Conference: The Internal Audit School

Overview:

Introduction

Internal auditing is a crucial job that many businesses rely on. A good internal auditor finds things that other managers of the business miss, potentially saving them from costly inefficiencies, operational errors and fines or other legal troubles. Many companies may even have a team of internal auditors of various skill levels looking over different areas of the business.

If you want to join such a team, you need to do anything you can to make yourself stand out. A bachelor’s degree in accounting, business or finance is a great start, but it’s more than likely that the firms you want to work for will be looking for something more when it comes to your internal auditor education.

Our Internal Auditing Training program is an ideal way to continue your internal auditor professional education, especially when you use it to build on our Fraud Auditing Boot Camp class. Although we will put you through your paces during that seminar, you will not have to take a significant amount of time off from work to go through it. You could have the knowledge and background you need to qualify for a promotion at your current position or seek out an internal auditor position at a more desirable company.

This intensive seminar covers many key auditing functions, provided by expert instructors in a clear, digestible way so you can absorb all the most important points throughout those and bring them back to your current job or new employer. If advancing in your career as an internal auditor and building your base of auditing knowledge is important to you, this program is a must.

Conference Objectives

At the end of this conference, the participants will be able to:

• Master fundamental operational auditing techniques
• Learn how to use a risk-based approach to enhance their audits of the Purchasing, Marketing, Human Resources, Information Technology (IT), Management, Finance, Treasury, and Accounting functions.
• Explore the objectives of major business operation areas and learn how to identify the key risks threatening them
• Find out how to make their audits more efficient and effective and how to use data analytics to gain an in-depth understanding of business processes.
• Cover such critical areas as the impact of SOX, ERM, and GRC on the organization, uncovering fraud schemes that threaten business operations, and the role of IA in helping management build strong risk management and strategic planning processes.
• Gain skills necessary to go beyond outputs and to examine the organization's ability to achieve the necessary outcomes.

Targeted Competencies

• Branch And Representative Office Audits
• Operational Auditing
• Components Of Operational Audits
• The Purchasing Functions Auditing
• The Marketing Functions Auditing
• The Human Resources Functions Auditing
• The Finance, Treasury, And Accounting Functions Auditing
• IT Auditing
• The Management Functions Auditing

Conference Outline

Unit 1: Operational Auditing:

• The Definition And Meaning Of Internal Auditing Today
• Essential Elements For Successful Operational Auditing
• The Benefits Of Operational Auditing
• Important Trends Affecting Operational Auditing
• The Impact Of Sarbanes-Oxley, ERM, And GRC

Unit 2: Components Of Operational Audits:

• The Phases Of An Operational Audit
• The Link Between Objectives, Risks, And Controls In Key Functions
• The Importance And Uses Of Data
• Key Performance Indicators (KPI) And Key Risk Indicators (KRI)
• Identifying Fraudulent Practices
• IT Considerations And Integrated Audits
• Essential Operational Audit Tools

Unit 3: Auditing The Purchasing Function:

• Identifying Key Risks In The Procurement Function
• Assessing Governance, Infrastructure, Policies, And Procedures In The Procurement Function
• Testing And Monitoring Vendor Relationships, Purchases, And Inventory Management
• Evaluating Vendor Relationships And The Contracting Process

Unit 4: Auditing The Marketing Function:

• Examining The Marketing Function's Ability To Achieve Stated Objectives
• Evaluating Relationships, Advertising Expenditures, And Sales Activities
• Assessing The Effectiveness Of The Public Relations And Marketing Functions

Unit 5: Auditing The Human Resources Function:

• Identifying The Risks In The Human Resources Function
• Recruiting, Staffing, And Training And Development Processes
• Assessing Employee Compensation, Benefits Administration, And Succession Planning
• The Role Of HR In Corporate Governance And Promoting A Healthy Control Environment
• Examining Employee Relations, Feedback, And Performance Management

Unit 6: Auditing The Finance, Treasury And Accounting Functions:

• Reviewing The Finance, Payroll, AP, AR, Fixed Assets, And Budgeting Processes
• Assessing Treasury, Strategic Planning, Bank Accounts, And Systems Integration
• Identifying Fraud Indicators In Financial Reports
• Using Shared Services As A Control And Efficiency Mechanism

Unit 7: Auditing IT:

• IT Objectives, Risks, And Controls
• Examining Staffing, Strategic Planning And The Infrastructure Within Your Organization
• Reviewing System Access, Data Protection And Backups, Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity, And Your SDLC
• Evaluating The IT Environment Using COSO And COBIT

Unit 8: Auditing The Management Function:

• Examining Management Tasks And Measuring Their Performance And Effectiveness
• Enhancing The Control Environment Through Management Pronouncements, Examples, And Enforcement Of Policies
• Helping Management Build Strong Corporate Responsibility, Ethics, Risk Management, And Strategic Planning Processes
• Key Considerations For Communicating, Preserving, And Changing The Organization's Culture
• How Internal Auditors Can Act As Control Agents While Preserving Their Independence And Objectivity

Unit 9: The Future Of Operational Auditing:

• Automating Controls And The Use Of Continuous Auditing
• Helping Management Perform Control Self-Assessments
• Promoting Continuous Improvement And High Quality As A Means To Improve Internal Controls
• Identifying The Best Recommendations That Lead To Positive And Sustained Changes