Having been a member of the IIA since 1990, I always looked forward to the Internal Auditor magazine. However, it rarely included articles on computer-assisted audit tools and techniques (CAATTs). I wrote the first of several articles on data analytics “Computer-Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques: The Power of CAATT is turning up the ‘can-do’ potential of some audit shops”. It was published in February 1993 and, to my knowledge, was…
Analysis had proven to be successful in not only supporting the conduct phase of internal auditors but also during the planning phase. More and more we were being asked by audit teams to perform analytics to support the development of the audit scope and objectives. However, there were still team leaders that avoided the use of analytics. “Analytics won’t be of any use in this audit” was still a familiar…
The analytics team was now at three people – so I could build some overlap in our knowledge of the application systems that were we accessing on a regular basis. For example, this meant that I was no longer the only person who understood the financial system. Now we had at least two people for each of the 10-12 systems we were accessing on a regular basis. For all but…
By 1991 the idea of using data analytics to support internal audit was firmly in place in the organization. I was producing monthly reports which described how analytics was used by various audit teams to improve efficiency, to expand the scope, to arrive at better findings and to fully test controls (i.e. not using samples). The analytics team (still only two people) had developed CAATTs (Computer-Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques)…
Welcome to the 1990’s, the age of personal computers, distributed processing and the promise of great things from technology – sound familiar? About six months ago, my manager questioned me about the fact that I had provided reports to, and performed analysis for, other audit teams. He said, “You were hired as an IT auditor, not to support other audit teams.” At the same time, he recognized that the audits…
In 1989 I was assigned a second audit in the telecom area. The main objective was to assess our use of Leased Long Distance Lines (LLDLs). LLDLs were dedicated long distance lines that were primarily used for transfer of data. Rather than pay long distance charges, we had dedicated lines for this purpose. The LLDLs were cheaper than using regular lines, and had higher quality and faster speeds. I asked…
Year 1 – 1988 My first audit position was in an organization employed over 100 auditors divided into business lines: finance, HR, operations, and IT. I was hired as a Senior IT auditor even though I had no internal audit experience and only (what I felt was) limited IT experience. On top of that, I was getting very little (read “no”) support from my supervisor. To be fair, there were…
Analytics in audit attracts people from a variety of backgrounds and I am no different in that regard. I started my career as a games room supervisor at the Boys and Girls Club and worked my way up to a guidance counsellor position. I was mainly working with disadvantaged children (and some juvenile delinquents) ages 6 –17. While the work was rewarding, the pay was not. I was working about…
Before I begin, I must recognize the support from my wife (aka “Kitten” – which she does not like to be called). Not only did she allow me to take a year’s leave without pay so I could write my books and kick start my consulting business, but she was also my go-to person when I need help with the logic and programming behind a difficult analysis. Many the times…