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
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 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
Editor’s Note: This is part five of a six-part series on the Internal Audit Value Chain, which can act as a blueprint for building a successful internal audit function. Click here for the other articles in the series. One of the biggest myths about internal auditors is that they are Read More
Global package foods company Kraft Heinz announced in a statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission this week that it would restate nearly three years of financial statements after an internal inquiry, led in part by internal audit, found misconduct in the company’s procurement department. The company will restate earnings Read More
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
A recently released audit of Connecticut state operations during the 2017-18 fiscal year by the state Office of the Auditors of Public Accounts found several issues with the state’s administration of federal financial assistance programs, particularly Medicaid. Among the auditors’ findings were several issues with the state Department of Social 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
Health care providers have some new guidance on adopting a solid internal control framework. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO), along with advisory firm Crowe LLP and Common Spirit Health have published an updated version of its COSO Integrated Framework specifically for the health care provider industry. COSO says the Read More
