliance Audit Corner
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New Monograph on Software Compliance Auditing: Looking for a Career Change? If you work in the IT sector and keep an eye on the job market then this feature might be of interest to you, but probably it may not be what you are expecting to hear! Many IT personnel are more than aware (or
they should be) that software compliance (making sure that
the number of licenses that installed matches what licenses
paid for) is an important part of protecting the business or
organization. Registered users can read the complete monograph by clicking here! Watch for a link to almost 20 software compliance audit articles available to AuditNet registered users! Looking for a low cost audit software tool? AuditNet users can order PC Profile's AUDIT Baseline version 4 for $140 (normally $195). Click here for info and make sure you let them know you are an AuditNet user. |
Your Secret Weapon in the War on Fraud
The September 2006 issue of this fraud newsletter features articles on Better Fraud Investigations Using Critical Thinking, Procurement Fraud, Team-Building and more. For a free issue of this excellent publication 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.
AuditNet® Vendor News
Check here for the latest news from our AuditNet® sponsors!
Paisley Consulting press releases
Pentana news and announcements
After the first challenge of designing efficient controls and policies, amazingly even large companies try to implement and document them through manual papers or e-mail. There is a now simple and cost-effective solution on internet, available to everyone. Check www.we-manage.com, and see our Flash Guided Tour No 7.
wE-manage features many other integrated management capabilities, including a simplifed Project and Task Management, Sharing Knowledge, Approval of Requests and Issues Resolution. wE-manage combines the latest of wiki software with easy user administration and hosting. You can have your web-based solution in 2 days.
wE-manage is happy to offer a 15% discount to the AuditNet readers on all license fees. Please contact us first to get this discount."
Dan's Internal Audit Corner
Information Security
Each month Dan Swanson, a senior security and internal audit professional will provide his list of recommended resources for AuditNet readers. You can reach Dan at his website or by clicking here.
8. Finally, numerous other leading resources are provided here.
AuditNet® Resource List
Please let us know of links that are not working!
Click here for the latest update!
Registered User Free Tools
Internal Audit Manual (Coming Soon)
AMIGO (Audit Management and Information Guidance Software)
The Perils of Mount Must Read
SOXERM
AuditNet Monographs
Premium User Tools
Sarbanes-Oxley, IT and Management Audit Programs
The Auditor's Guide to Internet Resources 2nd edition
Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Compliance for IT Managers 2nd Edition
Procedure Guidelines and Controls Documentation
Cobit 4th Edition Domain Quiz
Coming Attractions!
AuditNet will be working with AccountingWeb to provide readers with knowledge feeds to deliver digital content directly to AuditNet users. Watch for details.
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 registered 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.
AuditNet users qualify for a $20 coupon CORRUPT valid for online sales from May 15 to June 15 that discounts the $95 regular price.
Exceeding Expectations for Internal Auditors
“Exceeding Expectations” contains 1 hour and 20 minutes of PowerPoint presentation with synchronized digital soundtrack offering thought-provoking and practical ideas about how Internal Auditors can exceed the expectations of audit clients. This seminar offers state-of-the-art thinking using state-of-the-art technology. Receive all the benefits of attending a seminar at your convenience in a suitable format for both group and individual self-paced training.
