Voices from the Field

In Voices from the Field, senior auditors and experts from Canada and other countries share their knowledge on important performance audit topics.

Voices from the Field is dedicated to sharing good practices and innovations. If you would like to submit an idea for a short article for this series, please send a one-paragraph proposal to this address: research@caaf-fcar.ca.

USING PERFORMANCE AUDIT TO ASSESS AN ORGANIZATION’S EFFORTS TO PREVENT CORRUPTION

by John Affleck

Corruption is defined as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, including bribery. Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic development and further exacerbates inequality, poverty, social division and the environmental crisis. Exposing corruption and holding the corrupt to account can only happen if we understand the way corruption works and the systems that enable it.

In this Voices from the Field we review and summarize methods commonly used to prevent corruption and provide suggestions on how they could be audited.

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VOICES FROM THE FIELD Archive

ETHICS AND INNOVATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE AUDITING PROFESSION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

by Annie Lecompte, Ph.D. CPA auditor, CFE, CFF, Associate Professor, Department of Accounting Sciences, ESG-UQÀM

In a world where technology is redefining the boundaries of many professions, auditing is not left behind.

This article explores the fascinating intersections between ethics, technology and auditing, detailing how auditors can evolve in this changing technological landscape, while remaining grounded in professional ethics.

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OBJECTIVE CENTRIC RISK AND UNCERTAINTY MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: OPTIMIZING RISK MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

by Tim J. Leech, FCPA, FCA, Founder and CEO, Risk Oversight Solutions

This article outlines four significant change drivers that support implementation of a new form of governance, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), and internal audit: Objective Centric Risk and Uncertainty Management.

Objective-Centric Risk and Uncertainty Management integrates risk considerations into the overall strategic planning and decision-making processes, aligning risk management activities closely with the organization's mission and vision. This approach aims to enhance the organization's ability to proactively address challenges and uncertainties in pursuit of its objectives while optimizing the allocation of resources. ERM solely based on building risk lists does not accomplish that goal.

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AUTOMATING INSIGHT

by Mourad Nizar, CISA, Director, Professional Practices and Data Analysis Division, Canada Revenue Agency; Jasbir Singh, CISA, Project Leader, Data Analysis Innovation, Canada Revenue Agency; and Francis Hamel, Director, Data Services and Analysis, Public Service Commission of Canada

The digital age has created an abundance of raw data, which could potentially be turned into a useful asset for organizations. The biggest challenge to leverage this fabulous asset is unstructured textual data like interview notes, web articles, and text within any document or email. To extract value manually from unstructured data could be labor‑intensive and time‑consuming.

The Canada Revenue Agency uses a form of artificial intelligence — natural language processing — to analyze high volumes of this unstructured, textual data and can turn it into valuable audit tools and information.

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AUDITING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: EMPLOYEE SURVEY ANALYSIS USING PYTHON

by Philip Lillies, Internal Auditor (CIA), retired

Data analytics is becoming increasingly important in the business world. Indeed, data analytics has been especially profitable for early adopters like Amazon, Google, and Spotify, which have used it to predict the preferences of consumers. Data analytics has also been applied in the field of auditing to look for patterns that could indicate fraud or non-compliance with regulations, and provide general insight into an organization’s risks.

This article argues that auditors can take advantage of the rich data provided by employee surveys to extend data analytics to audits of organizational culture.

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USING PERFORMANCE AUDIT TO ASSESS AN ORGANIZATION’S EFFORTS TO PREVENT CORRUPTION

by John Affleck

VOICES FROM THE FIELD Archive

ETHICS AND INNOVATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE AUDITING PROFESSION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

by Annie Lecompte, Ph.D. CPA auditor, CFE, CFF, Associate Professor, Department of Accounting Sciences, ESG-UQÀM

OBJECTIVE CENTRIC RISK AND UNCERTAINTY MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: OPTIMIZING RISK MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

by Tim J. Leech, FCPA, FCA, Founder and CEO, Risk Oversight Solutions

AUTOMATING INSIGHT

by Mourad Nizar, CISA, Director, Professional Practices and Data Analysis Division, Canada Revenue Agency; Jasbir Singh, CISA, Project Leader, Data Analysis Innovation, Canada Revenue Agency; and Francis Hamel, Director, Data Services and Analysis, Public Service Commission of Canada

AUDITING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: EMPLOYEE SURVEY ANALYSIS USING PYTHON

by Philip Lillies, Internal Auditor (CIA), retired

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Voices from the Field

USING PERFORMANCE AUDIT TO ASSESS AN ORGANIZATION’S EFFORTS TO PREVENT CORRUPTION

by John Affleck

VOICES FROM THE FIELD Archive

ETHICS AND INNOVATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE AUDITING PROFESSION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

by Annie Lecompte, Ph.D. CPA auditor, CFE, CFF, Associate Professor, Department of Accounting Sciences, ESG-UQÀM

OBJECTIVE CENTRIC RISK AND UNCERTAINTY MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: OPTIMIZING RISK MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

by Tim J. Leech, FCPA, FCA, Founder and CEO, Risk Oversight Solutions

AUTOMATING INSIGHT

by Mourad Nizar, CISA, Director, Professional Practices and Data Analysis Division, Canada Revenue Agency; Jasbir Singh, CISA, Project Leader, Data Analysis Innovation, Canada Revenue Agency; and Francis Hamel, Director, Data Services and Analysis, Public Service Commission of Canada

AUDITING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: EMPLOYEE SURVEY ANALYSIS USING PYTHON

by Philip Lillies, Internal Auditor (CIA), retired

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