Audit Tips

5 Ways Root Cause Analysis Can Improve Performance Audits

Root cause analysis is an approach to understanding why something happened or how a situation developed. This analytical technique can be used to drive efficiency, eliminate waste, or improve business processes. It can also help auditors to add value to their audit reports and increase their impact.

In this Audit Tips edition, we highlight five ways in which Root cause analysis can improve performance audits.

8 Facts Auditors Should Know About Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an intriguing emerging technology. Rapidly adopted by the IT industry, it has found myriad applications in our economy and now appears to be ubiquitous. Its capacity to automate processes and extend the reach of the human mind is already causing profound changes in a number of fields, including auditing.

In this Audit Tips edition, we present key AI facts that will help auditors understand how AI is transforming their profession.

7 Tips for Conducting a Survey in a Performance Audit

An opinion survey can add a powerful element to a performance audit report. When carefully designed and correctly administered, a survey can provide valuable insight and information for a performance audit report.

This Audit Tips edition provides practical information on how to conduct a survey and the pitfalls to avoid.

6 Non-Technical Ways to Unlock the Value of Data Analytics

Auditors have been using data analytics in one way or another for over a decade, and yet most struggle to maximize the value this tool can offer.

This Audit Tips edition suggests six non-technical actions that auditors can take to improve the value they can obtain from using data analytics tools in their work.

9 Red Flags to Look for When Auditing Organizational Culture

In essence, audits of organizational culture are about determining whether an organization’s actual culture and behaviours conform to its professed, desired culture. This implies that the first requirement in a culture audit is to have a good understanding of the desired culture in the audited organization, including a clear picture of the expected behaviours that would embody this culture. From this point, auditors can proceed to identify areas where a gap between desired and actual behaviours could present significant risks to achieving an organization’s objectives. During this risk assessment process, auditors should pay particular attention to red flags that may indicate cultural issues worth examining further.