Tools for Audit Managers

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is intended to equip participants with the essential understanding, skills, and techniques to effectively, and confidently, complete their critical role as internal audit managers. This course is designed for the newly appointed audit manager — with 3+ years’ internal audit experience, who want to enhance their effectiveness as an audit manager and become an effective and trusted advisor within their organization.

Course Objectives

• Explain the purpose of internal audit and the audit model as they relate to the audit manager’s role.
• Describe the components of the internal control environment and assess risks within that environment.
• Differentiate the roles and responsibilities of the board of directors, audit committee, executive management, and management‑level committees.
• Outline the audit engagement responsibilities of an audit manager.
• Develop an audit plan by defining scope, budget, resources, schedule, project management tools, and by evaluating the risk assessment, risk matrix, and internal controls.
• Apply audit manager responsibilities during audit fieldwork, including monitoring, providing feedback, conducting root‑cause analysis, and forming conclusions at the business‑unit or organizational level.
• Prepare audit reports and summarize audit wrap‑up responsibilities required of an audit manager.
• Interpret the QAIP Framework and the formal quality assurance standards governing the internal audit function.
• Demonstrate key concepts essential for supervising and developing staff.
• Examine leadership skills required for effective audit management.
• Formulate strategies for managing organizational change.
• Implement approaches for managing stakeholder relationships and promoting the internal audit function from an audit manager’s perspective.
• Utilize innovative problem‑solving techniques to enhance audit effectiveness.

Course Topics

Overview of the Audit Model

• Purpose of internal audit.
• The International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) and the Global Internal Audit Standards.
• The audit model.

Overview of the Internal Control Environment

• Control terms.
• Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission’s (COSO) Framework.
• S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley) overview.
• Risk in the control environment.
• Enterprise risk management (ERM).

Audit Governance, Roles & Responsibilities

• Audit governance roles and responsibilities.
• Qualifications of audit team members (by level).
• Mission statement, vision statement, and audit charter.
• Audit manager responsibilities during the engagement.
• Independence and reporting relationships.

The Audit Cycle – Audit Planning

• Defining the audit plan.
• Applicable Standards.
• Setting the audit budget, resources, and schedule.
• Project management tools.
• Reviewing the risk assessment, risk matrix, and internal controls.

The Audit Cycle – Audit Fieldwork

• Workpapers and workpaper attributes.
• Applicable Standards.
• Standardized workpapers.
• Audit review steps.
• Effective monitoring and feedback.
• Root cause analysis.
• Strategy for presenting audit findings.

The Audit Cycle – Audit Reporting & Wrap Up

• Preparing and reviewing the audit report.
• The exit conference.
• Reviewing and closing out the audit engagement.
• Feedback from activity under review.
• Common audit survey questions.

Quality Assurance & Improvement Program

• The Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QAIP).
• Applicable Standards.
• The QAIP Framework.
• Implementing quality programs.
• Assessing quality.
• Demonstrating conformance to the standards.
• Reporting the results of the QAIP.
• Improving performance.
• Maturity assessments.

Supervising & Developing Staff

• The hierarchy of needs.
• Motivation and the outcome of human interactions.
• Influential leadership.
• Managing conflict and behavior.
• Effective monitoring and feedback related to the Standards.
• Performance reviews.
• Mentoring to provide guidance.

Leadership Skills

• Becoming a leader and a manager.
• Leadership skills for managers.
• Managing vs. leading.
• Characteristics of an effective leader.
• Challenges of a leadership role.
• What type of leader are you?
• Leadership identification tools.

Managing Change

• The Change Model.
• The effects of change.
• The TACTFUL Approach.
• Dealing with change.
• Communicating change to the area under review.
• Communicating results and criteria.
• Communicating change – Additional concepts.

Managing Relationships & Promoting Internal Auditing

• Internal auditing’s role in an organization.
• Typical internal audit functions.
• Internal audit and external auditors.
• Internal auditing and outsourcing, co-sourcing, and partnering.
• Promoting the internal audit function.
• Communicating with the audit committee.

Innovative Problem-Solving

• Defining innovative problem-solving.
• Innovative thinking.
• The innovation process.
• Steps in the innovation process.
• Creative problem-solving.