So how do you tell the difference? Performance audit vs. financial audit? You might expect that it would be as simple as saying that a financial audit deals with money and a performance audit does not. But oh no! The audit standards are never that straightforward. As a matter of fact, the most comprehensive audit […]
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Has a compliance audit ever made you cray cray?
A compliance audit can be one of the most straightforward audits out there OR it can drive an auditor absolutely nuts. Since an audit is defined as the evaluation of a subject matter against a criteria, an auditor’s level of sanity hinges on how clear the criteria is. The GAO gives us a long list […]
4 Layers of Federal Grant Compliance
An audit is defined as the evaluation of an audit subject against given criteria. And the federal government gives and gives and gives when it comes to auditing federal grants. 🙂 An audit of federal grants is often a “Single Audit”. If an entity expends more than $750,000 in federal grant funds in a year, […]
Sharpen your professional skepticism with these 22 movies
Professional skepticism is a hallmark of a good auditor. We trust no one. We are trained to ask questions and resist the standard explanations. And more than a few of us are world-weary. Auditors know the benefits of internal controls, but we also know that determined fraudsters can eventually find their way around even the […]
Are auditing and monitoring different?
Yes, and no. Auditing and monitoring are very similar in their approach to gathering evidence and reporting, so sometimes it is hard to distinguish between the two. So close in fact, that many professionals are confused about which is which. Add that to wacky stakeholder expectations, and you end up with quite a jumble. Auditors […]
The Fraud Triangle and My Uncle Jimmy
The fraud triangle shows up at every accounting and auditing conference I have ever been to. It is now imbedded in the Green Book, the Yellow Book, and the COSO model. And honestly, I was getting a little tired of it until I applied it to my own life and my own clients. Now I […]
The Little Things Make a Huge Difference in Audit Documentation
Source, purpose, procedures, results, conclusions. When I first started auditing, these so called “elements of audit documentation” were drilled into my brain by an anal-retentive audit supervisor so effectively that I could say them in my sleep. That very strict audit supervisor made me put that stuff on every document! Sometimes I was more than […]
Consulting Engagements vs. Audit Engagements
Consulting engagements are much more fun than audit engagements: less restrictions, less documentation, and often more interesting work. And to top it off, on a consulting engagement you get to be helpful instead of critical. Nice! But if your main gig is auditing, consulting can be problematic. One problem arises when applying GAO auditing standards. […]
How to Edit Performance Audit Reports for Readability
Performance audit reports are not exactly fun to read. Face it, no one cares as much about what you wrote as you do. And that is why you have to make it so easy for a reader to get to your message so that they can hardly resist reading more.
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