Session 1:  Introduction to Audit 

• The nature of the audit assignment
• The internal audit cycle
• The role of the internal auditor
• The audit programme
• To standardise or to tailor?
• Using prior year’s audit files – a good idea or not?
• The need to address risk and efficiency
• The need to introduce a broad business based approach
• The steps needed to embrace a risk based approach
• The need to maintain independence 

Session 2:  Risk-Based Audit

• Definition – what is risk based audit?
• The transition from systems based to risk-based assurance
• The different approaches to audit
• Audit’s primary roles, objectives and concerns
• What is best practice?
• IIA standards

Case Studies:  Consideration of the key issues that are met in practice by the internal auditors and how these can be dealt with in practice 

Session 3:  Audit Planning

• Determining the Audit universe
• What are the risks in the bank?
• Developing the risk register
• Risk-based audit planning
• The factors you need to consider
• Determining the level of assurance required
• Getting management input
• Translating key risks from the business risk process into the basis of the audit programme
• Determining the audit universe
• Determining audit priorities and developing the audit plan
• Which risks are not easily auditable?
• The role of the audit committee in audit planning

 Case Study:  What are the key issues that need to be addressed

Case Study:  What are the key risks affecting the bank and how should these be prioritised?

Case Study:  What are the key issues that need to be addressed in an audit planning memorandum?

Session 4:  How to Undertake Audit Assignments? 

• What is the role of the audit programme?
• How should the auditor commence the review on site?
• How should they select issues to concentrate on?
• What are the key approaches available to the auditor?
• How should they use statistical sampling?
• How many items represents enough?
• How should internal controls be documented by the auditor?
• How should controls be assessed? 

Case Study:  Using statistical techniques consider the nature of the results from an audit test and how this should be reported to the audit committee 

Session 5:  Risk and Internal Audit

• Approaches to risk management and the role of internal audit
• Risk and your organisations culture – the audit of risk appetite
• Risk averse and risk embracing cultures and the impact on assurance
• Internal audit alignment with strategy
• The role of the audit committee
• Risk appetite as a driver of corporate behaviour 

Case Study: Consider personal risk appetites and their impact on the company

Case Study: Develop an audit programme for the audit of risk appetite  

Session 6:  Tools, Skills and Techniques for Internal Auditors 

• How to deal with the audit of “expert” areas
• Materiality, risk and audit strategy
• Designing substantive procedures
• Auditing computer accounting systems
• Using computer assisted audit techniques
• The relationship with the auditee
• The relationships within the team
• Auditing internal control

Case Study:  Develop audit materiality in individual areas, consider how they differ in practice and its impact on the audit approach

Case Study:  How to score and evaluate risks

Session 7: Fraud Prevention and Investigation 

• Policies, processes, procedures
• Physical security
• Surveillance
• Staff vetting
• Monitoring – transactions, email, mobile phones, land line telephones
• Whistle blowing
• Customer complaints
• Relationship managers 

Session 8:  Audit Report Writing

• How to communicate audit findings
• The role of Group Audit Notes
• The closing meeting – how to make this work?
• When to press and when to fold
• How to combine value for money and risk findings
• The role of the final report
• The nature of the language to be used
• Should names be included in an audit report?
• Prioritisation of audit findings
• The role of an executive summary
• The use of appendices
• Reporting to the audit committee – exception based escalation
• The structure of audit reports
• Creating an executive summary from an audit report
• Getting the level of detail right
• Length v detail
• Knowing your audience
• The audit unit ranking
• What works and what misses?
• Models for structuring audit reports
• Background – what is it for?
• Grouping findings together
• Dealing with more than one option in an audit report
• Writing to get agreement
• Techniques for forming arguments and building your case
• Developing a standardised audit report structure
• Knowing what to include and what to leave out
• Annexes and appendices
• Improving Audit findings
• When to negotiate and when to fold

Case Study:  Discuss how to improve your chances of success at the closing meeting

Case Study:  Consider examples of audit findings and their likely impact

  END

Participants will gain knowledge, know-how and real life experience from the expert/trainer who will ensure that delegates leaving the course will

• Understand new and emerging internal auditing techniques such as risk based internal audit
• Be able to plan an individual audit assignment to focus on the key issues
• Carry out an effective audit assignment planning through to completion of fieldwork
• Focus their audit work on monitoring controls and other monitoring activities of line management
• Appreciate how to combine risk and value for money auditing into a comprehensive structure
• How to report findings in a supportive manner

Highly interactive expert-led intensive presentation, Q&A, group real-time in-depth case studies, regulation and discussion supported by key principles and theory.

The virtual learning platform uses safe, industry preferred encrypted Cisco WebEx to optimize live face-to-face visual interaction, discrete chat, and for polling and quizzes.

(An invitation via email with access link is included for all participants.)