These courses are designed to develop auditors’ skills and techniques in (a) dealing with people at all levels in the organisation, and (b) addressing the less tangible and qualitative issues that fall within the scope of modern internal audit.

The training takes full account of the expanding role and changing environment of internal audit, and the challenges and opportunities posed by governance and risk management initiatives, changing organisational structures, cultures and attitudes, and the new IIA Standards.

The courses are typically provided in-house, or for a group of organisations, tailored for specific needs and circumstances.  They cover essential skills, approaches and techniques, and particular topics, and are supported by other courses in the ‘technical’ aspects of the subject-matter.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS

• Basic communication skills

  	Interviewing and fact-finding discussions
  	Reporting: establishing a dialogue, innovative approaches
  	Making presentations
  	Negotiating skills

• Inter-personal skills

  	Developing and sustaining effective working relationships
  	Working with boards and audit committees
  	Confidence building

• Facilitation skills

  Facilitating CSA and other workshops

• Education and training

  Raising awareness and training others in control, risk, risk assessment, control improvement

• Marketing skills for auditors

  Selling audit products and services

APPROACHES AND TECHNIQUES

• Control self-assessment

  	Approaches, lessons of the first 15 years, case histories
  	Developing, implementing, refining CSA programmes
  	Running CSA workshops

• Partnership approaches

  	Negotiating with stakeholders acceptable levels of residual risk
  	Introducing risk management systems and persuading others to accept their risk management responsibilities

• Partnership approaches

  	Working with line managers and others to evaluate systems and develop effective solutions
  	Virtual auditing: using the contribution of others to form an effective audit team
  	Integrated auditing: working with other professionals and specialists such as risk managers, HSE experts, etc

• Consultancy

  	Developing consulting skills
  	Balancing and reconciling assuring and consulting services

TOPICS

• Business ethics and social accountability

  	Audit and the social conscience
  	Auditing ethical and social issues
  	The audit of corporate goals and values
  	Social and ethical accountability, accounting and auditing standards

• Governance

  	Governance auditing: helping to establish effective governance systems; evaluating such arrangements
  	Developments in corporate governance and implications for auditors

• COSO-based auditing

  	Using COSO to audit, manage and govern organisations
  	Auditing the control environment
  	Using other controls and management models

• Risk management

  	Promoting and auditing effective risk management systems
  	Risk management standards (eg AS/NZ 4360, draft UK Standard), systems, practices and techniques
  	Risk-based auditing
  	Reputation risk audits

• Environmental auditing

  Internal audit’s contribution, approach, techniques

• Human resource auditing

  	How to audit staff recruitment, appraisal, training, development and motivation
  	Health and safety management systems audits

• Audit HR policies and practices

  	Internal audit staff recruitment, appraisal, training, development and motivation
  	Leading audit teams
  	Audit competences
  	Using non-audit staff in assignments
  	Audit and review skills for non-auditors