An internal audit conducted by Wilmar International, a global agribusiness conglomerate based in Singapore, uncovered a wide-scale fraud in the financial department at the company’s Ugandan palm oil subsidiary, Oil Palm Uganda Ltd (OPUL), according to a report in the Ugandan newspaper, the Observer. The internal audit found evidence of Read More
In the post–Sarbanes-Oxley world, internal auditors have increasingly assumed a larger role in corporate governance. For example, Deloitte notes that “if not for the internal audit profession, the business landscape would likely be littered with significantly more disclosures of material weaknesses and revelations of noncompliance with the [Sarbanes-Oxley] Act” (“Optimizing Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission awarded a total $50 million to two whistleblowers who assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement action. One whistleblower received an award of $37 million and the other received an award of $13 million. While the SEC did not disclose the identities of the Read More
Shares of telecom equipment maker Nokia dropped more than 8 percent last Friday after the company revealed that it is investigating potential compliance problems at its Alcatel-Lucent unit, which it acquired in 2016. The Finnish company disclosed the investigation into certain transactions of the unit in its annual report, which Read More
An internal audit of marketing practices at the U.S. unit of Korean electronics giant Samsung may have found some unsavory business practices. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Samsung abruptly laid off several marketing employees shortly after an internal audit report was released inside the company that Read More
GUEST BLOG One thing I know for certain … the times they are a-changin’ … and internal audit is no exception. I spent the last several months interviewing many chief audit executives (CAEs) from all over the world to gain a better understanding of the current state of internal audit. Read More
Writing for Inside Higher Ed, Ryan Craig, a managing director at University Ventures, an investment firm focused on the global higher education sector, provided an interesting take on the recent college admissions scandal that unfolded last week. His conclusion? University internal audit functions should be scouring the admissions process for Read More
Internal audits are great at identifying problematic or even fraudulent transactions, whether in audits of payables to third parties, travel and expense audits, or other assessments. But when an internal audit uncovers improper transactions, it’s often too late. The funds have already been spent and reversing that process is never Read More
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced a $335 million settlement with PricewaterhouseCoopers to resolve professional negligence claims arising out of audits PwC conducted of the failed Colonial Bank, located in Alabama. On December 28, 2017, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama held PwC Read More
The Institute of Internal Auditors has released a new guide to help internal auditors assess the risk management process, one of the fundamental audits that internal audit must conduct. The IIA says the latest practice guide will help chief audit executives navigate an evolving risk management environment and deliver on Read More
