Are you using substantive analytical procedures in your audits? Many auditors rely solely on tests of details when a better option is available. Substantive analytics, in some cases, provide better evidential matter. And they are often more efficient than tests of details.
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Hire Quality Auditors & Optimize Their Value
Hire Quality Auditors and Optimize Their Value Think of your audit department as a garden. To yield a robust harvest, you need to plant the right seeds (hire the right people) and nurture them. But how well is your garden growing? Answer these questions to find out: Does Audit Management Look Over the Long-Term Horizon […]
Management and auditor responsibilities for internal control
Management is ultimately responsible for establishing and implementing internal controls. Both the COSO literature and the GAO’s Green Book make that very clear. But because auditors use internal control concepts extensively in their work, the line can get blurred regarding management and auditor responsibilities for internal control. You see, the COSO model and the Green […]
How auditor independence can slip away
Auditor independence is as precious and essential to the credibility of an auditor as it is elusive. Independence can easily slip away without you even noticing it. And then one day, when you need to lean on it – when you really need it – it isn’t there. Only then do you realize you have […]
7 Ways to Spot a Subrecipient Relationship
Today we’re looking at four common grant mistakes regarding the un-allowability of public relations costs you may experience when managing your Federal grant.
163 Times! Audit Objectives Star in Chapter 8 of the Yellow Book
Audit objectives impact every decision on a performance audit. The GAO uses the term objective 163 times in Chapter 8 of the Yellow Book. Chapter 8 explains how to conduct a performance audit and is so rich with wisdom that I refer to it in almost every course I teach. I recently heard a preacher […]
Technical Update to the 2018 Yellow Book Reduces Complexity
I have some great news to share! On April 14, 2021, the GAO issued a technical update to the 2018 Yellow Book. The update is like a beautiful spring bouquet for performance auditors because it eliminates two requirements that were overcomplicating a performance auditor’s work regarding internal control. What were the complications? The 2018 version […]
GAO Yellow Book Technical Update
On April 14, the GAO issued a technical update to the 2018 Yellow Book. I will be writing more about this in future newsletters, but wanted to alert you to these changes as soon as possible. Most of the changes impact performance auditors. The GAO has thankfully reversed their requirement that all 17 principles of […]
COSO and the GAO Green Book are the same thing
GAO Green Book, GAO Yellow Book … will the Government Accountability Office (GAO) never cease creating books with colored covers? Next thing you know, the GAO will come out with a Purple Book! The GAO Green Book’s formal title is Standards for Internal Controls in the Federal Government. The GAO Yellow Book is also known as Generally Accepted […]
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