Roles of audit committee
An Audit Committee does not focus solely on internal audit activities or on financial issues. Recent trends are for it to take on broader roles and responsibilities. The establishment of an Audit Committee affords the opportunity to set aside time to focus on governance, risk and control issues.
The key responsibilities of an Audit Committee include:
overseeing the risk management framework and processes;
reviewing compliance related matters and internal controls;
overseeing the relationship, appointment and work of the external and internal auditors; and
reviewing the annual financial statements and recommending them for governing body approval.
As it relates to oversight of the internal audit
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| Internal audit may not be privy to allsources of information throughout thecompany if seen as “outside” themanagement structure.The chairman of the audit committee maynot have allocated sufficient time, or haveadequate resources/capacity to deal withthe oversight of the internal auditfunction.It would be necessary to set up aspecific charter outlining the roles andresponsibilities of the board in relationto internal audit, as separate frommanagement. For example, who wouldlook after the HR administration, includingpersonnel evaluations, compensation andcareer planning for the head of internalaudit?The audit committee would be assumingmore responsibility and therefore,perhaps, more liability in relation to theadequacy of the internal control and risksystems of the organisation.Potentially restricts the ability of the CEOto use internal audit as a tool to reinforcecontrol principles, or in special projects. |
prior to using IA work, what are the necessary steps that should be undertaken by external auditor when deciding whether to use or not to use the IA as
To conduct the audit, the firm must acquire sufficient understanding of the internal control processes to help determine the nature and timing of the audit. However, the audit is not designed to identify deficiencies in internal control or provide assurance. The firm will make the audit committee aware of any significant deficiencies that come to Anderson, Olds, and Watershed’s attention during the audit.
Even though The Schwan Food Company is a private company, since the company’s goal was to double its size in five years, establishing an internal audit function could provide assurance and consulting services to help the company achieve its objectives and expand globally. The four factors that may have caused The Schwan Food Company to change its internal control practices and corporate governance structure are,
The audit committee’s role in financial reporting is to ensure that accurate and transparent disclosure is being presented to the public, investors, and shareholders. The role of top management in financial reporting is to make sure that the financial statements and disclosures are in accordance to GAAP, and that everything disclosed is truthful, while not hurting the business. The
The audit committee’s responsibility was to look over the accounting and financial reporting process as well as the financial statement audits; appoint, compensate and oversee the external auditor; and to ensure that the company has a whistleblower program. (p. 52) At first glance the committee could notice that something was not right with the company’s financial records. But nothing was done and nothing was said.
The audit committee is responsible for the following. It is responsible for reviewing the financial statements, for reviewing the company's compliance and control systems, for monitoring the effectiveness of the internal audit function, assessing the independence and objectivity of the external auditors, and ensuring the employees have the opportunity to raise concerns about matters of financial reporting. The audit committee supports the Board. Ultimately, because the audit committee is comprised of members of the Board, they are elected by the shareholders. Should the shareholders decide, they can replace these members at the annual meetings.
After much research and time spent on understanding the inner working of Alchemy Inc., we have found some internal control weaknesses that could lead to potential fraud. Our audit procedures are designed to address internal control weaknesses and subsequent fraud risks in the most efficient and cost effective manner. We hope with our recommendation that Alchemy inc. will be able to minimize the risk of financial misstatement. We believe these concepts will have many positive impacts on the firm’s long-term
Disney’s audit committee charter pertains to the committee's authority, purpose, structure, and its responsibilities to the company itself. The audit committee assists the board of directors in overseeing the reliability of the financial statements; compliance with company regulations and the law; external auditors’ qualifications and their ability to be independent; as well as their performance within the company, including that of the internal
Before commencing an audit, the new auditor would determine the extent and scope of activities involved in the planning process. This would depend on the complexity and size of the organization (CVS), how much experience the auditor has with the company, and any new events that may occur causing changes to the audit. During audit planning and strategy making, the new auditor should assess if the issues below are crucial to internal control and financial reports of the company being audited. If they are, the auditor should indicate their effect on the audit
The company should hire it’s own internal auditor’s to ensure that the staff understand the company’s accounting procedures. This also helps the external auditor as it give the external auditor another viewpoint when assessing fraud risks. The internal auditors are apart of those charged with governance and that helps take the pressure off of the external auditor if a fraud should be discovered.
Auditors have the responsibilities as well as management to report internal controls. The auditors must examine closely management’s claim of effectiveness and also physically test the controls. After the examination, the auditors should express their opinion and any recommendations to fix any internal control weaknesses.
Internal auditors cannot effectively provide an analysis on the company’s internal dealings as they are part of the company. External auditors, however, can observe these processes from the outside and then determine where the funds of the company and whether the dealings adhere to the regulations. Using external auditors in a company prevents conflict of interest from happening. Conflict of interest is a situation where an individual or organization has multiple interests and of those multiple interests, one could possible corrupt the motivation for an act on the other when the auditor has any kind of beneficial interest in their client’s performance. In other circumstances, there is also the threat of familiarity where auditors become
Internal auditors deals with problems that are fundamentally important to the continuous existence and prosperity of any organization. Contrasting external auditors, they look beyond financial risks and statements and also considers wider issues such as the organization’s growth, reputation, its impact on the environment and also the way it manages its employees.
The role of internal audit is to provide independent declaration that an organization’s threatadministration, governance and internal control processes are functioning effectively. Internal auditors deal with concerns that are essentially important to the existence and success of any organization. Unlike external auditors, they aspect beyond financial possibilities and statements to reflect wider problems such as the organization’s reputation, development, its power on the location and the approach it treats its organizations.In summary, internal accountantssupport organizations to thrive.
The internal audit’s work is necessary to the entity. The internal audit can accumulate evidences from different documents, statements and reports. Their reprehensibility is to provided reasonable assurance in entity’s daily operation. In this case, there are some materials has been founded in MCS. From my opinion, the internal audit could pay more attention on the manager’s internal control evaluation. The additional work can be started by evaluating all financial records to ensure the accuracy of the financial statements, and reviewing administrative control with the university policy and regulations to
Recommendation: The internal auditors need to report directly to the Audit Committee, and not the CEO. By doing so, the internal auditors will be able to work independently outside of management control. This will allow for the internal auditors to exercise due care about issues raised that can be conflicting with the CEO’s agenda. Internal auditors must have direct access to the audit committee so that they are able to report on significant deficiencies that arise and to be able to address these deficiencies with management. Furthermore, the overall control environment can be improved and risk assessment can decrease if there is that open communication between the auditors and management.