Internal Audit as your Business Partner

Most of us, if not all, think that Internal Audit and just plain ole audit per se is on continuous police mode -- something or someone put there by Management to act as live cctv's to catch people doing things redhandedly. But as an Internal Audit practitioner for more than 6 years, that really is not the case, well at least not in its entirety.

Yes, internal audit does that - catch or try to catch people committing fraud, taking things from the office and bringing them to their homes, conniving to reimburse personal expenses, and so many other things that we sometimes think are not bad for business because we have grown so accustomed to them we think they're part of the daily grind. But aside from that, Internal Audit actually has more to offer than just be "catchers". Internal auditors can be investigators, analysts that can look into the whole business and try to pinpoint areas that lack control or loopholes that allow anomalies to slowly squeeze their way into the company. Internal audit also helps put up defenses or controls that do just that - defend the company from all these nuances.

So how exactly does Internal Audit partner with your business? Here's a short and uncomplicated list:

Getting to know you. No, this is not a song nor a musicale we're talking about. Internal Auditors will spend time with Management and the business process owners (accountants, staff, operations supervisors, etc) to get to know the ins and outs of the operations. Management should be able to make the auditors understand the entire business and how it works without divulging trade secrets (unless they want to!) so the auditors can now determine what actions, procedures, or documents are out of place. This then leads to risk assessment or pointing out areas or processes that may have issues.

Stress goes a Notch Higher

But it's not fatal.

I just got a pinch of stress added to my routine stress level because I just opened the email saying Big Boss has set a meeting with me. Me. Yes me. I'm not kidding. No matter how I'd like to think that it's a joke, it's not. Grrr. And the fact that I do not have a single strand of idea why in the world we'll be meeting stresses me out some more.

Hmm. It's really a case of curiosity gone wild. It's because that appointed time was set with just myself he'll meet with.

What do you think are we gonna talk about? Is he gonna pull my hair out because of something I did or didn't do? Is he gonna scold me 'til my blood run thin? Or... or.... What do you think?!

Grrrr!!!




original photo from chromasia.com
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Marlene Aguilar and Uncle Fester

Woke up too early. More or less 4am, and right now I'm still a bit groggy. I'm kinda developing this ability to wake up at about 4 to 4:30 in the morning just to go to the bathroom. jeez.

Anyway.

So Tom and I were having our breakfast, he was speeding away, zooming through his sisig special (not too early for sisig, y'know!) and adobong camote tops when up in the tv comes Marlene Aguilar, all cooked to brown perfection (sorry 'bout that.. couldn't help but notice!). And she starts saying things I really couldn't put in the same plane as with the word "sane".

Imagine. Asked to give a comment about rumors or statements that she needs to be checked out psychologically, she just says she's smarter than everyone else and that nobody can understand. I'd say! And she keeps on repeating that her son was set-up. Asked also what she can comment on the NBI finding that the gun used in killing the son of the diplomat and the gun that her son used during the crossfire was one and the same, she says her bodyguard has access to the gun. Huh? Her son used the gun and she says her bodyguard can touch and use it anytime. Crazy.

Moving on.

Uncle Fester came by the office again, now showing his "brainchild". This internal monitoring thing, which I think is not that genius, really. But the report's going out today, and basically, this piece of information may have been useful some other time, but not at this particular moment. He has actually dropped by about 3 times already since our discussion yesterday, giving copies of requests, or releases. And now this. He gave me one binder-full of these monitoring sheets. What on earth are they using now if I have their file? Hmmm?


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Are you an Internal Auditor?

If you are an Internal Auditor here in the Philippines, whether you currently are, or previously was, you are invited to join this group in Facebook:


Internal Auditors in the Philippines.



Don't worry, it's not something you will regret in the nearest future.







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