It wouldn’t take an internal auditor long to spot the internal control problem with the former spending approval process at Wescom Solutions. An accounting manager, Nadia Minetto, was responsible for approving all spending on company cards at the Mississauga, Ontario-based software company, including her own. That means if she made Read More
Despite the constant drumbeat on the need for companies to improve and formalize risk management systems, most are still way behind, a new report finds. A study released this week by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and North Carolina State University’s Enterprise Risk Management Initiative finds that while companies Read More
The Center for Audit Quality reminded internal auditors that they have a role to play in the regular assessment of the job that the external auditor is doing. In an update to its External Auditor Assessment Tool, released today, the CAQ states that while the audit committee should lead the 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
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
After accusations of wage discrimination against Google for underpaying women for doing similar jobs that men were doing, the tech giant began conducting internal audits in 2012 to look for pay disparity between the genders and with other minority groups. But Google didn’t stop there. It also set up a Read More
GUEST BLOG POSTIt’s human nature to rush to judgment. We take the information we are presented with and fill in the gaps and unknowns with assumptions based on our experiences and intuition. This is how our brains are wired. Not only is it usually beneficial to make these kinds of Read More
