audit assignment execution process

Accountinguide

Simple and Easy

Audit Process

Introduction.

Audit process usually starts from the appointment of auditors until the issuance of the audit report as shown in the audit process flowchart. As auditors, we usually need to follow many audit steps before we can issue the audit report .

However, those audit steps can be categorized into the main stages of audit, including the planning stage, audit evidence-gathering stage, and completion stage which is the final stage of audit where we can issue the report.

Audit Process Flowchart

Below is the audit process flowchart that shows an overview of auditing and the main stages of audit.

Summary of Audit Process

To make it easy we can make a summary which follows the audit process flowchart above as in the table below:

For the report of internal control weaknesses which shows in the audit process flowchart, we do not include in this summary of audit process. This is due to this type of report is not the audit report and it’s not the main objective of our audit.

Though, we will issue this report when we found that internal controls are ineffective to prevent or detect material misstatement, either during the risk assessment or after the test of controls. This way, it can add more value to the client as they can make more improvements in the internal control to prevent or detect the risk of error or fraud.

This type of report describes the client’s internal control deficiencies and provide recommendations for the client to implement.

Audit Risk Assessment
Substantive Audit Procedures
3 Types of Audit Risk
Financial Statement Audit

Assessment Management
Compliance Audits
Enterprise Risk Management
Fraud Risk Management
IT Risk Management
Operational Audits
Operational Risk Management
Security Compliance Management
SOX Compliance
SOX Readiness
Vendor Risk Management
Business Services
Education, Government, and Non-Profit
Energy, Materials, and Utilities
Financial Services
Manufacturing
Media and Telecom
Real Estate and Construction
Travel and Transportation
Technology & Security
Resource Library
AuditBoard TV
Events & Webinars
On-Demand Webinars

Step-by-Step Internal Audit Checklist

What can internal auditors do to prepare a more comprehensive scope for their internal audit projects? And where can internal auditors find the subject matter expertise needed to create an audit program “from scratch”? AuditBoard’s “ Planning an Audit: A How-To Guide ” details how to build an effective internal audit plan from the ground up through best practices, resources, and insights, rather than relying on templated audit programs.

One of the guide’s highlights is a comprehensive checklist of audit steps and considerations to keep in mind as you plan any audit project. Use the checklist below to get started planning an audit, and download our full “ Planning an Audit: A How-To Guide ” for tips to help you create a flexible, risk-based audit program.

What is an Internal Audit?

An internal audit is a fundamentally independent function that evaluates an organization’s operations, internal controls, and risk management processes with the aim of improving the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency. Internal auditors will conduct interviews, inspect evidence, test controls, and read policies to understand the environment and validate that controls and processes are working — and working well.

The Difference Between Internal and External Audits

The essential difference between internal audits and compliance audits, sometimes referred to as external audits, is who performs the audit. Internal audits, as the name indicates, are performed by internal auditors who are employed by the business. Compliance audits are performed by independent, third-party, or external auditors, often certified in the audit that is being performed.

The Benefits of an Effective Internal Audit

Internal audits provide many benefits to an organization, giving management and leadership another lens through which to look at the organization. While external compliance audits are essential, they often have a specific scope and aim — PCI DSS, for example, zooms in on credit cardholder data. Internal audits have the benefit of a looser scope, allowing an organization to focus on those areas that are a priority, or areas that may not be looked at in a formal compliance audit.

Internal audits give advantages to organizations pursuing external audits as well as preparing stakeholders and process owners for future audits. Findings from internal audits can be addressed quickly; observations can give management greater insight into the business, people, technology, and processes. Impetus from internal audit reports can encourage optimization, saving the organization in costs and ultimately improving the customer’s experience.

So, how can an organization plan for a successful internal audit? Read on for our checklist!

Internal Audit Checklist

The steps to preparing for an internal audit are 1) initial audit planning, 2) involve risk and process subject matter experts, 3) frameworks for internal audit processes, 4) initial document request list, 5) preparing for a planning meeting with business stakeholders, 6) preparing the audit program, and 7) audit program and planning review.

1. Initial Audit Planning

All internal audit projects should begin with the team clearly understanding why a given project is part of the internal audit program. The following questions should be answered and approved before fieldwork begins:

Why was the audit project approved to be on the internal audit plan?
How does the process support the organization in achieving its goals and objectives?
What enterprise risk(s) does the audit address?
What is the overall audit schedule, and how does this project fit into the plan?
Was this process audited in the past, and if so, what were the results of the previous audit(s)?
Were audit findings or nonconformities investigated and remediated according to the action plan?
Have there been significant changes in the process recently or since the previous audit?
What is the scope of the project, and what specific requirements need to be met for a successful outcome?

Additionally, participants in the project should review the audit report and audit results to refresh their understanding of the environment, scope, and project parameters. The team may also want to review any standards, frameworks, and regulatory requirements relevant to the project or program. Reporting on internal audit objectives should be delivered to top management periodically — quarterly or biannually is common depending on the size and complexity of the business.

2023 Organizational Culture and Ethics Report

2. Involve Risk and Process Subject Matter Experts

Performing an audit based on internal company information is helpful to assess the operating effectiveness of the process’s controls. However, for internal audits to keep pace with the business’s changing landscape, and to ensure key processes and controls are also designed correctly, seeking out external expertise is increasingly becoming a best practice, even when a formal external audit is not required.

Organizations can employ Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from the Big 4 (Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG) and other consulting providers to supplement risk management and internal audit programs. These consultants can provide additional guidance, insight, and clarity on specific regulatory requirements, information security, and business processes. When contracting with consultants, be sure to disclose any other consulting relationships you may have with that firm or company, as there may be independence considerations that the consulting firm has to take into account.

In terms of fostering talent, skills, and development, internal audit professionals should stay abreast of current trends, topics, and themes in their industry. The following resources can help audit professionals understand the present landscape and augment their knowledge:

Recent articles from WSJ.com , HBR.org , or other leading business periodicals
Newsletters and updates from the AICPA , ISACA , ISO , NIST , and other similar organizations
Relevant blog posts from Deloitte Insights , EY Insights , The Protiviti View , RSM’s Blog , or The IIA’s blogs

Image: The Institute of Internal Audit (IIA) Competency Framework for Internal Audit Professionals

Source: The IIA Competency Framework for Internal Audit Professionals

All of these resources can be leveraged to identify relevant risks, inform internal audit procedures, and encourage continuous improvement in your internal audit program. Having the right people and talent in place to perform the necessary audit activities is critical to your program’s success, and pulling in additional resources in the midst of an audit can be tough. By lining up your SMEs ahead of time, you can smooth out your audit workflow and reduce friction.

3. Frameworks for Internal Audit: The International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF)

Collating guidance from the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) contains both mandatory and best practice recommendations. The IPPF aims to support the overall mission, “To enhance and protect organizational value by providing risk-based and objective assurance, advice, and insight.” The core elements of the IPPF are the: Core Principles for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, Definition of Internal Auditing, Code of Ethics, and International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing.

In addition to the IIA, organizations like ISACA can also provide guidance around internal audit processes.

4. Frameworks for Internal Audit Processes: COSO ICIF

Although a risk-based approach to internal auditing can and should result in a bespoke internal audit program for each organization, taking advantage of existing frameworks like the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission’s ( COSO ) 2013 Internal Control — Integrated Framework to inform your program can be a win for your internal audit team and avoid reinventing the wheel. Before applying a certain framework, the internal audit team and leadership should evaluate the suitability of that framework as they map to the business.

While used extensively for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) statutory compliance purposes, internal auditors can also leverage COSO’s 2013 Internal Control — Integrated Framework (ICIF) to create a more comprehensive audit program. COSO’s ICIF focuses on fraud, internal controls, and financial reportin g , while covering subjects like the overall Control Environment of the organization, Information, and Communication, and Risk Management. Since COSO’s ICIF was designed to address SOX, which is a U.S. statute, publicly traded companies based in the US may benefit the most from employing this framework as part of their internal audit program.

Review COSO’s 2013 Internal Control components, principles, and points of focus here .

5. Initial Document Request List

The Document Request List or Evidence Request List, often abbreviated to “Request List” or “RL” is one of the central documents of any audit. The Request List is an evolving list of requests which may cover everything from interview scheduling, evidence requests, policy and procedures, reports, supporting documentation, diagrams, and more with the purpose of providing auditors with the information and documents they need to complete the audit program for the designated projects or processes.

Requesting and obtaining documentation on how processes workis an obvious next step in preparing for an audit. These requests should be delivered to stakeholders as soon as possible in the audit planning process to give stakeholders (with day jobs!) time to provide the right evidence. As requests come in, the internal audit team should be reviewing documented information for any follow-ups, and periodically updating the request list as items get closed out. The following requests should be made in order to gain an understanding of processes, relevant applications, and key reports:

All policies, procedure documents, workflow diagrams, and organization charts
Key reports used to manage the effectiveness, efficiency, and process success
Access to key applications used in the process; read-only if possible
Description and listing of master data for the processes being audited, including all data fields and attributes

From the listings received of master data, auditors can then make detailed sampling selections to test that processes and controls are being performed effectively, as designed, every time.

6. Preparing for a Planning Meeting With Business Stakeholders

Before meeting with business stakeholders, the internal audit committee should hold a meeting in order to confirm a high-level understanding of the objectives of the audit plan and program(s), key processes and departments, and the fundamental roadmap for the audit..

Then, after aligning some ducks internally, the audit team should also schedule and conduct a planning meeting with business stakeholders for the scoped processes. This keeps everyone on the same page, and gives business personnel the time and opportunity to coordinate audit efforts with their business units. The following steps should be performed to prepare for a planning meeting with business stakeholders:

Outline key process steps by narrative, flowchart, or both, highlighting information inflows, outflows, and internal control components.
Validate draft narratives and flowcharts with subject matter experts and stakeholders (if possible).
Develop an agenda or questionnaire for all meetings internally or with business stakeholders.

Preparing the questionnaire after performing the initial research sets a positive tone for the audit , and demonstrates that internal audit is informed and prepared. Planning, preparedness, and cooperation are critical to achieving audit objectives and gleaning deeper insights from the audit.

7. Preparing the Audit Program

Once the internal audit team has completed initial planning, consulted with SMEs, and researched the applicable frameworks, they will be prepared to create an audit program . Audit teams can leverage past audit programs to better design present and future procedures. An audit program should detail the following information:

Summary and Purpose of the Audit Program

Since internal audit reports are usually designed for the consumption of leadership and management, providing an executive summary of the audit program and outcomes gives the audience a snapshot of the audit and results.

Process Objectives and Owners

When completing the audit program, documenting the process objectives and tying each process to owners designates accountability.

Process Risks

Along with the process objectives and owners, the risks associated with the process should also be noted.

Controls Mitigating Process Risks

Once details about the process, including risks, are documented, the audit team should identify and map the mitigating controls to the risks that they address. Compensating controls can also be noted here.

Control Attributes

Control attributes are the components and characteristics of the control activity that are critical to the effective execution of that control. Asking the following questions and documenting the results are a good starting point — though some controls may have unique or uncommon attributes as well.

Is the control preventive or detective? If the control is detective, are there corrective actions required as part of completing the control?
How frequently does the control occur (e.g. many times a day, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.)?
What type of risk does the control mitigate (fraud, operational, security, etc.)?
Is the control manually performed, performed by an application, or a combination?
How likely is the risk to be realized (e.g. Highly Likely, Likely, Unlikely)?
How impactful would the risk be if it were realized (e.g. High Impact, Medium Impact, Low Impact)?
What evidence does the audit team need to complete audit testing procedures?

Testing Procedures and Methods for Controls to be Tested During the Audit

There are four ways to test controls as part of an audit. Many times, these methods must be combined to fully and completely test a control. These four methods are as follows:

Inquiry, or asking how the control is performed
Observation, or viewing the control be performed, typically in real-time
Inspection, or reviewing documentation evidencing the control was performed
Re-performance, or independently performing the control to validate outcomes

A comprehensive audit program contains sensitive information about the business. Access to the full audit program(s) should be restricted to appropriate personnel only, and only shared when approved.

8. Audit Program and Planning Review

Audit programs, especially those for processes that have never been audited before, should have multiple levels of review and buy-in before being finalized and allowing fieldwork to begin. The following individuals should review and approve the initial audit program and internal audit planning procedures before the start of fieldwork:

Internal Audit Manager or Senior Manager
Chief Audit Executive
Subject Matter Expert(s)
Management’s Main Point of Contact for the Audit (i.e. Audit Customer)

Internal auditors who take a risk-based approach, create and document audit programs from scratch — and do not rely on template audit programs — will be more capable and equipped to perform audits over areas not routinely audited. When internal audit teams can spend more of their time and resources aligned to their organization’s key objectives, internal auditor job satisfaction increases as they take on more interesting projects and have an effect on the organization. The Audit Committee and C-suite may become more engaged with internal audit’s work in strategic areas. Perhaps most importantly, recommendations made by internal audit will have a more dramatic impact to enable positive change in their organizations.

Complete the form to get your free copy of Planning an Audit From Scratch: A How-To Guide .

An Active Voice in Internal Audit Reports Inspires Action

Ready to Get Started?

AuditNet ® Audit-library::The-internal-audit-process-from-a-to-z-how-it-works

Every successful audit is based on sound planning and an atmosphere of constructive involvement and communication between the client and the auditor. I see quite a few audit organizations that include a Web-based explanation to their clients how the audit process works. The purpose of providing this page is for those audit organizations that have not explained to their clients how, in general, the audit process works. It also is designed to provide a resource for sharing tools and techniques for each of the distinct phases of the audit process. If you have tools or resources that you would like added to these pages please send them to [email protected].

Click here for sample documents used in the audit process. For a brief overview including a summary of types of audits click here .

Audit Process

Although every audit project is unique, the audit process is similar for most engagements and normally consists of four stages: Planning (sometimes called Survey or Preliminary Review), Fieldwork, Audit Report, and Follow-up Review. Client involvement is critical at each stage of the audit process. As in any special project, an audit results in a certain amount of time being diverted from your department's usual routine. One of the key objectives is to minimize this time and avoid disrupting ongoing activities. Following is a sample flowchart of the process that you may find helpful:

Internal Audit Process

Planning

During the planning portion of the audit, the auditor notifies the client of the audit, discusses the scope and objectives of the examination in a formal meeting with organization management, gathers information on important processes, evaluates existing controls, and plans the remaining audit steps.

Announcement Letter

The client is informed of the audit through an announcement or engagement letter from the Internal Audit Director. This letter communicates the scope and objectives of the audit, the auditors assigned to the project and other relevant information.

Initial Meeting During this opening conference meeting, the client describes the unit or system to be reviewed, the organization, available resources (personnel, facilities, equipment, funds), and other relevant information. The internal auditor meets with the senior officer directly responsible for the unit under review and any staff members s/he wishes to include. It is important that the client identify issues or areas of special concern that should be addressed.

Preliminary Survey In this phase the auditor gathers relevant information about the unit in order to obtain a general overview of operations. S/He talks with key personnel and reviews reports, files, and other sources of information.

Internal Control Review The auditor will review the unit's internal control structure, a process which is usually time-consuming. In doing this, the auditor uses a variety of tools and techniques to gather and analyze information about the operation. The review of internal controls helps the auditor determine the areas of highest risk and design tests to be performed in the fieldwork section. Click here for an annual internal control review plan.

Audit Program Preparation of the audit program concludes the preliminary review phase. This program outlines the fieldwork necessary to achieve the audit objectives.

Fieldwork The fieldwork concentrates on transaction testing and informal communications. It is during this phase that the auditor determines whether the controls identified during the preliminary review are operating properly and in the manner described by the client. The fieldwork stage concludes with a list of significant findings from which the auditor will prepare a draft of the audit report.

Transaction Testing After completing the preliminary review, the auditor performs the procedures in the audit program. These procedures usually test the major internal controls and the accuracy and propriety of the transactions. Various techniques including sampling are used during the fieldwork phase.

Advice & Informal Communications As the fieldwork progresses, the auditor discusses any significant findings with the client. Hopefully, the client can offer insights and work with the auditor to determine the best method of resolving the finding. Usually these communications are oral. However, in more complex situations, memos and/or e-mails are written in order to ensure full understanding by the client and the auditor. Our goal: No surprises.

Audit Summary Upon completion of the fieldwork, the auditor summarizes the audit findings, conclusions, and recommendations necessary for the audit report discussion draft.

Working Papers Working papers are a vital tool of the audit profession. They are the support of the audit opinion. They connect the client’s accounting records and financials to the auditor’s opinion. They are comprehensive and serve many functions.

Working Paper Documentation Audit Report Our principal product is the final report in which we express our opinions, present the audit findings, and discuss recommendations for improvements. To facilitate communication and ensure that the recommendations presented in the final report are practical, Internal Audit discusses the rough draft with the client prior to issuing the final report. For an audit report template including an executive summary click here.

Discussion Draft At the conclusion of fieldwork, the auditor drafts the report. Audit management thoroughly reviews the audit working papers and the discussion draft before it is presented to the client for comment. This discussion draft is prepared for the unit's operating management and is submitted for the client's review before the exit conference.

Exit Conference When audit management has approved the discussion draft, Internal Audit meets with the unit's management team to discuss the findings, recommendations, and text of the draft. At this meeting, the client comments on the draft and the group works to reach an agreement on the audit findings.

Formal Draft The auditor then prepares a formal draft, taking into account any revisions resulting from the exit conference and other discussions. When the changes have been reviewed by audit management and the client, the final report is issued.

Final Report Internal Audit prints and distributes the final report to the unit's operating management, the unit's reporting supervisor, the Vice President for Administration, the University Chief Accountant, and other appropriate members of senior University management. This report is primarily for internal University management use. The approval of the Internal Audit Director is required for release of the report outside of the University.

Client Response The client has the opportunity to respond to the audit findings prior to issuance of the final report which can be included or attached to our final report. However, if the client decides to respond after we issue the report, the first page of the final report is a letter requesting the client's written response to the report recommendations.

In the response, the client should explain how report findings will be resolved and include an implementation timetable. In some cases, managers may choose to respond with a decision not to implement an audit recommendation and to accept the risks associated with an audit finding. The client should copy the response to all recipients of the final report if s/he decides not to have their response included/attached to Internal Audit's final report.

Client Comments Finally, as part of Internal Audit's self-evaluation program, we ask clients to comment on Internal Audit's performance. This feedback has proven to be very beneficial to us, and we have made changes in our procedures as a result of clients' suggestions.

Audit Follow-Up

Within approximately one year of the final report, Internal Audit will perform a follow-up review to verify the resolution of the report findings.

Follow-up Review The client response letter is reviewed and the actions taken to resolve the audit report findings may be tested to ensure that the desired results were achieved. All unresolved findings will be discussed in the follow-up report.

Follow-up Report

The review will conclude with a follow-up report which lists the actions taken by the client to resolve the original report findings. Unresolved findings will also appear in the follow-up report and will include a brief description of the finding, the original audit recommendation, the client response, the current condition, and the continued exposure to Indiana University. A discussion draft of each report with unresolved findings is circulated to the client before the report is issued. The follow-up review results will be circulated to the original report recipients and other University officials as deemed appropriate.

Internal Audit Annual Report to the Board

In addition to the distribution discussed earlier, the contents of the audit report, client response, and follow-up report may also communicated to the Audit Committee of the Board as part of the Internal Audit Annual Report.

The Process: A Collaborative Effort As pointed out, during each stage in the audit process--preliminary review, field work, audit reports, and follow-up--clients have the opportunity to participate. There is no doubt that the process works best when client management and Internal Audit have a solid working relationship based on clear and continuing communication. Many clients extend this working relationship beyond the particular audit. Once the audit department has worked with management on a project, we have an understanding of the unique characteristics of your unit's operations. As a result, we can help evaluate the feasibility of making further changes or modifications in your operations.

Audit Process: 5 Expert Steps for You to Get Your Audit Right

That was the cost of the financial crisis to the U.S. economy . This created a less than ideal environment for any business to survive in. The period saw 200,000 small businesses vanish into a black hole of recession , engulfing 3 million jobs down with them.

I have said it before , and I will say it again: The 2008 U.S. financial crisis and the devastation it brought was the result of audit process failures . This has been concluded by The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) .

Like the FCIC, we at Process Street understand the importance of following a set audit process. Not doing so can bring devastating consequences on all scales. To country economics, right down to small businesses .

In this article, we will:

Define the term audit process
Explain why it is important to follow a set audit process
Outline an audit process followed by professional auditors
Show how you can implement this set audit process into your business for free

Read this article and action the advice we give. By doing so you will be protected from common audit process pitfalls and the resulting cataclysmic consequences. You can click on the relevant links below to jump the section of your choosing:

A definition for audit process

Audit process: Internal vs external audits

Audit process: why are audit processes needed, audit process: the audit process done right.

Audit process: The auditing process

Audit process: Why do auditors follow a set process?

Preserve your audit process using process street.

Alternatively, take the time to read all we, at Process Street, have to say.

Shall we get started?

A definition for the audit process

Before delving into the details, the first part of this article defines the term audit process .

I always find grasping a definition is easier when you break it down. Let us do just that.

Audit process: What is an audit?

An audit is a report given from the analysis of particular business operations. Business operations are scrutinized alongside set standards. These standards are either set by governmental, regulatory bodies, or the audited business itself.

An audit can cover any business operation or subject matter, such as:

Project management
Energy conservation
Quality management

Did you know that the term audit is derived from Latin? Audire means to hear. In the past, books would be read out aurally and the auditor would listen for fraudulent and negligent behavior.

Understanding the term audit means we can move onto our next question: What is a process ? 🤔

Audit process: What is a process?

A process is a series of tasks, combined to deliver the required result.

We at Process Street ❤love❤ processes. Did you know that companies with documented processes have a 280% higher success rate than those that don’t? Increased quality output is one of the many benefits documented processes bring.

You can use Process Street to document your audit processes for free . But more on that later. For now, let us combine our two definitions – for audit and process – to elucidate what we mean by audit process :

An audit process is a series of steps, taken to analyze particular business operations. The end product is a final report detailing aptitude against set standards .

There are two types of audits: internal and external.

Internal audit : Conducted within an organization, they are voluntary. To be used as quality control checks, scrutinizing business operations against set standards. These standards can be governmentally set, set by regulatory bodies, or by the organization itself.
External audit : Conducted externally to a business, by an independent, qualified auditor. These are NOT voluntary. They aim to make sure records kept by a business are complete, accurate and adhere to legal standards.

The above information is a recap for you from my previous articles, detailed below:

Audit Procedures: A Quick Tour With 19 (Free) Templates 🔄
Financial Audits: A Quick Guide with Free Templates 💸
Operational audits: Best Practices Used by the Experts

In the article Audit Procedures: A Quick Tour With 19 (Free) Templates , I give examples of what happens when audit processes are neglected. Recounting what happens when audit processes are neglected brings an emphasis on why audit processes are needed . To follow a set audit process means to conduct an audit properly. Degradation of the audit process can lead to the following repercussions.

To help you out further with the distinction, here’s a working (and free) example of an internal and external audit:

Internal audit – ISO 9001 Internal Audit Checklist for Quality Management Systems
External audit – ISO 19011 Management Systems Audit Checklist

ISO 9001 Internal Audit Checklist for Quality Management Systems

Iso 19011 management systems audit checklist.

In Audit Procedures: A Quick Tour With 19 (Free) Templates , we saw how:

Financial audit neglect has been attributed as a cause of the U.S. 2008 financial crisis.
London’s Grenfell Tower disaster was the result of regulatory breaches . Breaches that would have been avoided with thorough audit processes.

Other examples of auditing gone wrong are – worryingly – widespread.

In the UK audit failures caused 30,000 Maxwell pensioners to suffer major financial loss through no fault of their own.
By not following audit processes exactly, auditors failed to note fraud. This lead to the conviction of five officials in the Baptise Foundation of Arizona. There were 32 accounts of fraud. 11,000 investors lost £400 million.
The collapse of the energy, commodity and service company Enron, has been associated with audit failure . This has been described as the world’s largest bankruptcy.

It is clear, from these above examples, that failure to abide by an audit process results in costly and devastating consequences.

Audits are important.

Following the correct audit process is vital.

Most of the time, audits are done correctly. By correctly, I mean they follow the correct process. When done correctly, audits will have profound business benefits. Take my own experience as an example.

Audit process: Audit process done right

Before starting at Process Street as a content writer, I worked for an environmental laboratory. The laboratory conducted tests on soil and water samples. Metals, hydrocarbons, and chemical pesticide contamination levels were measured. Companies across the U.K would send in their samples to obtain ISO accredited results.

To obtain ISO accreditation, tests had to be conducted as per internationally set standards. Any deviation, even the slightest, would mean accreditation loss. Clients didn’t want results without accreditation. Non-accredited results are not recognized as valid , and carry little legal/regulatory weight.

Internal audit checks are of paramount importance. Every year, external bodies would drop in and assess the laboratory’s testing procedures. If an external body found the laboratory was claiming accreditation, when in-fact the testing processes deviated from requirements, the consequences would have been harmful to business.

Accreditation would have been stripped. Business reputation stained. Clients would take their business to competitors.

Internal audit checks acted as a form of quality control. Procedures are tested to ensure they remained on track following ISO standards.

Whilst I was working at the laboratory, one of the metal tests breached ISO requirements. This was identified almost immediately with an internal audit check. The laboratory temporarily removed test specific ISO accreditation until the necessary corrections. Not identifying such a breach, internally and early on, meant the laboratory avoided fines and legal implications.

Audit process: What do auditors do?

An auditor is a professional who prepares and examines business operations , to make sure set standards are abided to. These set standards can be set by the audited company itself, or by regulatory or governmental organizations.

So far we have seen what happens when an audit process is carried out unsuccessfully, comparable to when an audit process is carried just right . Our next task is to try and separate the two.

By separating the two, I mean to decipher what it takes to conduct a successful audit. For this, we turn to the professionals. We ask: What process are professional auditors following for successful audit procedures ?

That is, what do auditors do?

Audit process: The professional auditing process

I set out to determine what auditors do , and how they successfully perform an audit . Below is what I found:

One : Professional auditors were following a process
Two : The fundamentals of this process were consistent across the specialty

Jumping on the latter point, regardless of the audit type the same fundamental structure applies.

This fundamental backbone of the audit process is given below, defined by the University of Kansas . In this article, we will name this the professional auditing process.

Audit process: Step 1, the selection phase

A risk assessment is carried out to develop an audit plan. This stage may require the auditors to look through relevant business documents and previous audit results.

Audit process: Step 2, the planning phase

Relevant background information is gathered. Contact is initiated with the client. Audit objectives and scope are determined, in addition to timings of fieldwork and report distribution. An open meeting may be performed during this phase, to present the audit plan to key staff members.

Audit process: Step 3, the execution phase

Fieldwork is executed by the internal audit staff. Fieldwork could include interviews with relevant employees from the auditee. Regular status meetings are performed. This maintains communication with the client regarding audit progress. Audit observations, potential findings, and recommendations are discussed with the client when identified.

Audit process: Step 4, the reporting phase

Audit findings, conclusions, and specific recommendations are summarized. This summary is then communicated to the client in a report draft. From this draft, the client is granted to opportunity to respond to the report and submit an action plan and time frame. Client responses and action plans are added to the final report copy.

Audit process: Step 5, the follow-up

A subsequent audit is conducted. This succeeding audit is used to follow up on the previous audit findings. Following-up on external audits via a voluntary internal audit is best practice. Follow up is recommended to occur within at least one year from the issue of the first audit report.

Having a set audit process, such as the above, means to standardize operations. Standardized audit processes incorporate the best practices ensuring audits do not go awry.

Following a documented , standardized audit process will:

Effectively communicate audit expectations
Maintain consistent audit quality
Identify what went wrong if something goes wrong
Automate repetitive tasks, reducing the time required for audit application, and increasing efficiency
Mitigate risk
Engage employees
Simplify training for trainee auditors and employees
Retain audit process knowledge , and document this knowledge

In short, following a set audit process safeguards against audit error . We have witnessed the sometimes fatal consequences that come from this error above.

My previous posts, which to iterate are:

draw attention to three important points.

Point one : Processes are subject to human error. This causes process degradation and decreases audit quality.
Point two : Checklists are an effective tool to remove human error. Therefore, checklists preserve processes and maximize audit assurance.
Point three : Internal audit checks are a vital part of your business processes, and should be prioritized and held with esteem.

Continuing on from this last bullet point…

We have already seen from my first-hand account that internal audits act as your in-house quality control checks. Internal audits safeguard your business processes . By using Process Street’s checklists you can enforce the 5-step audit process for your internal audits.

Following a checklist will preserve the audit process to one that abides by the 5-step professional audit process. You will never deviate from requirements. Maximal assurance will be attained, and the benefits of a thorough, accurate, faultless process will be realized.

Create an audit checklist to preserve your audit process

An audit checklist details the steps necessary to conduct an audit of a particular business operation.

Process Street is superpowered checklists. Creating an audit checklist in Process Street is quick, easy and free . With Process Street you can transfer your auditing processes into a checklist format. These checklists will:

Document your processes, bringing forth the benefits of process documentation – listed above ⬆
Maximize audit assurance
Reduce error preserving your audit processes

To exemplify how you can create an audit process in Process Street, I have detailed our Financial Audit Checklist below.

Click here to access our financial audit checklist

In our Financial Audit Checklist, you can see that every step of the auditing process is recorded. It is impossible to miss the necessary stages because, well, that would mean consciously jumping through the process. This Financial Audit Checklist uses the professional auditing process as the structural backbone.

Scan through this Financial Audit Checklist. Have you noticed our approvals feature?

Scroll down to task 36, under the header Reporting .

When it comes to conducting audits, this feature is ingenious 🧞‍♀️.

Check out our Approvals: How to Streamline Decisions-Making in Process Street article to find out more. In this article, you will learn exactly what approvals are, why they are incredibly useful, and how to use them.

To summarize, approvals streamline your audit processes. Tasks can be signed off within your team, saving you heaps of time.

To add an approval task, click on the approvals button. This is located on the bottom of the left-hand bar within the template editor , where tasks and task headers can be added.

Once you have added tasks subject for approval, these tasks can be assessed by the relevant team member/s. The assigned approver can easily open the checklist. Information from the tasks is then used to either approve or reject, or reject with a comment.

It is with features, such as the approvals features, that Process Street checklists are considered to be 🙌 superpowered 🙌. Other features include:

Stop tasks to ensure task order
Dynamic due dates , so no deadline is missed
Conditional logic , creating a dynamic template that caters to your needs
Role assignments , to ease task delegation within your team

By using Process Street’s checklists, you can increase the efficiency , productivity , and effectiveness of your auditing processes. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Process Street and our offerings, check out our Monthly Webinar: An Introduction to Process Street below, for further insight.

Once you have grasped the Process Street fundamentals, hop into our library of pre-made templates – free and ready for you to use right away. Within this library, you will find audit checklists just like the Financial Audit Checklist above. Every audit checklist is structured as per the professional audit process, and given below:

Financial Audit Checklist
Environmental Accounting Internal Audit
Environmental Management Self Audit Checklist
Management Systems Audit Checklist
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Integrated Management System (IMS) Checklist
ISO 9001:2015 Internal Audit Checklist for Quality Management Systems
PPC Audit Checklist
Google Analytics Audit
Technical SEO Audit
ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISO27K ISMS) Audit Checklist
SQL Server Audit Checklist
Firewall Audit Checklist
Network SecurityAudit Checklist
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Audit Checklist
Diversity Management Monthly Audit
Hotel Sustainability Audit
Laboratory Safety Procedure Audit
Retail Store Audit Checklist

Audit process: Use the professional audit process and get your audits right

The consequences of performing inadequate audit processes must be avoided. Avoid common audit process pitfalls. Incorporate a checklist approach and document the 5-step audit process for the best results. Process Street, as a tool, can help you with this.

What are you waiting for?

How do you conduct your internal audit checks? Do you use a checklist? Do you document your audit processes? Are you following the audit process structure used by the professionals? If you have any questions, or if there is anything you would like to know not mentioned in this article, please comment below .

Get our posts & product updates earlier by simply subscribing

Jane Courtnell

Hi there, I am a Junior Content Writer at Process Street. I graduated in Biology, specializing in Environmental Science at Imperial College London. During my degree, I developed an enthusiasm for writing to communicate environmental issues. I continued my studies at Imperial College's Business School, and with this, my writing progressed looking at sustainability in a business sense. When I am not writing I enjoy being in the mountains, running and rock climbing. Follow me at @JaneCourtnell.

Quite incisive article in the audit process. Easilly grasped the effective five expert stages, mean she did elaborate internal vs external audits, their importance’s etal. Kudos Jane Courtnell.

Nice blogging! As you mentioned in the blog, an audit is process that that involves the analysis of information system that affect all business dealings. Business operations and information system are scrutinized alongside set standards. These standards are either set by governmental, regulatory bodies, or the audited business itself.

Interesting article ! Thanks for telling the audit process which is very much helpful.

Very helpful article ! I am really looking for the audit process and thanks for sharing the steps of the audit process which is very much informative and helpful.

Take control of your workflows today

What are the Different Types of Access Control?
How Same Day Loans Work?
5 Things you are doing that may hurt Your Credit Score
What to Consider in Choosing a Health Insurance Policy
10 Money Saving Tips That Will Help You Get Through the Month
9 Steps of the Accounting Cycle
5 things you need to know about a CPA firm
Differences Between Internal Auditing and External Auditing
Auditing: 10 Duties of an Internal Auditor
5 Cool Ideas for a Toddler Theme Birthday Party

Auditing – 9 Phases of an Audit Cycle

What is auditing.

Auditing is a vital process in any organization, to begin with. The process can be performed by either an internal or an External auditor depending on the need of the organization. Moreover, many firms have invested in the auditing sector by employing well-qualified employees as internal auditors to ensure that everything aligns in the auditing sector. Proper auditing in an organization is conducted along different phases which are consequential. The result of one Auditing phase has an impact in one way or another on the other auditing phases.

Stages of Auditing Process: 9 Phases of an Audit Cycle

An audit cycle is the accounting process that auditors employ to review the financial information of the company. Audit Cycle includes the steps that an auditor will make sure that the company’s financial information is right or not before releasing any financial statements. The phases of an audit cycle include:

1. Auditing Planning Phase

Just as in many other projects, planning is a vital process for the success in any organization. This is due to the fact that, auditing phase aligns all the documentations necessary for the development of a perfect strategy that will run through the entire auditing process.

This is the stage where you need to know about your client. You need to understand the limit of the client and his other inherent qualities and attributes. This will facilitate an understanding of their role as well as the nature of services that each party is expected to handle.

At this stage, an engagement letter will highlight the responsibilities that need to be accomplished by each party.T he engagement letter is usually sent by the auditor to the client. The letter will address issues that relate to the development of an audit program, audit strategy and an audit plan. However, the planning process continues within the entire organization and in other phases.

2. Conducting a Preliminary Review

In the preliminary review stage, the auditor analyses the organization internal control processes. This ensures that the auditor streamlines some processes in the organization that may hinder the performance of the audit. In some scenarios, it may not be an easy task for the auditor to streamline all the changes required. In such instances, it will be necessary for the auditor to accommodate some of his assumptions with the methodologies through which the organization operates.

The auditor can choose to conduct a preliminary review in issues such as the reimbursement of cash, the number of employees who have gained access to the organization bookkeeping software etc. However, the auditor needs to have a better audit background in order to conduct an excellent preliminary review. Moreover, sufficient audit background may aid the auditor to design the nature and timing of the audit.

3. Assessing the risks of misstatement

After conducting a preliminary review, auditors utilize the information acquired to develop a better client understanding. The assessment procedures are mainly performed during the assertion and the overall financial level. Some of the salient issues which are considered during this level include:

The identification of what could go wrong during the auditing phase.
The percentage of the confidence level that the auditing process will go wrong.

4. The Benefits of Risk Assessment

It gives a clear eye view of the possible risks that may occur in a business. Generally, there are two types of risks that are associated with material misstatement which include the inherent and control risks. Control risks are not easily detected and prevented. Moreover, inherent risks relate the susceptibility of material misstatement to the relevant assertion level.

After conducting an overall risks assessment, the auditors should be able to develop a good system capable of detecting a material misstatement. They should be certain if the system is strong based on the assessed risks of account balances and various transaction.

5. Conducting the tests of control

This is tests which preliminary determine if the key controls in an organization are well designed. Consider this analogy which will explain the test of control. An accounting department X is tasked with the responsibility of documenting all serial numbers of shipping documents.

A test of control will ensure that all shipping expenses are recorded in the relevant documents before being posted in the relevant journals. This will avoid the occurrence of misstatement which may affect the auditing process.

6. Performing the general (substantive) procedures

The general substantive procedure aids in comparing account balances. They also reduce the chances of risks emerging in an organization. The substantive procedure determines whether balances posted in the respective account are actual. Most auditors perform substantive procedures even after conducting a test of control due to the following reason:

They provide evidence about given claims relating to account balances.

They help in the gathering of evidence and link between different accounting and non-accounting data

They aid in the determination of instances when expected and non-expected auditing changes will happen.

7. Finalizing the audits

A great number of tests and procedures are conducted while completing the audit. Both analytical, substantive and test of control are re-performed again. At this stage performing the test of financial data will be important, you may choose to re-review invoices, disbursement, and other simple and last minute checkups on financial books of account, When finalizing the audit, you may develop some conclusion for the financial presentation.

8. Reporting the Audit

The auditor is required to provide a comprehensive report of the whole auditing process. The report is provided to the board of directors or the company shareholders. The auditor must align to the professional-auditing reporting principles. Most auditors design new financial statements which are accompanied by supporting documentation. This will be vital for organization management. The documentation may also highlight the strength and weaknesses found in the internal controls.

The audit reports provide a list of all areas that need to be improved in an organization alongside providing a list of processes that need to be incorporated in the organization system to boost their performance.

9. Summation phase

At this stage, the auditor maintains the original documentation regarding the audit. He also gets signatures from the management team for the information reported in the financial statements.

In conclusion, auditing is a complex process that is substantiated into several phases. Each and every stage is vital for a successful audit.

Categories: Audits

Tags: Audit Cycle , audit phases , stages of audit

No related post found.

Apologies, but no related post found for this post.

Your email address will not be published.

KnowledgeLeader Blog

The best way to formulate and execute audit procedures.

Once a company forms an internal audit function, completes the risk assessment process and develops an internal audit plan that is responsive to the risk assessment , it can initiate individual internal audit assignments.

A framework for initiating and executing internal audit projects should include the following actions:

Confirm the audit assignment (e.g., timing, purpose, scope) with the area or process to be audited (in some cases, it may be appropriate to not announce the audit, but to perform the work on a surprise or unannounced basis).
Assess the risks of the specific area to be reviewed.
Develop a written work program.
Agree on scope, locations, sample sizes and period under review.
Develop a report format that will be effective.
Request and receive certain advance information from the area to be reviewed.
Access operating information, performance measures, etc., on the area to be reviewed.
Review any prior audits of this area by internal audit or other parties, such as regulators, external auditors and consultants.
Hold joint planning discussions with management and the process owners of the area to be reviewed.
Consider whether self-assessment activities would be helpful.
Gather outside information on best practices.
Identify the internal audit resources to be assigned to the audit and ensure that they have an appropriate level of experience and competency.
Determine if outside resources or guest auditors should be utilized, including information technology resources.
Consider formal entrance and closing conferences.
Execute actual internal audit work, including an evaluation of the process and control design as well as testing methods to determine control operating effectiveness such as inquiry, observation, examination and reperformance. Discuss and clear items noted and potential findings with management and process owners. For consulting engagements, perform agreed-upon work steps to meet the objectives of the assignment.
An executive summary of major issues and findings
Background, objectives and scope
Audit findings, including management’s action plan for addressing these findings
Other analysis and information, including appendices

The format of internal audit reports varies by company. What is most important is to create an approach that is effective at communicating key issues and achieving positive change and resolution to the issues reported. For example, some companies might find that single-page reports are effective. Others may find that management should respond separately and apart from the audit report itself.

In addition, the circulation of a draft report for discussion is often an appropriate and effective way to refine work and ensure the accuracy of all information in the report.

Develop an effective method for tracking and following up on the audit findings and agreed-upon actions by management. This may include recording all findings in a database, scheduling follow-up audits or conference calls, or requesting status from the auditee. It may even include having management of the audited area report to senior management and the audit committee. Internal audit should also determine the extent to which the resolution of audit findings should be validated independently.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the execution and completion of internal audit work. Internal audit leadership, management and the audit committee should work together to create an approach that is most effective for their respective organizations. The IIA can also provide guidance and a framework to follow.

You can read more on this topic in Protiviti’s Guide to Internal Audit and explore these tools on KnowledgeLeader:

Internal Audit Risk Assessment Questionnaire

Internal Audit Risk Assessment Audit Committee Report

Internal Audit Re-Engineering Questionnaire

Topics: Internal Audit , Risk Assessment , Self-Assessment

Add a Comment:

About KnowledgeLeader

KnowledgeLeader, provided by Protiviti, is the premier resource for internal audit and risk management professionals.

With over 1,400 customizable tools and 1,300 articles by industry experts, we offer the most comprehensive service on the market.

For more information:

Audit Process: Definition, Objectives and Types

What is an audit process? Contrary to what many people think, an audit process doesn’t just investigate and monitor the efficiency and security of organizational processes.

In fact, this is a procedure that organizations should use more often because an audit process is quite effective in finding bottlenecks and wastes, helping to continuously improve productivity in an organization.

It’s clear that often their focus is on finding vulnerabilities and risks in a business , not necessarily with the intention of uncovering guilty parties, but finding solutions.

So, if you want an answer to the question ‘what is an audit process?’, we’ve created this quick guide, where we define key concepts, objectives, responsibilities and other important elements.

Check out: Business process audit: Benefits, definition and objectives

What is an audit process? Quick reference guide

A set of actions and procedures to control an organization. They aim to test and prove that processes are being conducted effectively and follow due control mechanisms. They also aim to detect opportunities for improvement in the audit process.

Every organization has strategic objectives to achieve.

One of the objectives of the audit process is to verify that all company processes are aligned with this strategic vision and that they deliver the value that internal customers need and external ones want.

You could say this is the central objective of the audit process, but it’s necessary to list others:

Evaluate the operational efficiency of processes
Verify that the process chain provides protection for company assets
Find out if your company information and data is secure and reliable
Evaluate processes to determine if they’re reliable
Check for incorrect procedures during processes
Report detected failures and non-conformities
Provide recommendations for appropriate corrections

See more: Compliance: Less risk and more transparency

Types of audit processes

As we warned at the beginning, audit processes don’t always have audit motivations, here are their three main types:

1- Preventive Audit Process:

This is a way of anticipating problems, presenting a series of guidelines for the process to take place in the best possible way and indicating, for example, the attributions and responsibilities inherent to it.

2- Detective Audit Process:

Used to detect if there are anomalies in the process , but without pointing out ways to correct them.

3- Corrective Audit Process:

In this case, once the audit process detects a problem, it should investigate its causes to suggest ways to correct it.

Check also: Governance, risk and compliance: All there is to know

Best audit process practices

In order to assist those engaged in an audit process, or who will be submitted to it, we have listed a number of best practices that you should follow:

The auditor should be aware of the process as a whole , as well as of the other processes of the company, and identify the importance of each one, its phases and correlations with these other processes.
The auditor must make sure that their tests cover the audited process in its entirety.
It’s necessary to develop a macro process vision and show how each adopted procedure interferes with it.
You should document the process through a flow of procedures and controls.
Use generated documentation to verify that the routines practiced in the company match what the auditor defined in the process flow.
The auditor should indicate points where possible process improvements can be developed.
They may also highlight processes that he believes should be the subject of further audits.
The audit process should be extremely clear about the risks of each process and whether the controls developed are sufficient to cover those risks.

See also: Business process audit: Benefits, definition and objectives

So, what is an audit process?

As you can see, an audit process gives more security and credibility to an organization, align it with strategic objectives and expose it to less risk.

In this context, or through the use of an agile, intuitive BPMN tool that automatically manages documentation which can be a great help, both for the audits and the auditors.

Get to know HEFLO , the BPMN software you can access in the cloud.

The Best Way to Formulate and Execute Audit Procedures

A framework for initiating and executing internal audit projects should include the following actions:

Confirm the audit procedures (e.g., timing, purpose, scope) with the area or process to be audited (in some cases, it may be appropriate to not announce the audit, but to perform the work on a surprise or unannounced basis).
Assess the risks of the specific area to be reviewed.
Develop a written work program.
Agree on scope, locations, sample sizes and period under review.
Develop a report format that will be effective.
Request and receive certain advance information from the area to be reviewed.
Access operating information, performance measures, etc., on the area to be reviewed.
Review any prior audits of this area by internal audit or other parties, such as regulators, external auditors and consultants.
Hold joint planning discussions with management and the process owners of the area to be reviewed.
Consider whether self-assessment activities would be helpful.
Gather outside information on best practices.
Identify the internal audit resources to be assigned to the audit and ensure that they have an appropriate level of experience and competency.
Determine if outside resources or guest auditors should be utilized, including information technology resources.
Consider formal entrance and closing conferences.
Execute actual internal audit work, including an evaluation of the process and control design as well as testing methods to determine control operating effectiveness such as inquiry, observation, examination and reperformance. Discuss and clear items noted and potential findings with management and process owners. For consulting engagements, perform agreed-upon work steps to meet the objectives of the assignment.
An executive summary of major issues and findings
Background, objectives and scope
Audit findings, including management’s action plan for addressing these findings
Other analysis and information, including appendices

In addition, the circulation of a draft report for discussion is often an appropriate and effective way to refine work and ensure the accuracy of all information in the report.

Develop an effective method for tracking and following up on the audit findings and agreed-upon actions by management. This may include recording all findings in a database, scheduling follow-up audits or conference calls, or requesting status from the auditee. It may even include having management of the audited area report to senior management and the audit committee. Internal audit should also determine the extent to which the resolution of audit findings should be validated independently.

You can read more on this topic by exploring these resources on KnowledgeLeader:

Guide to Internal Audit
Internal Audit Policy
Internal Audit Feedback Questionnaire
High-Tech Company Internal Audit Plan Report to the Audit Committee

Contact sales

Start free trial

How to Do a Project Audit: A Quick Guide

Conducting a project audit is an important aspect of managing projects, but often one that is neglected. Read on as we explain what a project management audit is and show you in a few simple steps how to do one yourself.

Let’s start with a definition of the word audit. In its general sense, audit is a verb that means to inspect, examine, check, assess, review or analyze. Now that is not so different from what a project manager does all the time.

What Is a Project Audit?

A project management audit is a bit different than the general definition of the audit. First off, in this context, it’s a noun that means an independent, structured assessment. The audit process is designed to determine the status of work performed on a project to ensure it complies with the statement of work, such as the scope, time and budget of the project, along with the maturity of the project management process.

There are many ways to do a project management audit. Project management software can help gather important data. ProjectManager is online project management software that delivers real-time data to help you make more insightful audits. Use our one-click reporting tools to capture the large picture with project status reports or portfolio status reports. You can also focus on time, cost, workload, timesheets and more. All reports can be customized to focus on what you want to see and then easily shared with stakeholders. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

ProjectManager's status report filter, ideal for conducting a project audit

What Should You Look for When Doing a Project Management Audit?

There are many things that’ll help inform your project management edit. Here’s a list of what you should be reviewing when auditing your project.

Project scope: The project scope describes all the tasks and deliverables that should be completed. The project scope is defined in documents like the scope statement and a statement of work .
Project schedule: This will help you determine if work was done as scheduled and if you met your deadlines and milestones.
Project quality: Every project has quality expectations that must be met to satisfy the stakeholders and so these must be audited as well.
Project costs: Here you can compare your actual costs to the budget to make sure you brought the project in without overspending.
Project resources: Look over the resources that were used in the execution of the project to make sure they were used and used correctly.
Project risks: Do all the project risks that were expected to occur show up as issues? Note which did and which did not.

Video: How to Plan a Project Audit

Need more tips for executing your project management audit? Watch Jennifer Bridges, PMP, as she walks you through the steps to auditing your next project.

Thanks for watching!

Pro tip: A project management audit is a critical method of making sure that you’re running the tightest project possible. However, there are other complementary ways to help with project efficiencies, such as hiring a project analyst to work with the project manager to help perform analytical tasks.

The Project Management Audit Process

Plan the audit: You shouldn’t start anything without a plan. Let everyone involved in the audit and the project know about the audit, and stress that this isn’t anything scary. It’s a method to make things work better, not lay blame.
Conduct the audit: Now do the audit and work through a thorough process to get all the data and proof. This includes interviewing the project sponsor, manager and team, either in person, in a group meeting or through a detailed questionnaire.
Summarize the audit: At this point, you’ll have lots of data; so take these findings of improvements and faults, and put them in an executive summary to give a clear and broad overview. Be sure to point out and praise those who have done well.
Present the results: Next, you want to present that summary of results to all parties that need to know about the audit, from your team to your stakeholders . At this point, you’ll want to identify opportunities that have been realized and implemented, as well as a list of all the problems that have and haven’t been resolved. Also, share recommendations.
Determine the action plan: With this data, you can now develop a plan of action that’ll help improve efficiencies. Get people involved and set that course with assignments and due dates. Use all the records collected during the interviews, meetings or via questionnaire and define the solution. This will be submitted to senior management.
Schedule follow-up: Don’t let this action plan go unattended. Go back to it and make sure the plan is progressing on schedule.
Repeat: This is a list that should be designed in a circle because you can never sit back and become complacent. The more audits you do, the more efficiencies you’ll create.

How to Report the Findings of Your Project Audit

There’s a lot of information that goes into a project audit. Here are a few of the documents that deliver that data.

Project Status Report

A project status report captures a snapshot of the project over a period of time. It’s used to regularly track and communicate the progress and performance of the project.

Project Progress Report

The project progress report is also a record of the project over a specific range of time. But unlike the more expansive status report, this only focuses on progress.

Risk Register

The risk register summarizes the risks that might impact the project. This document will identify risks, but also determine what the priority should be in responding to them according to the likelihood of them occurring and the impact they might have on the project.

Cost Benefit Analysis

A cost-benefit analysis compares the costs and benefits of the project in terms of monetary units. This is usually done prior to starting the project to see if it’s worth the investment or not.

Get your free

Project Budget Template

Use this free Project Budget Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

Project Variance Report

Project variance is the difference between what was planned and what actually occurred. This can be applied to the schedule and budget to see if you’re keeping to both. And, if not, then you can set in place actions to right those wrongs.

Why Should You Do a Project Audit?

We’re constantly auditing the health of our project, its financial well-being, the schedule and our timeliness in completing it, as well as the equipment and tools we’re using in the project.

Why do we do this? Well, for many reasons. One, it helps to understand where we are compared to where we should be in the project. Auditing lets us know if things are okay and are performing as planned. It also tells us if we’re safe to go on and if things are improving.

Who’s Involved In a Project Management Audit?

Every organization is different and therefore every project management audit is going to have differences depending on the project-related processes they use. For example, there’s the budget, which will include those managers involved in this process, depending on the size of the organization.

Regardless of the size of your organization, a project management audit is likely to be led by the project manager and include all project team members. It can also include anyone who interfaced with the project, no matter in what capacity, such as vendors and stakeholders . This provides different perspectives, which gives a fuller, more accurate picture.

The discipline of a project management audit is not the same as managing a project. Though it’s a project, too, sometimes it is better to leave it in the hands of a dispassionate third party. An outside contractor can run through the process with more authority due to their experience and not be prejudiced by closeness to the project.

Benefits of Project Management Audit

One of the main reasons to do a project management audit is to ensure that you’re compliant with whatever governing regulations your project is subject to, depending on the industry, such as HIPAA, GDR, FAA, FTC, etc.

It also helps to find gaps or reasons for any project failures or errors. On the flip side of this, it will also discover any areas for efficiencies concerning time, money and effort.

But you must know your specific objectives, as they are not necessarily the same from project to project and organization to organization. There are many questions to consider during an audit, such as why are you engaged in the project, and what results are you seeking?

The project management audit at the top level asks, who does what, when and where, and how can it be improved. Well, improvement always comes through the process. By going through each task and auditing it, you can begin a thorough audit of the entire project.

How ProjectManager Can Help with Project Audits

ProjectManager is online project management software that helps you plan, execute and track your project through every phase, and it can be a valuable tool for your project management audit, too.

One-click reports provide a detailed picture of your project and how it adhered to or diverted from your plan. Reports can be filtered to show just the data you want and then easily shared among management. Our real-time dashboard not only tracks progress during the project but also provides color graphs and charts that make it easy to digest project metrics.

ProjectManager's dashboards are ideal to perform a project audit

When you’re done gathering and reporting data and ready to start an action plan, our online Gantt chart takes your tasks and sets them across a timeline. You can now set duration, assign team members who can collaborate at the task level, add documents and comment.

ProjectManager's Gantt chart with task info, the perfect tool for a project audit

ProjectManager has you covered before, during and after the project. See how it can help you deliver your next project more productively by taking this free 30-day trial .

So if you need a tool that can help you with your project management audit, then sign up for our software now at ProjectManager .

Click here to browse ProjectManager's free templates

Deliver your projects on time and under budget

Start planning your projects.

Audit Plan & Process

Clinical Data Security Management Review (PII)
PeopleSoft Financials User Access/SOD Review
Data Management Analysis
Retention of CWRU ID's and Email Accounts
Accounts Payable Analysis
Affiliate Relationships
Employee and Vendor Match Review
Executive T&E and PCard Review
Grant Management Process Review
Limited Scope Departmental and Cash Handling Reviews
PCI Compliance Review
HR Process Overview
Steward Report
Dental School Medicaid Patient Review
Third Party Vendor Relationship Review

The Case Western Reserve’s Board of Trustees and management place assets at risk to achieve established priorities and goals. A key function of the Office of Internal Audit Services is to understand, audit, and report to management and the Board of Trustees how that risk is being managed. Knowing what areas to audit and where to commit resources is an integral part of managing the internal audit function.

To identify areas of potential risk, each year the Office of Internal Audit Services performs a thorough risk assessment of all university management centers, operating units, and significant departments. From this assessment, an Audit Plan is developed and presented to the Audit Committee for approval.

The plan addresses high-risk areas as well as allocates time for special ad-hoc projects. In intervening years, the risk assessment is updated through data analysis and interviews with senior executives across the university. If necessary, the audit plan is adjusted for any changes to the university's risk assessment.

We believe that the university is best served if the Audit Plan is a dynamic document that continually adjusts to changes in the environment. Therefore, if your management center or department has a need for our services, please contact us.

Depending on the relative risk associated to your need and the amount of time necessary to fulfill your request, the Office of Internal Audit Services will communicate what level of assistance we will be able to provide. At a minimum, we will be available to offer guidance and advice throughout any project you perform on your own.

In most cases, expect to receive notification when you or your department is to be audited.

Expect to understand the audit's purpose and objective
Expect to provide your ideas or concerns regarding the audit
Expect to be treated with respect and courtesy
Expect to be asked for various financial and department documentation; some may be confidential
Expect confidential information to remain confidential
Expect to answer all questions honestly
Expect to receive a draft copy of the Final Audit Report prior to its release

Preparing for an Audit

Have all requested materials/records ready when requested
Organize files so we minimize disruption of your day
Provide complete files
Please make yourself available during the time of the audit and communicate any planned absences
Provide work space for auditors if requested

Audit Process

Step 1: planning.

The auditor will review prior audits in your area and professional literature. The auditor will also research applicable policies and statutes and prepare a basic audit program to follow.

Step 2: Notification

The Office of Internal Audit Services will notify the appropriate department or department personnel regarding the upcoming audit and its purpose, at which time an opening meeting will be scheduled.

Step 3: Opening Meeting

This meeting will include management and any administrative personnel involved in the audit. The audit's purpose and objective will be discussed as well as the audit program. The audit program may be adjusted based on information obtained during this meeting.

Step 4: Fieldwork

This step includes the testing to be performed as well as interviews with appropriate department personnel.

Step 5: Report Drafting

After the fieldwork is completed, a report is drafted. The report includes such areas as the objective and scope of the audit, relevant background, and the findings and recommendations for correction or improvement.

Step 6: Management Response

A draft audit report will be submitted to the management of the audited area for their review and responses to the recommendations. Management responses should include their action plan for correction.

Step 7: Closing Meeting

This meeting is held with department management. The audit report and management responses will be reviewed and discussed. This is the time for questions and clarifications. Results of other audit procedures not discussed in the final report will be communicated at this meeting.

Step 8: Final Audit Report Distribution

After the closing meeting, the final audit report with management responses is distributed to department personnel involved in the audit, the President, Provost, and Chief Financial Officer, and CWRU’s external accounting firm.

Step 9: Follow-up

Approximately six months after the audit report is issued, the Office of Internal Audit Services will perform a follow-up review. The purpose of this review is to conclude whether or not the corrective actions were implemented.

KPMG Personalization

Innovating and evolving our audit process Innovating and evolving our audit process

We are innovating in the delivery of the audit and leveraging new technologies & platforms

We are innovating in the delivery of the audit and leveraging new technologies and platforms.

Home ›
Insights ›
Innovating and evolving our audit process

Setting the quality agenda
Creating a global framework for quality
Delivering quality on the ground
Equipping our people to do the best
Network level monitoring
Governance and leadership

In this section, we outline how, in addition to having the right policies and procedures for quality in place, we are innovating in the delivery of the audit itself and leveraging new technologies and platforms.

Investing in the technology and methodology our teams use to deliver quality

We have been investing significantly in evolving our audit capabilities and we will continue to do so in the coming years. This includes a new global technology-enabled audit workflow, and an enhanced audit methodology, delivered through the KPMG Clara platform — our smart, modular audit platform — capable of continually integrating new and emerging technologies, with advanced capabilities embedded that leverage data, automation and visualization. Data & Analytics (D&A) is integral to the way we obtain audit evidence and interact with clients in the digital era.

Our high-quality audit process will continue to include:

timely partner and manager involvement throughout the engagement
access to the right knowledge including involvement of specialists, training and experience requirements, and relevant industry expertise
critical assessment of all audit evidence obtained during the audit , exercising appropriate professional judgment
ongoing mentoring, supervision and review of the engagement team
managing and documenting the audit.

Bringing consistency through our methodology

Our audit methodology, tools and guidance are:

globally consistent and fully compliant with International Auditing Standards (ISAs) and are supplemented to comply with local auditing standards and regulatory or statutory requirements by member firms
centered on identifying risk, focusing on risks of material misstatements and the necessary audit response
made available to all KPMG audit professionals and required to be used, where necessary
applied even where local auditing standards are less demanding than the ISAs.

The audit methodology is set out in KPMG's Audit Manual (KAM) and includes additional requirements that go beyond the ISAs, which KPMG believes enhance the quality of the audit. The audit methodology emphasizes applying appropriate professional skepticism in the execution of audit procedures and requires compliance with relevant ethical requirements, including independence.

Enhancements to the audit methodology, guidance and tools are made regularly to be in continuing compliance with standards, emerging auditing areas of focus and audit quality results (internal and external). Key topics include accounting estimates, internal controls, revenue recognition, group audits, audit sampling and risk assessment.

KPMG member firms may add local requirements and/or guidance in KAM to comply with additional professional, legal or regulatory requirements.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, significant investments are currently underway to revise and enhance our audit methodology.

Utilizing effective audit tools

The current KPMG audit workflow is enabled through eAudIT, an activity-based workflow and electronic audit file. eAudIT is KPMG's audit documentation workflow that allows 75,000+ professionals to complete high quality and consistent audits. eAudIT integrates KPMG's audit methodology, guidance and industry knowledge, and the tools needed to execute and document the audit work performed.

eAudIT can be 'scaled' to present the relevant requirements and guidance, depending on the nature of the entity to be audited and in accordance with professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. It provides direct access to our audit guidance, professional standards and documentation templates.

In parallel with updating our audit methodology, we are currently redesigning our workflow so that it will be more intuitive with contextual guidance and data enabled.

The new 'KPMG Clara Workflow' that will also incorporate our updated audit methodology is being piloted in 2018 and planned for initial deployment globally in 2019, with full deployment beginning in 2020.

Embracing innovation and technology

As indicated above, we are making significant investments in our audit methodology and workflow, and have already created a smart platform, KPMG Clara. These developments are designed to keep KPMG at the cutting edge of what modern technology makes possible, driving better and deeper audit insights. The changes will drive improved audit quality, and consistency in execution of audits, and strengthen member firm and global monitoring of engagements.

Bringing it all together: KPMG Clara

In 2017, we commenced the global launch of KPMG Clara — our smart audit platform that brings together our audit Data & Analytics (D&A) capabilities, innovative new technologies, collaboration capabilities and audit workflow.

This represents our ambition to:

transform audit execution for our people and clients through new, modern technology-enabled interfaces and collaboration functionality
integrate the required capability to digitize the audit and deliver new D&A routines
enable an enhanced and redesigned workflow
incorporate the development of monitoring capabilities at the engagement level and across engagement portfolios for use by engagement teams and member firms
support global leadership's monitoring of the effectiveness of member firm systems of quality control
develop an extendable audit platform to enable member firm customization and scale, as well as future capabilities.

KPMG Clara also encompasses the tracking of selected engagement-level indicators by audit teams for an individual engagement and across an engagement portfolio. This provides a summary and visualization of these indicators to:

measure audit engagement progress and foster timely issue resolution
facilitate audit execution by providing key indicators for prioritizing tasks
highlight unexpected results/relationships that may require further investigation.

KPMG Clara will be enriched over time as emerging technologies continue to transform the audit, with areas like cognitive and predictive technology being channeled through KPMG Clara to deliver ever greater capabilities. Through alliances with some of the world's most advanced technology companies such as Microsoft, we are building the future of audit, aligning with technology leaders to bring new insights faster and, with growing capabilities, deliver even more value. KPMG's investment strategy also includes working with universities on important applied audit research and with member firms as they develop advanced technologies.

"In today's world, new and disruptive technologies are emerging at a rapid pace. Blockchain, the cloud, robotic process automation, machine learning, deep learning and natural language processing all have huge potential to change how our businesses operate. The array of new technologies being developed will be a significant driver in increasing audit quality. They will enable us to obtain the corroborating evidence we need for an audit opinion faster and more accurate than ever before." — Kristy Carscallen, Canadian Managing Partner, Audit, KPMG in Canada

Creating the new KPMG Clara Workflow

Building on the launch of KPMG Clara in 2017, we are creating a new workflow that will be used by our audit teams to execute and document KPMG audits. The new workflow will guide audit teams through a series of steps in a logical sequence, with a clear display of information and visuals, knowledge and guidance available at the moment of need, and with embedded advanced D&A capabilities. The workflow and methodology will also be scalable — adjusting the requirements to the size and complexity of the audit engagement. This globally driven project will significantly enhance the execution of an audit by KPMG professionals and drive improvements in audit quality.

KPMG Clara Workflow will incorporate the development of monitoring capabilities (e.g. data mining) at the engagement level for use by member firms. Once the KPMG Clara Workflow has been fully rolled out, the predecessor audit workflow tool, eAudIT, is expected to be decommissioned (in our 2021 fiscal year).

Strategically embedding the use of data through Data & Analytics (D&A)

An important element in today's audit is using the power of D&A to interrogate and analyze vast quantities of data. This takes the power and reach of an audit far beyond the traditional capabilities of the past.

KPMG's audit, powered by D&A is designed to:

enhances audit quality ; by providing a deeper understanding of data populations, giving focus to higher risk transactions
is secure ; by restricting access to data both in transit and within KPMG's IT environments
is transparent ; by facilitating detailed analysis to uncover the reasons behind, and root causes of, outliers and anomalies and provide increased visibility into higher risk transactions and process areas.

D&A capabilities and routines are built on principles and professional standards underlying an audit and do not relieve auditors of their responsibilities.

Current capabilities in this area facilitate the performance of planning and risk assessment activities and substantive procedures, and include capabilities that:

enable the analysis of account balances and journal entry data
automate 'period on period' balances comparison and `time series' evolution information
enable the analysis of sub-ledger, transactional data over certain business processes and accounts.

Together with our KPMG Clara platform, we are significantly investing in D&A capabilities and paving the way for the increasing use of emerging technologies such as robotic process automation and machine learning — which will take the power of technology applied in the audit to an even greater level.

Our relentless focus on quality

2018 Transparency Report

Larry Bradley

Global Head of Audit

KPMG International

Connect with us

Find office locations kpmg.findOfficeLocations
Email us kpmg.emailUs
Social media @ KPMG kpmg.socialMedia

Want the latest KPMG {tag_name} content?

The global body for professional accountants

Search jobs
Find an accountant
Technical activities
Help & support

Can't find your location/region listed? Please visit our global website instead

Middle East
Cayman Islands
Trinidad & Tobago
Virgin Islands (British)
United Kingdom
Czech Republic
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
State of Palestine
Syrian Arab Republic
South Africa
Africa (other)
Hong Kong SAR of China
New Zealand
Apply to become an ACCA student
Why choose to study ACCA?
ACCA accountancy qualifications
Getting started with ACCA
Careers in accountancy
ACCA Learning
Register your interest in ACCA
Learn why you should hire ACCA members
Why train with ACCA?
Recruit finance staff
Train and develop finance talent
Approved Employer programme
Employer support
Support for Approved Learning Partners
Becoming an ACCA Approved Learning Partner
Tutor support
Computer-Based Exam (CBE) centres
Content providers
Registered Learning Partner
Exemption accreditation
University partnerships
Find tuition
Virtual classroom support for learning partners
Find CPD resources
Your membership
Member networks
AB magazine
Sectors and industries
Regulation and standards
Advocacy and mentoring
Council, elections and AGM
Tuition and study options
Your study options
Study support resources
Practical experience
Ethics and professional skills
Student Accountant
Regulation and standards for students
Completing your PER
Finding a great supervisor
Choosing the right objectives for you
Regularly recording your PER
Completing your EPSM
Your future once qualified
Advance e-magazine
An introduction to professional insights
Meet the team
Global economics
Professional accountants - the future
Supporting the global profession
Download the insights app

Can't find your location listed? Please visit our global website instead

Internal audit
Learn about internal audit
Back to Learn about internal audit
A brief guide to internal auditing

A brief guide to assignment planning

A brief guide to assessing risks and controls
A brief guide to assignment quality
A brief guide to assignment reporting
A brief guide to follow up
A brief guide to relationship management
A brief guide to audit governance
A brief guide to standards and responsibility
A brief guide to strategic audit planning and resourcing
A brief guide to working with other providers
A brief guide to audit committees
Guidance for Heads of Internal Audit
Guidance for Audit Committee Chairs on working with the Head of Internal Audit
Introduction
Standard 1100 Independence and objectivity
Standard 2200 Engagement planning
Standard 2300 Performing the engagement
Standard 2400 Communicating results
Standard 2050 Coordination and reliance
Financial Reporting Council (FRC) International Standards on Auditing (UK)
Benefits of coordination
Facilitating coordination
Guidance on auditing planning for Internal Audit

It takes careful planning to ensure all the key controls are in place and operating effectively for an audit to provide reasonable assurance.

Key controls reviewed as part of an internal audit must be operating effectively to provide reasonable assurance over the management of risk. It takes careful planning to ensure a thorough enough understanding of the risk environment to identify those key controls that need to be in place.

Effective assignment planning considers everything from the assessment of risk, work required, resources available and deadlines, to effective team and stakeholder engagement.

The key output of the planning stage is a terms of reference document clearly stating the scope, audit objectives/risks, resources, timing and ideally any prior information needs which will assist in the smooth delivery of the audit.

The advance warning of information needs also assists in reducing the pressure upon management when handling the impact of an internal audit while continuing with their day-to-day job, and alleviates some of the concerns occasionally raised by management when notified of an audit.

Your assessment of risk may include a review of:

organisation / department / system objectives
policy and procedural documentation
risks, related risk appetite, exposure, acceptance and key controls as reported on risk registers / board assurance framework
key risk indicators and key performance indicators
organisation information from the intranet, material incidents reported, and self-assessment reports
reports from risk oversight functions, external auditors, and regulators, etc
previous audit reports, known weaknesses and progress on resulting actions
management concerns and those of the audit team with their knowledge of that risk / area / process / system / legislation and regulation
recent and planned changes such as key staff / systems / process / legislation and regulation / risk, etc

Your assessment of work required may include consideration of:

volumes and values of transactions / budgets to determine sample size
work locations and the number of business areas / senior managers involved
the time it will take to create or update existing audit process / risk documentation
whether reliance can be placed upon assurance provided and planned by other assurance providers
testing methodology to be used - for example, whether it will be highly manual or employ computer-assisted audit techniques (CAATs)
timing to achieve optimal assurance and internal reporting deadlines

Your assessment of resources may include:

availability, experience, skills, specialist technical knowledge required and base location
need for co-sourcing, availability, cost and budget available
selection of a suitable person to lead the audit

Effective stakeholder engagement may include:

an assessment of all likely stakeholders, including regulators
face-to-face meetings with key stakeholders to understand their roles, recent and planned changes, their key drivers, their views and key concerns and for you to explain how the audit will be undertaken, by whom, when and to ‘sell’ the value of the assurance that’s being provided
agreement over who in the business will ‘own’ the audit report
agreement over how they wish to be updated on the progress and findings

Your assessment of limitations may include:

limitation of any sampling methodology vs testing entire populations
any limitations which may be placed upon your ability to fulfil your role, for example the absence of right to audit clauses in third party provider contracts
exclusion of specific areas of scope, for example the technical IT security surrounding systems may be subject to another specialist IT audit
statement re the limitations of audit and the provision of reasonable assurance
statement re the approved budget for the assignment, especially if this is less than the internal audit team originally proposed to management and audit committee
extent to which the validity of supporting documentation may be verified back to source
statement re the responsibility for the operation of the system of internal control residing with management

The resulting terms of reference document should be circulated to key stakeholders, discussed and approach agreed with the auditee and ideally the senior management team member responsible for the area under review.

A clear terms of reference should provide guidance to the audit team in respect delivery, help ensure stakeholders have a common understanding of the assignment and assist manage any expectation gaps.

IIA IPPF Standard 2200 – engagement planning

IIA IPPF Standard 2300 – performing the engagement

Useful links

Make a payment
Our qualifications
ACCA Rulebook
Work for us
Supporting Ukraine

Using this site

Accessibility
Legal & copyright
Advertising

Send us a message

Planned system updates

View our maintenance windows

This browser is no longer supported.

Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.

Audit Process Creation

13 contributors

Audit Process Creation determines whether the operating system generates audit events when a process is created (starts).

These audit events can help you track user activity and understand how a computer is being used. Information includes the name of the program or the user that created the process.

Event volume : Medium to High, depending on the process activity on the computer.

This subcategory allows you to audit events generated when a process is created or starts. The name of the application and user that created the process is also audited.

Events List:

4688 (S): A new process has been created.

4696 (S): A primary token was assigned to process.

Submit and view feedback for

Additional resources

IMAGES

Audit Process
audit Process
PPT
Office of the Auditor General
PPT
Audit of Production Processes

VIDEO

The Audit Process
How to Conduct Internal Audit Step by Step Process
How practically audit execution done in big 4
Audit Process: Overview
How Big 4 do the Statutory audit
Lesson 6: The Audit Process

COMMENTS

Audit Process
Audit process usually starts from the appointment of auditors until the issuance of the audit report as shown in the audit process flowchart. As auditors, we usually need to follow many audit steps before we can issue the audit report.
Step-by-Step Internal Audit Checklist
The steps to preparing for an internal audit are 1) initial audit planning, 2) involve risk and process subject matter experts, 3) frameworks for internal audit processes, 4) initial document request list, 5) preparing for a planning meeting with business stakeholders, 6) preparing the audit program, and 7) audit program and planning review. 1.
The Internal Audit Process from A to Z: How It Works!
Although every audit project is unique, the audit process is similar for most engagements and normally consists of four stages: Planning (sometimes called Survey or Preliminary Review), Fieldwork, Audit Report, and Follow-up Review. Client involvement is critical at each stage of the audit process.
Audit Process: 5 Expert Steps for You to Get Your Audit Right
Audit process: Step 3, the execution phase. Fieldwork is executed by the internal audit staff. Fieldwork could include interviews with relevant employees from the auditee. Regular status meetings are performed. ... Role assignments, to ease task delegation within your team; By using Process Street's checklists, ...
Stages of Auditing Process
1. Auditing Planning Phase Just as in many other projects, planning is a vital process for the success in any organization. This is due to the fact that, auditing phase aligns all the documentations necessary for the development of a perfect strategy that will run through the entire auditing process.
Audit process definition
The audit process is the series of steps followed by an auditor in order to conduct an audit engagement with a client. The exact steps followed will depend on the nature of the audit engagement, but typically follow the general steps noted below. Step 1. Request General Information from the Client.
The Best Way to Formulate and Execute Audit Procedures
Complete appropriate planning for the audit assignment. This includes the following: Assess the risks of the specific area to be reviewed. Develop a written work program. Agree on scope, locations, sample sizes and period under review. Develop a report format that will be effective.
Guide: What is an audit process? Get the Key Concepts
2- Detective Audit Process: Used to detect if there are anomalies in the process, but without pointing out ways to correct them. 3- Corrective Audit Process: In this case, once the audit process detects a problem, it should investigate its causes to suggest ways to correct it. Check also: Governance, risk and compliance: All there is to know
The Best Way to Formulate and Execute Audit Procedures
A framework for initiating and executing internal audit projects should include the following actions: Confirm the audit assignment (e.g., timing, purpose, scope) with the area or process to be audited (in some cases, it may be appropriate to not announce the audit, but to perform the work on a surprise or unannounced basis).
Audit assignment execution process, assignment help uae reviews, ipv6
Crow dared to sit audit assignment execution process surprised: - I represent as you warm red audit assignment execution process locks and having slightly squeezed them. Hear years fifteen — Lyurvig called rescue of life the smells which have become already native. Two were enough that poor free letter and gifts - and to transfer your words ...
How to Do a Project Audit: A Quick Guide
The audit process is designed to determine the status of work performed on a project to ensure it complies with the statement of work, such as the scope, time and budget of the project, along with the maturity of the project management process. There are many ways to do a project management audit.
Audit Plan & Process
From this assessment, an Audit Plan is developed and presented to the Audit Committee for approval. The plan addresses high-risk areas as well as allocates time for special ad-hoc projects. In intervening years, the risk assessment is updated through data analysis and interviews with senior executives across the university. If necessary, the ...
Audit assignment Definition
Open Split View Cite Audit assignment means the auditor 's remuneration for the statutory audit. The work includes the audit of the annual financial statements and accounting records, management by the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer as well as fees for audit advice provided in connection with the audit assignment.
The 10 Steps in Planning an Audit
The 10 Steps in Planning an Audit The steps in planning an audit include ( Planning Procedures ): 1. Basic discussions with the client about the nature of the engagement and the client's business and industry are performed first, and the auditor meets the key employees, or new employees of a continuing client.
PDF Section 5 Audit Process: Audit Planning To Fieldwork
The audit planning process can be divided into the following three phases: 1) starting the project, 2) preliminary survey (planning the audit and conducting risk assessment), and 3) developing the audit program. These steps are followed by fieldwork and reporting. Details of each of the steps are noted below: Audit Start
PDF How to Conduct a Performance Audit
1 INTRODUCTION This "How to Conduct a Performance Audit Guide" is designed to help the TDOT's Government Accountability Professionals (GAP) understand the process for conducting performance audit engagements.
Innovating and evolving our audit process
The audit methodology emphasizes applying appropriate professional skepticism in the execution of audit procedures and requires compliance with relevant ethical requirements, including independence. Enhancements to the audit methodology, guidance and tools are made regularly to be in continuing compliance with standards, emerging auditing areas ...
Audit assignment
Audit assignment. 1.Auditing AssignmentAuditing Assignment Submitted To: Prof. Gurleen Kaur (School of management, IMS Unison University) Submitted By: Shweta Rawat (13BCH035) Komal Bhatt (13BCH002) Rashi Patel (13BCH009) Nitant Rastogi(13BCH052) 1 2.Auditing Auditing is a process of objectively gathering, evaluating, and documenting the evidence needed to provide assurance on the financial ...
How to Prepare for an Audit
1. Planning for the audit Planning is crucial, and additional time needs to be taken to adequately prepare for an audit. It may be a few months or a few weeks, depending on the complexity of financial records.
A brief guide to assignment reporting
Assignment reporting. Internal audit report to a range of stakeholders with their opinion on the effectiveness of the controls in place to manage risk, a balanced overview of key effective controls and the agreed upon actions to address any areas of improvement identified from the audit. The reporting format should balance the differing needs ...
A brief guide to assignment planning
face-to-face meetings with key stakeholders to understand their roles, recent and planned changes, their key drivers, their views and key concerns and for you to explain how the audit will be undertaken, by whom, when and to 'sell' the value of the assurance that's being provided agreement over who in the business will 'own' the audit report
Exploring the Four Stages of the Audit Process
Internal Audit is an independent function that provides an objective assurance and consultancy activity to improve and add value on an organization's operation. The auditors aim to help the Merami Berhad accomplish its objectives by evaluating the effectiveness of its risk management, control, and governance processes by bringing a discipline, systematic approach.
Audit Process Creation
These audit events can help you track user activity and understand how a computer is being used. Information includes the name of the program or the user that created the process. Event volume: Medium to High, depending on the process activity on the computer. This subcategory allows you to audit events generated when a process is created or ...

Audit Process

Audit Process Flowchart

Summary of Audit Process

Related posts:

Step-by-Step Internal Audit Checklist

What is an Internal Audit?

The Difference Between Internal and External Audits

The Benefits of an Effective Internal Audit

Internal Audit Checklist

1. Initial Audit Planning

2. Involve Risk and Process Subject Matter Experts

3. Frameworks for Internal Audit: The International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF)

4. Frameworks for Internal Audit Processes: COSO ICIF

5. Initial Document Request List

6. Preparing for a Planning Meeting With Business Stakeholders

7. Preparing the Audit Program

Summary and Purpose of the Audit Program

Process Objectives and Owners

Process Risks

Controls Mitigating Process Risks

Control Attributes

Testing Procedures and Methods for Controls to be Tested During the Audit

8. Audit Program and Planning Review

Complete the form to get your free copy of Planning an Audit From Scratch: A How-To Guide .

Related Articles

Ready to Get Started?

AuditNet ® Audit-library::The-internal-audit-process-from-a-to-z-how-it-works

Audit Process

Audit Process: 5 Expert Steps for You to Get Your Audit Right

Audit process: Internal vs external audits

Audit process: Why do auditors follow a set process?

A definition for the audit process

Audit process: What is an audit?

Audit process: What is a process?

ISO 9001 Internal Audit Checklist for Quality Management Systems

Audit process: Audit process done right

Audit process: What do auditors do?

Audit process: The professional auditing process

Audit process: Step 1, the selection phase

Audit process: Step 2, the planning phase

Audit process: Step 3, the execution phase

Audit process: Step 4, the reporting phase

Audit process: Step 5, the follow-up

Create an audit checklist to preserve your audit process

Audit process: Use the professional audit process and get your audits right

Get our posts & product updates earlier by simply subscribing

Jane Courtnell

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Take control of your workflows today

Auditing – 9 Phases of an Audit Cycle

Stages of Auditing Process: 9 Phases of an Audit Cycle

1. Auditing Planning Phase

2. Conducting a Preliminary Review

3. Assessing the risks of misstatement

4. The Benefits of Risk Assessment

5. Conducting the tests of control

6. Performing the general (substantive) procedures

7. Finalizing the audits

8. Reporting the Audit

9. Summation phase

Related Posts

KnowledgeLeader Blog

About KnowledgeLeader

Recent Posts

Audit Process: Definition, Objectives and Types

What is an audit process? Quick reference guide

Types of audit processes

1- Preventive Audit Process:

2- Detective Audit Process:

3- Corrective Audit Process:

Best audit process practices

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

The Best Way to Formulate and Execute Audit Procedures

How to Do a Project Audit: A Quick Guide

What Is a Project Audit?

What Should You Look for When Doing a Project Management Audit?

Video: How to Plan a Project Audit

The Project Management Audit Process

How to Report the Findings of Your Project Audit

Project Status Report