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Steal These Tips! Audit Techniques for Accountants

Gain insights into audit techniques and fraud prevention with real-life examples from a senior auditor. Discover how to evaluate procedures, use data effectively, and seek outside sources for accurate information.

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Steal These Tips! Audit Techniques for Accountants

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  1. Steal These Tips!Audit Techniques for Accountants Amanda L. Perkins, CPA Senior Auditor University of Arizona

  2. Senior Auditor in Internal Audit at the University of Arizona • Previously with the Arizona Office of the Auditor General

  3. Agenda • Audit Techniques • Evaluating Procedures • Using Data • Seeking Outside Sources • Recent Frauds • Fire District • High School • Children’s Hospital • What could have been done?

  4. Goals of the session • Understand 3 audit techniques and how they could be applied to non-audit duties. • Identify controls that may have prevented or detected 3 real frauds.

  5. Springfield, Illinois Recent fraud hub?

  6. Chatham Fire Protection District

  7. Southeast High School

  8. St. John’s Children’s Hospital

  9. Audit Techniques

  10. Evaluating Procedures • Explain to an outsider • Use real words • Training new employees • What happens before and after my piece of this process? • If I were going to steal……

  11. Evaluating Procedures • Is there someone we couldn’t do without? • Am I getting source documents or only data prepared by someone else based on source documents? • Might identify a more efficient way to do something or a stronger control that could be implemented

  12. Using Data • What data is available in what you already do? • How accessible is your data? • Maybe you get a report on paper that could come as a text or Excel file instead.

  13. Using Data • The simple “Sort” tool in Excel • Microsoft Access • Improving your Excel and Access skills: • Employer offerings • YouTube and online forums

  14. Using Data • What do I expect of this data and what is unexpected? • Common vendors • Coding errors in repeat payments • Overtime variances • Unusual system access profiles

  15. Using Data • Is there data I wish I had? • May identify another way to improve your procedures.

  16. Outside Sources • Oh, the magic of the Internet • Vendors • Arizona Corporation Commission • 990 filings from non-profits • Company websites • Maps of addresses • Peer websites • Is our policy similar to another organizations? • Compliance with state or federal regulations • Human resources procedures

  17. Could you have prevented or detected the fraud?

  18. Chatham Fire Protection District

  19. Chatham Fire District • Source documents vs. employee-prepared reports • Using Data • Common vendors • Object codes or other unexpected transactions • Evaluating procedures- may have relied too much on one person

  20. Southeast High School

  21. Southeast High School • Source documents • Evaluating procedures • Relying too much on one person • Student clubs not aware of good controls on their side • Peer websites • Were the existing background checks enough?

  22. St. John’s Children’s Hospital

  23. St. John’s Children’s Hospital • No court records yet • But we can guess what might have happened

  24. Questions?

  25. Thank you! • Amanda Perkins • alperkin@email.arizona.edu

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