How to Evaluate Soft Controls

Soft Controls

A New Dimension in Internal Control:
How to Evaluate Soft Controls
(1-2 days)

What you will gain from this seminar:

	Five common-sense principles for evaluating soft controls
	Fifteen proven soft control evaluation tools from world-class audit departments
	How to develop tools that will work in your own organization
	How to sell the radical expansion of audit scope to management

Who should attend: Auditors with at least one year of experience.

Course Outline

What Are Soft Controls, and Why Are They Important?

	The impact of TQM, reengineering, empowerment
	The impact of new control models: COSO and CoCo
	Examples of hard and soft controls
	Exercise: Identifying soft controls in a business process
	Five principles for evaluating soft controls

How World-Class Audit Departments Are Evaluating Soft Controls

Overview of IIA research study, Control Model Implementation: Best Practices

The critical components:
– Self-assessment
– Risk assessment

Exercise: Where are you today?

Two Useful Frameworks

	Internal Control – An Integrated Framework (the COSO report)
	Guidance on Control (the CoCo report)

Tools & Techniques for Work Team Self-Assessment

	Control self-assessment (CSA) workshop - from MAPCO - from MCS Control Training & Design - from PDK Control Consulting
	Self-Assessment Questionnaire - from Commercial Federal - from Rensselaer Polytechnic

Tools & Techniques for Entity-Wide Self-Assessment

	Discussion tool for Management Interviews - from Commercial Federal
	Management Interview Guide and Self-Assessment Tool - from Bremer Financial
	Self-Assessment Survey - from Ameritech

Tools & Techniques for Audit Project Risk Assessment

	The risk assessment thought process
	Risk/control matrix - Most common features - Key points in applying the tool - Benefits
	How to develop a risk/control matrix - from AuditTrends
	A matrix for evaluating customer service - from Commercial Federal
	A matrix for evaluating the control environment - from Reliastar Financial Corp
	A matrix with a nice twist - from Barry Leithhead & Associates
	A matrix for evaluating controls after reengineering - from AuditTrends

Tools & Techniques for Entity-Wide Risk Management

A comprehensive program in which all managers identify and assess risks and controls in their areas of responsibility
- from Freddie Mac

Tools & Techniques for Pulling It All Together

	An integrated set of tools & techniques to evaluate control for the organization as a whole - from MAPCO
	An integrated set of model audit reports - from The Williams Companies

How To Make It Happen

	Critical steps in implementing your new tools and techniques
	Developing an implementation strategy
	Selling the new approach to management
	Internal control training for management and/or all employees - from Cargill

[ COSO-Based IA ] [ Sarbanes-Oxley ] [ Best Practices ] [ ERM ] [ Soft Controls ] [ Operational ] [ New Auditor ] [ Leadership ] [ Relationship ] [ Report ]