Innovation for Internal Auditors

Internal Audit
Innovation for Internal Auditors Overview
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[MUSIC] Welcome, it's an exciting time to be an auditor as new tools and technology become available to help further the profession. Hello, I'm Kathy Chambers, edutainer here at ACI Learning alongside Dr. Hernan Murdock. Welcome, Dr. Hernan. Nice to be here. It's great to have you here. To begin, can you tell us a little about yourself? Yes, this is very, very exciting. My experience in this field has gone over many years because I started in banking operations and I became a business analyst. And then I joined internal audit as an auditor in insurance, primarily in Latin America. Later, I joined a professional service organization. There, I was able to audit organizations and transportation, telecom, manufacturing, utilities, pharmaceuticals. And I did this work in the United States and abroad. I'm a certified internal auditor. I also have a certification risk management assurance. And in this course, we're going to talk about so many ways that we can innovate what we do. Yeah, so the title of this course is innovation for internal auditors. What are some things that our viewers will be learning? We're going to go beyond just the definition of innovation. So we'll talk about what it is, what it means and how it applies to what we do within the department and in the work that we can do with our clients. So that's going to involve everything from looking at the planning, looking at the field work, looking at the reporting. We also look at risk assessments. We'll take a look at some of the tools that I think are very, very helpful in being able to apply innovation. So part of it is the process itself and how we try to make it better. But part of it is also tools. There are so many we're going to cover, SIPOC maps, affinity diagrams. We're going to look at key performance indicators, key risk indicators. We're going to take a look at robotic process automation. We'll spend some time also talking about different ways we can increase our ability to be more collaborative in the way that we do our work. So how we're able to find ways to not only think innovatively but also to bring in our clients in this exercise. So who should take this course in your opinion, Dr. Hernan? I think all kinds of auditors, all types. So by that I mean financial auditors, compliance auditors, just a whole different types of internal auditors. Operational, the ones who are specializing in different fields within their different industries as we think in terms of IT auditors, regulators, I think everyone can benefit from the topics we're going to cover here. So yeah, the topics are really exciting. May I ask why you're excited about this particular course? I'm excited because the profession is changing as a result of the changes in our world. So there are so many things that are going on at the moment in terms of how we use technology, how organizations use technology, how different tools have now been seen as being effective in our work as we think and talk about the different skills that make successful auditors. All of these things are coming together now. There are lots of opportunities for us as we rebrand ourselves and we rebrand the profession. So I am excited because there's so many things that we can do differently. My big thing is faster, cheaper, better. And throughout this whole course, we're going to spend time learning how to do just that. All right, thank you so much, Dr. Hernan. Sounds like a lot of exciting episodes are coming your way to our viewers. Please stick around. We hope you enjoy this course on innovation for internal auditors. [MUSIC]

Overview

The amount, speed, and impact of change have accelerated significantly, and all indicators point to more change in the future. Organizations are expected to innovate and become creative in pursuing business objectives, managing risks, and implementing appropriate controls that increase the likelihood of short-term and longer-term success. Internal Auditors must understand the dynamics driving these changes, how innovation is being used in modern organizations, and how it affects the efforts to provide reasonable assurance to the Board of Directors, management, and other stakeholders. Internal audit must understand change and innovation and embrace, adopt, thrive with it, and promote it.

This course shows participants where and how innovation can work in their organization’s favor, protecting and enhancing value while risks are appropriately managed. Internal audit must understand change and innovation and embrace, adopt, and promote it. Part one of this two-part series of courses will explore where and how innovation can work in the planning and execution of audit assignments to enhance and protect value while risks are managed.

Why you should take this course.

For users with an introductory knowledge of this topic, and are searching for additional information and its application.

Here are the learning objectives we'll cover.

  • Explore ways to use innovation in the planning, fieldwork, and reporting phases of internal audits.
  • Learn how to improve the internal audit methodology.
  • Discover ways to be more responsive to client needs.
  • Adapt effectively to an ever-changing risk and controls environment.
  • Understand management’s actions and how innovation impacts an organization’s programs, processes, products, and services.
  • Build stronger relationships with the Board and Management by demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and forward-thinking.

Here are the topics we'll cover.

  1. Introduction

    • Definition of Innovation and Internal Audit
    • Managing Expectations and Emerging Trends
    • Modern Internal Auditing
    • Twenty Key Questions
    • Impact of Data Analytics
    • Types of Projects

  2. The Role of Innovation in Internal Audit

    • Trends in Internal Audit
    • The Progression Toward Continuous Auditing
    • Key Developments Over Time
    • Attributes of World-Class Audit Departments
    • Seven Actions to Remain Relevant

  3. Improving Agility

    • Limitations of the Traditional Audit Process
    • Essentials of Agile Auditing
    • Agile Auditing: The Process
    • Eight Areas of Waste

  4. Embracing Innovation

    • The Internal Audit Hierarchy
    • The Critical Thinking Process
    • Pragmatism: Critical Questions for Solving Problems
    • SIPIC Maps and Control Charts
    • RPA/AI/ML and Sampling

  5. Risk Assessments

    • The Risks and Controls Matrix
    • Good and Bad Risk: Identifying New and Unusual Risks

  6. Innovation and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC)

    • Understanding and Improving GRC
    • GRC Matrices
    • Auditing Corporate Culture, Ethics, and Whistleblowing Programs

  7. Audit Plan Development

    • Building and Completing the Audit Plan
    • Audits Compatible with Data Analytics
    • COSO-Based Auditing

  8. Planning

    • Criteria for Audit Programs
    • Essential Steps for Effective Planning

  9. Fieldwork

    • Communicating Issues
    • Narratives: Writing Them Better
    • Internal Control Questionnaires: Making Them Better
    • Flowcharts: Drawing Them Better
    • Five Whys and Is/Is-Not Matrix
    • Documenting and Selling Audit Findings
    • Cause and Effect Diagram
    • Prioritization Matrix
    • Process Analysis Using the Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

  10. Reporting

    • Effective Communications and Promoting Change
    • Affinity Diagram and Force Field Analysis
    • Issuing More Timely Reports

  11. Follow-Up

    • RACI Diagrams
    • Using Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Learning Style

On Demand

Level

Intermediate

Includes

Assessment

Who this course is for

Internal Auditors, Compliance Professionals, and leaders in Internal Audit departments who want to develop new audit approaches, expand current skills, re-energize the focus of audit activities, and learn innovative tips, tools, and techniques.

NASBA Certified CPE

24 credits

Field of Study

Auditing

Length of course

24h

Prerequisites

Fundamentals of Internal Auditing
or equivalent experience

Advanced Preparation

None
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ACI Learning is registered with NASBA

ACI Learning is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: https://www.nasbaregistry.org/