Lean Auditing: Driving Added Value and Efficiency in Internal Audit

14 Assignment Delivery – Managing What Really Goes On

Planning for value adding assignments is important, but unless each assignment is executed to deliver that value in an efficient and timely way, the assignment will not deliver its full potential. As discussed in the last chapter, a good starting point is to regard each assignment as a mini-project, with a clear sense of its value and with key milestones along the way, and then to track progress. However, the reality (Gemba) of assignment execution is often filled with difficulties and complexities that may cause delays or impact the value delivered.

COMMON PRACTICES AND IIA STANDARDS OF NOTE

There can be a range of approaches to delivering audit assignments, depending on their purpose (e.g. whether it is a design effectiveness review or detailed audit), complexity (e.g. multi-location or multi-department) and other factors (such as the use of co-source or specialist skills or the requirement to meet specific deadlines).

Common audit practice is to work through the assignment plan that has been prepared to deliver the assignment scope and objectives. Depending on the precise nature of the assignment plan, auditors may carry out any or all of the following tasks: obtaining and analysing relevant data, reviewing documentation and information, walking through processes and activities, carrying out interviews and carrying out more detailed testing as required. This work should help the auditor form a view about the different ...