Ever since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act passed in 2002, compliance with the law, known as “SOX,” has been a bit of a thorn in the side of many companies. In earlier years, companies spent millions of dollars and hundreds of employee-hours each to ensure the sophisticated controls over financial reporting that Read More
GUEST BLOG My journey into the internal audit profession has had many twists and turns, but along the way I’ve learned a great deal and improved, not just as a professional, but also as a person. As an advocate for the internal audit profession, I’ve encouraged young people to pursue Read More
Ten things that internal audit can do when working with compliance to leverage the qualities of both functions There has been plenty written about the relationship between internal audit and compliance—from analyzing functional differences to advocating integration between the two. This continued discussion is mainly because the two functions have Read More
The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) has opened a public comment period and is conducting a survey on the widely used “Three Lines of Defense” model, as it considers revising the model to update thinking about how it is applied. The comment period will be open from June 20 to Read More
Big Four audit firm KPMG LLP will pay $50 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges in the KPMG cheating scandal. The SEC had alleged that the firm altered past audit work after receiving stolen information about inspections of the firm that would be conducted by the Public Company Read More
It’s likely that most internal auditors and risk managers can appreciate the expression: “The more things change, they more they stay the same.” That’s because they see it in action all the time. At most companies, for example, the internal audit and risk management capabilities have improved considerably over the Read More
An internal audit at Canadian health provider Sagkeeng Health Centre identified as much as $1.4 million in improper payments to employees and managers. The audit found unwarranted travel allowances, pay for questionable extra duties and for speeding tickets among the items covered by funding for the healthcare organization on Sagkeeng Read More
The Society of Insurance Broking (SIB), a U.K.-based professional association, has issued a new guide for internal auditors to reinforce the hallmarks of a well-structured internal audit function in the industry. While the practice guide is aimed at insurance brokerage firms, it highlights some best practices that are valid for Read More
Like companies in many industries, banks are having a difficult time finding and retaining qualified compliance staffers. In fact, recruiting good compliance professionals has gotten so hard that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) says that it has become a top risk for financial firms, especially regional Read More
The Center for Audit Quality has published a new report on top technology risks and highlights auditor considerations regarding those risks. The resource “Emerging Technologies, Risk, and the Auditor’s Focus,” is intended to help auditors, audit committees, and management get a better handle on the risks and challenges that come Read More
