Tools

The following tools were published on KnowledgeLeader this week:

Personal Leave of Absence Policy

This comprehensive Personal Leave of Absence Policy is designed for organizational use to manage and structure personal leaves of absence (LOA) for employees. It details the procedures for requesting a leave, delineating approval authority, and explaining the conditions under which an employee can take a personal leave, such as compelling personal reasons with specific notice requirements. 

Significant Accounting Updates Policy

This document provides a robust framework that aids auditors in efficiently managing and integrating the latest developments in accounting standards into their organization's reporting processes. Specifically, it guides auditors on enhancing disclosure quality and compliance with SEC reporting requirements through systematic education on updates from FASB and the SEC.

Bank Treasury Cycle: Control Objectives and Audit Work Program

Assess the effectiveness of internal controls within your bank's treasury cycle with the comprehensive framework in this audit program. It is designed to guide auditors through an evaluation of management control structures (MCS) and business process controls at the transaction cycle level, focusing on financial reporting reliability. The tool outlines specific control objectives such as authorization, completeness and accuracy, substantiation of balances, and more. 

Credit Limits Audit Work Program

Our Credit Limits Audit Work Program is a comprehensive guide designed for auditors to systematically assess and ensure the adequacy of credit limits within a financial institution. Utilizing this program, an auditor can expect to achieve several key outcomes. Firstly, the program facilitates verification that credit limits are properly approved, ensuring adherence to internal policies and regulatory standards. 

Audit Committee Effectiveness Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Leverage this questionnaire to learn a systematic and structured method for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of your organization's audit committee. This document covers key areas such as committee cohesion, activities, information access, time management, interaction with company management, training, committee makeup and charter compliance. By utilizing this tool, auditors can gain insights into the audit committee's leadership dynamics and its ability to work as a team.  

Risk Assessment and Proposed Internal Audit Plan

This audit report sample serves as a comprehensive guide for auditors, offering detailed methodologies and tools to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of audit processes. It outlines specific procedures for assessing various aspects of a company's operations, including financial practices, compliance with regulations and internal control systems. By providing step-by-step instructions on how to conduct audits, the document helps auditors identify potential areas of risk and noncompliance. 

Publications 

KnowledgeLeader has also published several publications this week.

Executive Perspectives on Top Risks for 2024 and a Decade Later: From AI to Cyber — Deconstructing a Complex Technology Risk Landscape

The 12th Annual Global Internal Audit Perspectives on Top Technology Risks Survey reveals a nuanced view of the tech risk landscape facing organizations, highlighting cybersecurity as the top concern, amplified by fears over data breaches and ransomware. Read why auditors need to adopt new strategies and increase audit frequency to stay ahead in an evolving environment.

Protiviti-Oxford Survey: Global Leaders Place Bets on the Metaverse, North America Goes All in

Despite the “on again, off again” nature of the metaverse hype cycles over the last 18 months, there’s a healthy consensus among global business leaders that it will have a significant economic impact and contribute to their company’s overall business success over the next decade, according to findings of the Protiviti-Oxford survey, “Executive Outlook on the Metaverse, 2033 and Beyond.” In this article, we explore the results of the survey, which reveal global excitement about the metaverse, with North American executives most enthused. 

Auditor Changes Roundup: Q2 2024

Nevada-based accounting firm Bush & Associates was the leader for net SEC audit client gains in Q2 2024, adding 17 new clients during the quarter. The firm is reaping the benefits of the SEC’s permanent suspension of BF Borgers, as 14 of their new engagements were previous clients of BF Borgers. In fact, six of the seven top firms in terms of net client gains for Q2 gained most of their new clients from BF Borgers.  In this article, Audit Analytics takes a closer look at the details of the top firms, market cap gains and audit fee changes for the second quarter of 2024.

Recommended Resources 

This list of recommended resources from the web may be of interest to you. Click each link to learn more. 

1. New Research: Navigating a Technology Risk-Filled Horizon
2. More Organizations Are Turning to AI in the Finance Function
3. Canadian Investors Say There’s Still Life in ESG, Study Finds