Seminar Overview
A One-Day Course on Optimizing the Effectiveness of Your Audit Reports
Audit Reports can significantly lose their effect if not written professionally. Writing an audit report is a fine art and, once perfected, can take on more importance than the audit itself. In this 8 hour course, attendees will learn, in depth, about each component of an audit report and how to set the correct tense and clarity to gain the most effectiveness.
Who Should Attend
Financial, Operational, and Information Technology Auditors who would like to maximize the effectiveness of their audit reports.
Objectives
- Overview of best practices in effective writing techniques, including effective word usage and what emotional words not to use
- Best practices in formatting of audit reports, including depth and length
- Learn how to write an executive summary that has impact and is read by executives
Agenda
I. Introduction and Background
a. Why write an audit report?
b. What about your audit reports?
II. Auditor Guidance
a. IIA IPPF
b. Yellow Book
c. Why Write an Audit Report?
d. Limitations of Audit Reports
III. Audit Report Structure
a. Executive Summary
b. Observations
c. Appendices
IV. Executive Summary
a. Audit Summary
b. Audit Objectives
c. Audit Scope
d. Background
e. Opinion
f. Overall Report Ratings
g. Standards Conformance Statement
V. Observation Components
a. Foundation
b. Condition
c. Cause
d. Effect
e. Recommendations
f. Action plans
VI. Other Sections of Audit Observations
VII. Report Optimization
a. Standard 2420
b. CCCCPV
c. Verb Tenses
d. Voice Tense
e. Emotional Words Not to Use
f. Spelling and Grammar
g. 10 Common Mistakes that are not Caught in Spell Check
VIII. Report Review and Writer’s Block
a. Three Levels of Review
b. Tone
c. Modifiers
d. Writer’s Block Factors
e. Technical Tools
IX. Summary and Wrap-Up