Tools
The following tools were published on KnowledgeLeader this week:
IT General Controls Guide
Organizations can use the automation and standardization best practices in this guide to enhance their IT processes and improve compliance. As this guide explains, IT processes that are primarily relevant to risk assessment are those that directly impact the critical functionality within financially significant applications and data. Risks to the reliability of financially significant applications and data and providing a context for critical controls are based on the achievement or failure of IT process objectives.
Ethical Business Conduct Guidelines Audit Work Program
The purpose of this work program is to provide the general steps used to perform an audit of ethical business conduct guidelines. This document provides guidance on obtaining a list of all executives and directors, determining who is required to sign an ethical business conduct form, obtaining access to employees’ human resource files, and other steps needed to complete this audit.
Accounts Receivable and Credit Internal Audit Work Program: Segregation of Duties
Safeguard your organization from risks in accounts receivable and credit processing with the segregation of duties best practices in this tool. Sample project work steps include: verify segregation of duties with process owners; briefly discuss the segregation of duties of processes with processing personnel to ensure that activities reflect policies and procedures; and evaluate AR and credit application access for consistency with segregation of duties functions.
Relationship With External Auditors Policy
Understand the external auditors policy and the critical role of the audit committee in ensuring effective internal control processes. This policy applies to the board of directors, the audit committee and all company personnel. It is not intended to restrict the actions of the external auditors in any way. In this sample, all company personnel should provide any information, documents and supporting materials as requested by the external auditors.
Relocation Assistance Policy
Discover our sample policy and procedures for relocation assistance, covering benefits, moving services, and HR responsibilities. The purpose of this policy is to assist newly hired employees with relocation expenses. This policy states that a company should provide relocation assistance to eligible prospective employees who are recruited and move their place of residence in order to accept employment.
Publications
KnowledgeLeader has also published several publications this week.
U.S. Supreme Court Reshapes the Regulatory Landscape
The U.S. Supreme Court has recently issued three significant rulings that have reshaped the nation's regulatory landscape. These decisions, which came in just before the end of its summer session, are SEC v. Jarkesy, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors. Download the full article to learn more about Protiviti’s advice regarding these historic decisions.
Changes in the Debt Market and Impact on Deals
In Q2 2024, the global debt market experienced a notable shift, with bond yields reaching post-financial crisis highs. This environment presents opportunities for high-quality fixed income to generate substantial returns as inflation moderates and the Federal Reserve signals potential rate cuts. This article explains why investors should monitor central bank policies and look for opportunities in undervalued sectors of the bond market.
The Downfall of Emergent BioSolutions: From Vaccine Hope to Going Concern
Life science companies like Emergent BioSolutions are feeling the pressure. We have had historically low venture capital activity and minimal initial public offerings over the past two years, and many are running out of cash. In this article, Audit Analytics further examines Emergent BioSolutions, COVID-19 vaccine struggles, management shakeup and the fight for shareholder value.
Recommended Resources
This list of recommended resources from the web may be of interest to you. Click each link to learn more.
- Four Imperatives for the Future Finance Department
- Employ Business Agility to Increase Speed and Adaptability
- Financial Restatements Drop, a Good Sign for Reporting Quality