May 13, 2008

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Delivering Your Need-to-Know IIA Info

2008 Membership Madness Campaign
Be a part of the 2008 Membership Madness excitement and you could win a complimentary on-site seminar worth US $4,300 for you and your chapter when you recruit the greatest percentage of new members between May 12 and July 11. New individual members experience the rewards of membership at an exceptional value. The sooner they sign up, the more money they save! Audit Groups joining will receive 20% off already discounted Audit Group fees when their organization's entire audit staff joins. Get details and download the application and tools that can help you win the big prize!

Attention All Auditors in the Financial Sectors
The IIA's 2008 Financial Services Conference's world-class selection of speakers and sessions will bring audit executives, directors, audit managers, and staff auditors up-to-speed on the industry's hottest topics. Join your colleagues, June 2 - 4, at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, GA, USA, for the 2008 event. Opening session speaker Sam E. Antar, former CFO of Crazy Eddie, is guaranteed to entertain you with his insight on a white-collar crime that has been described as a debacle which "involved just about every kind of accounting fraud then known to man." (Fortune magazine, December 24, 2007).

How Does Your Audit Department Staffing Stack up?
Inadequate staffing can be one of the greatest obstacles to meet heightened expectations and new requirements for the profession and is certainly one of the top challenges faced by many internal audit shops. The Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK), a global study conducted by The IIA Research Foundation (IIARF) looked at the topic of staffing. Its findings can help you understand the state of internal audit staffing around the world. To help IIA members and leaders interpret CBOK findings a "CBOK of the Month" project was implemented in 2008. Please read the May featured article on staffing to help you evaluate the CBOK data and develop a course of action regarding staffing for your internal audit activity.

The IIA's 2008 International Conference
The IIA's largest and most prestigious event will be held in historic San Francisco on July 6 - 9, 2008, with speakers and attendees from all parts of the world. The conference features an unprecedented 14 educational tracks as well as some of the most influential and forward-thinking minds in the profession. Learn more and register today.

Setting the Standard for Quality
To ensure improved quality in your audit function, a Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QA&IP) is necessary. A QA&IP is a required element of the Standards and includes an internal monitoring and assessment of overall effectiveness (Standard 1310), annual ongoing and periodic internal quality assessments (Standard 1311), and an external quality assessment (Standard 1312) to ensure the internal audit function is complying with the Standards and the Code of Ethics. In order for your audit function to use the statement "Conducted in accordance with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing," your internal audit function must have a QA&IP that conducts an external quality assessment every five years, and encompasses internal monitoring, and ongoing and periodic internal assessments. Learn more about this important requirement.