Audit plan creation can begin as early as six months before the business's audit year starts and can require considerable staff and management resources. Audit plans should consider all areas of the business and focus resources on those with the highest risk. Once you have assessed these risks, you can determine how often you perform audits and evaluate whether your staffing levels need adjustment.
Meet with business managers to discuss any plans to open new business or support units, or to close, consolidate or sell existing units. Follow up on any anomalies between the income statement and the organization chart.
Review the business's income statement to identify all sources of revenue. Make sure they are accounted for in the organization chart.
Decide how to split your audit universe (the areas you will audit). Once you establish an audit universe, you will audit each unit or department on a risk-based cycle, usually three years. You may choose to audit business units in their entirety, from manufacturing or sales to shipping and collections, including all supporting functions such as human resources, accounting, tax, strategy and information technology. Or, you can perform smaller audits of discreet business activities such as sales or collections, or support activities such as human resources.
Review the business's organization charts to identify all business areas and support units.
Discuss the draft audit plan with the business's managers and get their approval for it and related resources.
Determine how many hours of audit time your staff has available and compare it to the audit time required. If the numbers do not match, request additional staff or reduce the hours per audit or the number of audits you perform each year.
评论