7 Roads to Your Audit Subject Matter

7 Roads to Your Audit Subject Matter

There are 7 possible routes to guide you to your final destination of audit subject matter. Which path resonates the most with you?

1. Requests?

Do you respond to what your governing body or customer wants to know? You’ll probably need to work with them to make sure the questions they ask are something an audit can answer!

2. Process Steps?

Do you research a little first to figure out how the auditee gets things done? If so, then you can use each step of their process as a possible subject matter to run through your risk assessment.

3. Functions?

Maybe you slice up your assigned entity to audit by departments, divisions, functions or activities. An organization chart is your favorite tool, but don’t forget cross-cutting activities!

4. Compliance Items?

Do you scrub each clause of a contract or each compliance item on a grant? Not all of them deserve attention, of course. That is why you must run each clause through a risk assessment and choose only a few to audit.

5. Line Items?

Are you all about the money? Then financial line items in a budget or a set of financial statements are likely the road map for your audit. A risk assessment will filter out immaterial line items not worth your attention

6. Goals?

How does the audited entity express its goals? Through performance measures (like outcome, output, process and input metrics), through strategies or through value statements? If they don’t create formal plans, then you can use a SWOT to analyze their situation and come up with targets for your audit.

7. Natural Questions?

Or, do you tread the most dangerous road of all by just following your curiosity? Lots of detours and dangerous curves ahead! Make sure to pick just a few questions the customer will be grateful you answered…

An audible objective is key!

An auditable objective is comprised of a finite subject matter, a criteria and a performance aspect.

To get to an auditable audit objective from a vague one, auditors must break the subject matter into pieces. Then each piece must be run through the filter of a risk assessment.

Want to learn more?

Then you’re in the right place! I invite you to join me April 29-30 for Essential Audit Skills LIVE in Austin. In this two-day event, participants create key audit deliverables using a relatable case study. We address each major phase of a government audit and attendees learn how to comply with significant Yellow Book and IIA standards. And, unlike most of Yellowbook-CPE.com‘s courses, breakfast and lunch will be served, too!

Can’t make it to Austin? No problem! The popular Virtual Audit Bootcamp is offered on February 5-9 and April 15-19 for a total of 20 CPE hours. And there’s a bonus! Develop your interviewing skills and earn 7 extra hours of CPE at your own pace with a complimentary self-study course, Interviewing Skills for Auditors.

Space is limited in all these classes, so register today! I look forward to seeing you there.