KnowledgeLeader's guides can be used as development tools for managing risk, conducting internal audits and leading an internal audit department. They provide innovative auditing techniques, processes and procedures, audit plans, training, and more. As always, these tools are provided in downloadable versions, so they can be customized for use in your organization.

We offer over 100 sample guides that offer a wide range of support. Some of KnowledgeLeader's most popular guides are listed below. For a full list of available items, visit our Guides content area.

INTERNAL AUDIT GUIDE SAMPLES

Process Documentation Narrative and Flow Chart Guide
Documenting the understanding of a process, related controls, and key roles and responsibilities can be achieved through process narratives and flow charts. Both of these documentation techniques assist internal audit teams and those responsible for the processes with establishing a common understanding of a process. Discover the essential elements of process documentation narratives and flow charts with our comprehensive guide, including a process flow example.

Audit Ratings Guide
Achieve control objectives and enhance your internal controls and operations effectively with our Audit Rating Guide. This tool contains two sample guides that can be used for identifying opportunities to further enhance and improve areas such as internal controls, operations and accounting.

SARBANES-OXLEY ACT GUIDE SAMPLES

Sarbanes-Oxley Roles and Responsibilities Guide
This sample guide can be used to understand the roles and responsibilities of team members involved in Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance assessment. Team members include the process/control owner, risk control specialist (RCS), project management office (PMO) and internal controls steering committee (ICSC). Process/Control owners have the primary responsibility of updating control descriptions for those controls in which they have been identified as the control owner.

Control Gap Remediation Methodology Training Guide
This guide provides SOX project teams with the steps they need to take to identify control gaps and implement a remediation action plan. It outlines the following steps: identify the control gap, identify compensation controls, develop a remediation action plan, implement the remediation action plan, update the control documentation and confirm the remediation implementation. 

COMPLIANCE GUIDE SAMPLES

Documenting Processes and Controls for Sarbanes-Oxley Guide
According to this guide, to write a process narrative and a process flow chart, it is helpful to conduct a walk-through. A walk-through is a process by which you take one example of a transaction and trace it all the way through the process. During the walk-through, ask questions to validate your understanding of the process so that you can document it as accurately as possible. The purpose of the walk-through is to validate the completeness and accuracy of process documentation. 

Enterprise Risk Management Guide: Identifying and Understanding Risks
Sourcing risk is the key to getting off the printed page of a risk assessment to impact how we manage and respond to risk. It begins with the customary risk assessment where well-defined scenarios are evaluated in terms of severity and likelihood, resulting in a risk or heat map where key risks are prioritized. Once a risk is considered critical, it is further analyzed of its sources and outcomes. In this tool, we’ve included a guide that provides leading practices related to improving an organization’s enterprise risk management plan.

SECTION 404: INTERNAL CONTROL REPORTING GUIDE SAMPLES

Internal Control Review Conclusion/Opinion Guide - Writing Example
This sample outlines writing examples for conclusions and opinions on an internal control review. The focus areas include: conclusion (opinion), quality of the system of internal control, compliance with established policies and procedures, accuracy of information, assessment of risk associated with present environment, and urgency of corrective action by management. There were three types of conclusions: adequate (unqualified), requires improvement (qualified) and inadequate (adverse). 

Internal Audit Competency Model and Assessment Guide
We’ve compiled a guide that suggests competency objectives for internal auditors at junior, intermediate and senior levels. The competency model in this guide sets expectations about the types and levels of skills that all internal auditors within a department are expected to possess. The skill sets within this competency model are examples and will not be standard or complete for all organizations.