sideLook Consulting, LLC

							sideLook Consulting, LLC
Internal Audit for Small Public and Private Companies
                   General
   An internal audit review is an independent
    review of the quality of your work-papers.
   It will help you accomplish your objectives
    by bringing a systematic, disciplined
    approach to evaluate and improve the
    effectiveness of controls and process.
          Due Professional Care
   The concept of due professional care is very
    important. It requires reasonable care,
    competence, an appropriate level of review skill
    and judgment to be used. This means, among
    other things, being alert to the consequences of
    inefficient policies and systems and lack of
    controls.
   We obtain the strongest evidence available to
    support the conclusions. Findings and control
    weaknesses are fully documented and recorded
    on our observation sheets that identify the five
    elements of a finding: Condition, Criteria, Effect,
    Cause and Conclusion/Recommendation.
                Conducting the Review
       Gathering review evidence is the purpose of fieldwork. Completed
        review procedures result in evidence that form the basis of all review
        observations and reflect the quality of review work.
       The review includes:
          Gaining an understanding of the activity, system, or process under review
           and your prescribed policies and procedures, supplementing and
           continuing to build upon the information already obtained in the planning
           stage.
          Examining ledgers and other operational records to ensure that the
           workpapers are complete.
          Analyzing data and information and observing conditions or operations.
          Interviewing members of your team.
          Reviewing systems of internal control and identifying weakness
          Determining if appropriate action has been taken with regard to significant
           quality review concerns and corrective actions reported in prior reviews.
           (N/A for Year 1)
                         Findings
   When there is a finding that results from review work, care
    should be taken to adequately develop the finding. This
    development should be well documented in the work
    papers and later in the final report. The five parts of a well-
    developed review finding are:
             Statement of Condition (What is!)
             Criteria (What should be!)
             Effect (What are the Risks?)
             Cause (Why did it happen?)
             Recommendation (What should be done?)
                     Work Papers
   Working papers provide support for our conclusion.
   The purpose of working papers is to:
            Facilitate effective conduct and management of review
             assignment
            Provide support for our report
            Provide background and control for corrective action tracking
            Facilitate third-party review
            Aid in professional development
            Provide a source of information for management.
              Report to Management
   Reports include information that is necessary for you to clearly
    understand the message being delivered. The report needs to be clear,
    concise and complete.
   Our reports include the following:
         Description and Scope – What area was under review and a short
          business description. Included is the period covered, what was
          reviewed (the scope) and any scope exclusions.
         Review Results – Each review will have three (3) categories that will be
          assessed. The assessment will follow the spirit of the definition
          provided by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
          Treadway Commission (COSO) specifically “ a process….designed to
          provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives
          in the following categories:
             Operations – The overall effectiveness of how work papers are prepared,
              stored, accessed, and secured by your Company.
             Compliance – The effectiveness of following your Policies and Procedures
             Reporting – The accuracy of work papers vs. reported balance sheet,
              income statement and cash flow reports, as well as inclusion of relevant
              footnotes.
            Contact Information
Gary Berrigan
gary@sideLookLLC.com


sideLook Consulting, LLC
Telephone: 212-904-0153