The art of writing effective audit observations

[Adam Fleming]

Audits are a means of evaluating operations and other functions of an organization. ISO 19011:2011 Guidelines for Auditing Management Systems describes audits as a process used for gathering the evidence of verifiable documents and map their suitability, alignment and fulfilment with the company’s policies and procedures.

An audit is an important tool that helps organizations to analyze opportunities, implement best practices, and assess all the important factors in a business, such as risks, ethics, controls and quality. Conveying these to the management is the primary aim of an audit.

An audit is indispensable for mitigating risks and ensuring governance. An audit can be either:

o  Internal, where an organization’s employees in charge of audits in an organization in charge of audits carry out audits, or

o  External, where an external, independent auditing professional examines and evaluates the company’s functions objectively. 

Each of these two types of audits is important. Either of these may be required, or both may be required, depending on the kind of business and practices an organization has.

Broadly, these are the types of audits:

Financial audits: Financial audits, as the name suggests, are related to how an organization keeps financial controls in place and report them to the authorities. Financial audits are summed up in financial statements, which spell out the extent to and the ways by which financial aspects of organizations tally.

 

Operational audits: These are the audit or assessment and evaluation of how an organization actually carries out its business. Being of this nature; operational audits are concerned primarily with business processes. The aim of operational audits is to suggest ways by which organizations can improve their operations to optimize their businesses and increase ROI.

Compliance audits: These are carried out to ensure the compliance with regulatory requirements in an organization. A number of these regulations need to be complied with depending on the nature and location of business.

Information Systems: Since no organization can stay aloof from automation and since information systems are required for almost all functions in an organization; it needs to systematically and thoroughly review its information systems from time to time. An effective information systems audit takes not only existing, but also emerging technologies into consideration and suggests ways by which to improve its network and firewall its data security.

Integrated Audits: Suggestive of its name; an integrated audit is one that assesses, monitors and controls all the kinds of audits –Financial, Operational, Compliance, and information systems risks. Auditing professionals locate these integrated audits on a business process or cycle or part of it.

Understanding and carrying out operational audits

Operational audits, being among the important kinds of audits, are governed by their own set of standards. They have their own set of standards that need to be complied with. These are set out by The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). And, like other types of audits, operational audits require a high degree of knowledge, diligence and skill.

The ways and means of carrying out operational audits can be complex and requires adherence to a number of standards and best practices. Auditors need to be thorough in their understanding of how to do these in an optimized fashion and ensure results for the organization.

Compliance4All, a leading provider of professional trainings for all the areas of regulatory compliance, will be providing this insight at a highly educative webinar. Jonnie T. Keith, who has over 40 years of audit experience and has served as the Chief Audit Executive for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) for the past 10 years, will be the speaker at this webinar.

To enroll for this session and to gain from the expertise Jonnie brings into auditing, please visit http://www.compliance4all.com/control/w_product/~product_id=501309L...

A complete roundup of operational audits and the ways of writing audit observations effectively

At this webinar, Jonnie will explain the intricacies of an operational audit. Jonnie will explain the importance and ways of writing these audit observations effectively and compellingly. He will explain the concept and all the important aspects that go into operational audits, such as management responsibilities and the key IIA standards that go into audits and the areas of their purview, such as the following:

2010 - Planning

2201 - Planning Considerations

2220 - Engagement Scope

2240 - Engagement Work Program

2300 - Performing the Engagement

2400 - Communicating Results

2500 - Monitoring Progress

 http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/auditing/

https://finance.columbia.edu/content/types-audits

http://www.accountingtools.com/operational-audit

https://na.theiia.org/about-us/about-ia/Pages/About-the-Profession....