Internal Controls & Root Cause Analysis – September 2025

Description

$825 (per person) includes an online webinar for 16 hours of CPE credit

Gain comprehensive skills to strengthen internal controls and identify root causes of issues within governmental entities.

This training spans four engaging half-days, featuring interactive sessions, case studies, and hands-on activities designed to enhance your audit effectiveness.

Major Topics:

The following topics will be discussed in this dynamic, hands-on, multi-day live webinar:

Internal Control Overview

• Analyze the Green Book’s and the COSO Internal Control Framework’s five components and their applicability to public sector audits
• Identify weaknesses in the design and operation of internal controls
• Develop actionable recommendations to address identified control gaps

Effective Risk Assessments

• Assess inherent and control risks at the entity and process levels, including fraud and compliance risks
• Integrate risk assessments into the audit planning process
• Apply qualitative and quantitative methods to prioritize audit areas

Real-World Case Studies

• Analyze case studies like Boeing, Enron, and All the Queen’s Horses to identify governance failures
• Apply lessons learned to detect early signs of fraud or mismanagement

Root Cause Analysis

• Use tools like the fishbone diagram and the five whys to determine underlying issues
• Differentiate between symptoms and causes of control failures
• Recommend sustainable corrective actions to prevent recurrence

Learning Objectives:

• Determine how to evaluate internal control systems within governmental entities
• Describe how to conduct effective risk assessments tailored to governmental audits
• Review real-world case studies to leverage and enhance audit skills
• Identify when to apply root cause analysis (RCA) to audit findings

Program Level: Basic
Field of Study: Auditing (Governmental)
Who Should Attend: Government auditors at every level of experience
Prerequisites: None
Advanced Preparation Required: None
Instructional Method: Webinar (Group Internet Based)
CPE Credit Hours: 16

Date: September 8-11, 2025 (Monday – Thursday)
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Central

Webinar Leader:

Elizabeth McDowell, CPA CIA

Elizabeth McDowell, CPA, CIA has nearly 20 years of audit experience and is the founder of Audit Forward, an innovative internal audit consulting and training firm. Elizabeth is passionate about advancing and advocating for the internal audit profession and was recently recognized as one of the 2023 Internal Audit Beacons by Richard Chambers. Elizabeth makes auditing and training fun (no, really!) with the help of her mascot, Audie the Internal Otteror. In addition to training and consulting, Elizabeth is an adjunct Professor of Accounting at Front Range Community College.

Elizabeth’s most recent industry experience was at Achieve, where she was Sr. Director, Audit Strategy; prior to that, she held internal audit leadership roles at Elevations Credit Union, Fidelity Investments, and Xcel Energy after first starting her career at Ernst & Young.

Questions? You can find our FAQ here.

To see a breakdown of how many polls and minutes of attendance are required for this webinar, see this page.