The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has agreed to pay $5 million to settle charges that it provided misleading information to clients in its retail wrap fee programs regarding trade execution services and transaction costs. The penalty for charging hidden fees will be distributed to Read More
GUEST BLOG As the COVID-19 crisis unfurled, I was rapidly confronted by clients’ requests to rethink the scope and approach of our internal audit activities for the coming months—and beyond. Many questions had to be answered quickly: Which audits are still relevant? Which audits should we postpone? Which audits are Read More
One of the big concerns about the rapidly deteriorating economy as a result of the Coronavirus Crisis is the potential for fraud and abuse to rear its ugly head. Major downturns often bring to light frauds that either have been ongoing and are now exposed, or it prompts new frauds Read More
A new report explores the long-term impact of the Coronavirus Crisis on internal audit functions around the globe. The report, “COVID-19 and Internal Audit: Preparing for the New Normal in 2020 and Beyond,” released by the Internal Audit Foundation, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and AuditBoard, provides practical direction as Read More
Robotic process automation (RPA) is quickly gaining prominence among internal audit shops as a must-have technology to increase inefficiency and automate some labor-intensive processes. RPA is the use of software or other technology to create scripts or “bots” to handle high-volume, repeatable tasks that previously required people to perform. These Read More
The U.S. Treasury Department will audit every loan of more than $2 million provided under the Paycheck Protection Program for businesses hurt by the coronavirus fallout, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier this week. The announcement by Mnuchin comes after a public outcry over concerns some public companies and wealthy Read More
In the current environment, most businesses — except for essential business — are pretty much shuttered. Or at least their business is being conducted by a workforce that’s at home working remotely. It is very likely that for many audit engagements this year, the way that a business is processing Read More
The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) will begin providing online testing early next month for all three parts of its Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) exam and for its exam to earn a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA). The professional association said it will begin offering the tests online, “to Read More
One of the things we will all remember long after the Coronavirus Crisis is over—apart from the horrible loss of life, of course—is the extended period of everyone working from home. We’ll remember the kids and pets making appearances on Zoom calls, scoping out the items on everyone’s bookshelves in Read More
The Institute of Internal Auditors has released a new report to help auditors address the challenges of conducting audits while working from home. The report, “Remote Auditing for COVID-19 and Beyond,” examines the challenges of remote auditing and offers strategies for overcoming them in each part of the audit engagement Read More
