5 Tips For Internal Auditors

As reported by a recent article from Barclay Simpson, internal auditors make a few common mistakes. You can avoid these potential pitfalls as long as you remember the following five tips:

Always add value

Without a doubt, audit activities can involve a lot of micromanagement. Ensure that when you are engaging with your audit team, you don’t focus so much on micromanaging their work. You have fresh and innovative ideas, so add them. Build an efficient work system that you think is reliable, and adhere to it. 

Plan for every assignment and activity

Clearly defining how you will carry out each activity and the time needed on each will ensure your time is spent wisely. First, plan, so that you are not rushing to come up with a plan when it’s too late. Your objective is to support senior management by offering consultancy work that uncovers the problem.

Focus on the big picture

Ramp up the efficiency and productivity of your reporting and documentation process to the audit committee. Avoid rummaging for numbers. Instead, present the latest figures to your audit committee effortlessly. Develop dashboards and reports that update automatically, enabling you to concentrate on analysis.

Be wary of scope creep

In case of something unexpected, how will you react? Plan for a surprise before it happens, this way your team will be ready to handle and respond to the situation in an effective and efficient manner.

Eradicate the pressure of massive audit reports

Executives do not have the time to read a report with hundreds of pages. Therefore, use your time to develop a real-time, management-level dashboard that details crucial metrics and processes. Enhance visibility throughout your organization, and ensure that your reporting is easily manageable.