University of Michigan officials say that a 2014 internal audit of its investment office, which controls a $10 billion endowment, reached several faulty conclusions. The university disputed the audit, which found more than a dozen problems with oversight of the endowment, arguing that the audit department, University Audits, didn’t have Read More
Canadian banks must strengthen governance and control frameworks over sales practices in order to reduce a growing misconduct risk from putting profits ahead of consumer protection. That is the finding of a recent consumer agency review, which focused heavily on banking culture. While the directive only applies to Canadian banks, Read More
A California Supreme Court ruled Monday to limit businesses from classifying workers as independent contractors who aren’t eligible for certain benefits and employment protections. Labor supporters hailed the worker classification decision as a big victory for labor. The move to broaden the definition of employees could shake up the state’s Read More
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect on May 25, and it represents a significant new legal regime for protecting personal data that will impact organizations worldwide. GDPR establishes standards governing the collection, use, storage and destruction of personal data of EU residents. It replaces the 1995 Read More
A U.S. jury on Monday convicted the former chief financial officer of British software company Autonomy of wire fraud and other crimes related to claims by the government that he inflated the firm’s value before its planned sale to Hewlett Packard, a Justice Department spokesman said. Federal prosecutors brought criminal Read More
OK, so it might not quite have the gravitas of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) or Black History Month (February), but May—along with being associated with celebrating motherhood—is Internal Audit Awareness Month. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness and showcase the internal audit profession in a positive Read More
Japan-based electronics company Panasonic will pay more than $143 million to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and engaging in accounting fraud involving its global avionics business. It further charged the company of having insufficient internal controls, which has become Read More
New survey results from the Ponemon Institute are likely to send shivers down the spines of IT auditors, cybersecurity professionals, and risk managers. The alarming results say companies are losing the battle to protect digital assets and intellectual property from hackers and online thieves. Here’s the lowlights: A whopping 82 Read More
The curator of the collapsing VBS Mutual Bank, a troubled South African lender, asked PricewaterhouseCoopers to stop its work as internal auditor amid allegations of fraudulent reporting and accounting violations. The curator, auditing firm SizweNtsalubaGobodo, found evidence of fraudulent reporting and manipulation of financial information in its first report on Read More
Dun & Bradstreet Corp. has agreed to pay more than $9 million to resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges arising from improper payments made by two Chinese subsidiaries, according to a statement from the Securities and Exchange Commission issued this week. The business data company also announced that it had Read More
