建立一个有效的内部审计部门 ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE Interna

Abstract
Ifyouarewonderinghowtoestablishaneffectiveinternalauditdepartment(IAD),TheSchwanFoodCodidjustthatwiththehelpofRandyJustwhenhewasthechiefauditexecutive(CAE)atthecompany.FindingaqualifieddepartmentheadisacrucialfirsttaskinestablishinganeffectiveIAD.OncetheCAEishired,he/sheshouldleadthedevelopmentofthewrittenauditcharter,whichsetsforththepurpose,authority,andresponsibilitiesoftheIAD.Oncethestaffingwascompleted,Justworkedwithtwoofhismanagerstodeveloparisk-basedassessmentmethodologytiedtotheCommitteeofSponsoringOrganizationsoftheTreadwayCommissioninternalcontrolframeworkandaconsumerproductsbusinessprocessmodel.Theriskassessmentframeworkcloselyincorporatedtheconceptsofriskandcontrol.Initsfirstyear,thedepartmentreceivedalargenumberofrequestsforotherprojects,andthatwasclearlyviewedasasubstantialmeasureofsuccess.Fulltest
Thedemandforinternalauditingserviceshasskyrocketedwithtworecentevents.
First,Section404oftheSarbanes-OxleyAct(SOX)mandatedpubliccompaniestoincludewiththeirannualreportaninternalcontrolreportthatcontainsanassessmentbymanagementoftheeffectivenessofthecompany'sfinancialreportinginternalcontrolsystem.Internalauditorshavethetechnicalexpertiseandprofessionalobjectivitytoassistinthisassessmentprocess.
Second,theNewYorkStockExchangerequiredalllistedcompaniesto"maintainaninternalauditfunctiontoprovidemanagementandtheauditcommitteewithongoingassessmentsofthecompany'sriskmanagementprocessesandsystemofinternalcontrol"byOctober31,2004.Butthebenefitsofaninternalauditdepartmentaren'tuniquetopubliccompanies.Theyarealsoapplicabletoprivatecompanies.
Ifyouarewonderinghowtoestablishaneffectiveinternalauditdepartment,TheSchwanFoodCompanydidjustthatwiththehelpofRandyJust,oneofthecoauthorsofthisarticle,whenhewasthechiefauditexecutive(CAE)atthecompany.Sadly,RandydiedunexpectedlyinJanuary.Headdedatremendousamounttothebodyofknowledgeonestablishinganeffectiveinternalauditdepartment,andhiscontributionswillbesorelymissed.Hisco-authorsdedicatethisarticletohismemory.WHYESTABLISHANINTERNALAUDITDEPARTMENT?
Themottooftheinternalauditdepartment(IAD)atSchwanis"advancingthebusiness."Thereareamultitudeofwaysinwhichinternalauditorscanhelpaccomplishthatobjective.First,aneffectiveIADcanhelpacompanyreachitsgoalsbyhelpingmanagementimprovecontrols,businessprocesses,andbusinessriskmanagement.second,internalauditorsserveacriticalroleaspartofthecorporategovernancestructurebyensuringthatthecompanyachievesitsobjectivesinanethical,legal,andwell-governedmanner.
Third,internalauditorshelpfightthebattleagainstfraud.In2004,theAssociationofCertifiedFraudExaminers(ACFE)obtaineddataon508fraudcasestotalingmorethan$761millioninlosses.Intheresulting2004ReporttotheNation,theACFEstatedthatapproximately57%ofthevictimorganizationsinitsstudyhadaninternalauditfunctionandthatthoseorganizationssufferedamedianfraudlossof$80,000comparedtomedianlossesof$130,000forcompanieswithoutinternalauditdepartments.ThisresultissimilartotheACFE's2002studywherethemedianfraudlosseswere$87,500forentitieswithinternalauditorsvs.$153,000forthosewithout.