Voices from the Field

PROCESS MINING: A NEW ANALYTICAL TOOL FOR PERFORMANCE AUDITORS

by Ricardo Rocha, Auditor at the Court of Accounts, State of Bahia, Brazil

In recent years, many technological innovations have offered performance auditors new opportunities to expand the range of data analysis they can perform and increase the value and insight they can provide to their clients. Process mining is one of these innovations. By using this new analytical technique, performance auditors can gain a better understanding of where process weaknesses and inefficiencies exist, and formulate targeted recommendations that will help public sector organizations in redesigning and optimizing their business operations.

This article presents an overview of process mining and explains how this technology can be used in planning and conducting performance audits in the public sector.

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS: CONDUCTING SURVEYS IN PERFORMANCE AUDITS

by Maria Capozzi, Director, Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba

When properly conducted, opinion surveys can be a powerful element in a performance audit. Surveys can provide valuable insights and supplement audit findings. In this article, Maria Capozzi examines five key steps to consider when conducting surveys and highlights several factors that auditors should keep in mind when designing surveys and using their results.

ENHANCING PAY PROCESSES THROUGH AN AGILE APPROACH TO MONITORING CONTROLS

by Hicham Agoumi, Director, Financial Policy, Systems and Controls at Environment and Climate Change Canada

Assessing the design and operational effectiveness of key controls is essential to good management, and is an important task that auditors regularly perform. In this article, Hicham Agoumi describes how, using data analytics and an agile approach, internal control specialists and auditors can enhance pay processes by providing valuable assurance and advice.

The initiative presented in this article was undertaken by Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Internal Control team. This team was tasked with providing timely additional assessments of the accuracy of salary expenditures processed by the federal government’s Phoenix pay system.

DOLLARS CAN SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS: REPORTING ON THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF PERFORMANCE AUDITS

by Ina Chan, Assistant Auditor General, and Niroshani Movchovitch, Senior Audit Manager, Auditor General’s Office, City of Toronto

The Toronto Auditor General’s Office issues an annual report that explains both the financial and non-financial benefits of its work. Although many, if not all, audit offices report on the non-financial benefits arising from recommendations in their performance audits, the focus of this article is on communicating financial impacts. Ina Chan and Niroshani Movchovitch explain how their office quantifies savings in the annual report to demonstrate the value of their work in dollar terms.

While it may seem like a daunting task to report the financial and non-financial impacts of performance audits, the authors argue that many audit offices already have processes in place to gather the kind of information needed to prepare such reports.

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT: TIPS FOR CONDUCTING AGILE AUDITS

by Chantal Hewston, Internal Audit Principal, Shared Services Canada

When it was created in 2011 to modernize the delivery of information technology infrastructure across the federal government, Shared Services Canada was tasked with leading five major programs. The department’s internal audit division was responsible for providing assurance services for these large, complex, and rapidly evolving programs.

It soon became clear that a traditional audit process would not allow the internal audit team to look at the key risks of these programs in a timely and value-added manner. A more agile approach to auditing was needed. In this article, Chantal Hewston explains how the internal audit team rose to the challenge and transformed its audit process to meet the demands of its environment.