Audit Tips

Each edition of Audit Tips highlights good practices and provides practical advice for performance auditors on a selected theme.

Read our 100 Tips for Performance Auditors. This publication includes a compilation of tips from previous editions of our Audit Tips series. Our tips cover 15 different topics, from various aspects of the audit process to specific audit topics and new technologies that are changing the audit profession.

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Audit Tips

4 Biases That Could Make An Audit Less Credible

Professional standards dictate that auditors must be objective. However, they are also human and as such are prone to cognitive biases, i.e., systematic errors in judgment. Auditors are vulnerable to a host of such biases because performance auditing involves exercising judgment and making decisions throughout the audit process (in planning, evidence collection, data analysis, managing relationships, reporting, and more).

In this Audit Tip, we identify four cognitive biases that auditors should be especially wary of.

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Audit Tips

6 Learnings From Establishing a New Audit Function

The British Columbia Mine Audits Unit has been recently created. It plays a key role in the continuous improvement of mining regulation in the province. The team evaluates the Ministry’s oversight of the mining sector and makes public recommendations to government.

In this Audit Tip, we identify some key learnings that may be useful to others when getting a new audit function off the ground.

Audit Tips

5 Risks to Consider When Conducting Audits in the Post-COVID-19 Environment

Public sector auditors are used to building their audit programs on the changing realities of their organization. Risks are used to identify audit topics that are more likely to require assurance and advice on corrective measures which could be used by management, oversight bodies, and stakeholders.

In this Audit Tip, we provide risks to consider when conducting audits in the post-COVID-19 environment

Audit Tips

4 Success Factors When You Are Sampling for a Performance Audit

Sampling is the selection of a subset of the totality of elements that could be analyzed, called the population. It can be generalizable, i.e., drawn randomly in order to efficiently extrapolate the results to the population, or purposeful, i.e., based on a rational argument linked to the audit objective, in order to provide insights on the nature or cause of a problem. The following success factors contribute to optimize your sampling approach and minimize your risks that the sampling procedures performed will not detect a significant deviation.

In this Audit Tips, we provide 4 tips to optimize your sampling approach and minimize your risks that the sampling procedures performed will not detect a significant deviation.

Audit Tips

5 Main Steps That Audit Teams Should Follow When They Use Sampling

Sampling is the selection of a subset of the totality of elements that could be analyzed, called the population. It can be generalizable, i.e., drawn randomly in order to efficiently extrapolate the results to the population, or purposeful, i.e., based on a rational argument linked to the audit objective, in order to provide insights on the nature or cause of a problem. Using sampling can be a useful evidence collection strategy when conducting a performance audit.

In this Audit Tips, we provide 5 tips that you should consider when deciding whether and how to use sampling in your next performance audit.

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4 Biases That Could Make An Audit Less Credible

AUDIT TIPS Archive

6 Learnings From Establishing a New Audit Function

5 Risks to Consider When Conducting Audits in the Post-COVID-19 Environment

4 Success Factors When You Are Sampling for a Performance Audit

5 Main Steps That Audit Teams Should Follow When They Use Sampling

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Audit Tips

4 Biases That Could Make An Audit Less Credible

AUDIT TIPS Archive

6 Learnings From Establishing a New Audit Function

5 Risks to Consider When Conducting Audits in the Post-COVID-19 Environment

4 Success Factors When You Are Sampling for a Performance Audit

5 Main Steps That Audit Teams Should Follow When They Use Sampling

Follow Us

Contact Us