A Fresh Perspective to Performing an Audit

Auditors must do much more then “tick and turn” through a standard work method. Too often we ask clients questions and dutifully record their answers in our working papers without really asking ourselves, “Does that answer make sense?” We don’t tend to go out among the people and talk to them. After all, if a problem exists within an organization, who is most likely to know about it? The employees!

Look around, observe, confirm (or disprove) some of management’s assertions (after all, they tell you what you want to hear). Have you ever heard the phrase “manage by walking around?” Do you really know how to talk to people? When you “look,” does what you see make sense? Do you know how to listen and what to listen for? Most of the time, the auditor’s honest answer to these questions is either, “I’m not sure” or “No.”

This session illustrates the many things an auditor can accomplish by simply, “walk’n, talk’n, look’n, and listen’n, not to mention save a lot of time by gathering information during the process.

While not addressed by any SAS, this method should be implemented in every audit.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Formulate a fresh perspective of critical thinking and how to best communicate to obtain the necessary and critical information needed to perform an audit.
• Identify ways to communicate with people from a fresh perspective.
• Utilize alternative methods of observation.
• Analyze answers critically rather than habitually simply accepting them.