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World Class Audit Organization

World Class Audit Organization. Shifting the Audit Paradigm. Shifting the Audit Paradigm. Auditors and Generals The Two Biggest Lies Being Part of the Solution. Agenda. The Three Pillars to Shifting the Audit Paradigm: Building a Balanced Team Keeping Audit Relevant

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World Class Audit Organization

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  1. World Class Audit Organization Shifting the Audit Paradigm

  2. Shifting the Audit Paradigm • Auditors and Generals • The Two Biggest Lies • Being Part of the Solution

  3. Agenda • The Three Pillars to Shifting the Audit Paradigm: • Building a Balanced Team • Keeping Audit Relevant • Developing Future Leaders

  4. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • Hiring is the most important thing an organization does • Build a Team – Not Individual Competitors • A strong team: • tackles problems • connects with people • balances out individual team member’s strengths and weaknesses.

  5. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • A strong team has diversity in its membership: • Cultural • Regional • Industrial • Personality – Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

  6. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) • Introversion/Extraversion • Introverts • get their energy from working independently • are thought oriented • Extraverts • get their energy from interacting with people • are action oriented

  7. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) • Sensory/INtuitive • Sensory people • Prefer the tangible/concrete. • They like and need details. • They are project “completers.” • They tend to stick with the “tried and true.” • INtuitive people • Prefer the conceptual/abstract. • They like the “big picture.” • They are project “starters.” • They like new ideas and concepts

  8. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) • Thinking/Feeling • Thinkers • focus on facts and processes • enjoy technical and scientific fields where logic is important. • notice inconsistencies. • look for logical explanations or solutions to most everything. • believe telling the truth is more important than being tactful. • Feelers • focus on the “people” aspects of problems/issues • Are concerned with harmony and nervous when it is missing. • look for what is important to others and express concern for others. • believe being tactful is more important than telling the “cold” truth.

  9. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) • Judging/Perceiving • Judgmental people • Prefer structure and defer to “rules.” • Are task oriented • Plan work to avoid rushing just before a deadline • Perceptive people • Prefer flexibility and can see rules as limiting or arbitrary • Like to approach work as play or mix work and play • Are stimulated by an approaching deadline

  10. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • Auditors tend to be ISTJ’s • Introverted (Table for one, please!) • Sensory (Details, details, and more details!) • Thinking (Just the Facts!) • Judgmental (Follow the rules!) • Need to ensure there is balance on your team!

  11. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • Promotions and Rewards • Criteria should be clear, consistent, and fair • Understand the types of rewards that are meaningful to your staff. Not everyone is motivated by the same thing • Celebrate accomplishments publicly

  12. Pillar 1: Building Your Team • Encourage Your Team to: • Obtain Professional Certifications • Network!! • Get Involved with professional organizations • Rewards to the Organization • A knowledgeable staff adds to an organization’s credibility • Gives your organization additional reach and resources • Leverage the knowledge and network that can be gained from involvement in professional organizations

  13. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Three Keys Ingredients: • Relationships • Value-Added Products • Influence

  14. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Relationship Building • Include auditees in the audit planning process • Communicate throughout the audit • Solicit the auditee’s feedback

  15. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Relationship Building • Get to know the board and/or audit committee • Get out of the Office--Participate in organizational events • Don’t over-rely on email—Talk to people!

  16. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Relationship Building • Understand your audience (e.g. Auditee, Board, Audit Committee) • You will be able to better address their needs if you understand THEM. • They will be your ally if they understand (and trust) YOU. • Put things in risk terms that your audience understands and values.

  17. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Value-Added Products • Avoid “Drive-By Auditing” • Damages credibility • Resulting recommendations tend not to be practical • $Million recommendation to fix a $5 problem

  18. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Value-Added Products • Move away from a pure Compliance/Check list mentality • Focus on Risks and Root Cause • Ask the “Big Picture” question---does this make sense?

  19. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Value-Added Products at the House - all while remaining independent! • Management Advisory Services • Lean Six Sigma

  20. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Independence Safeguards • Structure that separates audits from advisories • Follow GAO Yellow Book independence standards • Implement all three safeguards • Considered during development of the Annual Plan • Reconsidered when the Management Advisory engagement plan is developed • Management retains responsibility for selecting alternatives and making decisions that impact their operations.

  21. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Management Advisory Services • Provide consulting and analytical services to the Committee on House Administration (CHA), House Leadership, House Officers, and joint entities (e.g. Architect of the Capitol, Library of Congress, etc.). • Services include: • Risk Assessments • Assessing the risks of various House practices (e.g. Member data security) • Technology Analysis • Assessing the risks of emerging technologies before adoption (e.g. cloud) • Process re-engineering support • Identifying process bottlenecks and inefficiencies (e.g. voucher process) • Systems Development • Evaluating controls upfront before systems and processes are deployed (e.g. Exchange, PeopleSoft) • Avoids costly retrofits and damage to organizational reputation. • Cost Benefit Analysis • Arming management with data to make informed decisions (e.g. greening projects)

  22. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Value-Added Products • Lean Six Sigma---training the troops • Lean Management identifies process inefficiencies • Six Sigma minimizes variation and improves quality • National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Accreditation • Partner with the Dept. of the Army and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to train House Officers, House Committees, and Other Legislative Branch entities on Lean Six Sigma

  23. Pillar 2: Keeping Audit Relevant • Expanding Audit’s Influence • Building solid relationships and providing value-added products Equals Influence… • Getting a seat at the table for the BIG decisions • Have an Opinion! • Timing is Everything!! Be Proactive!! • Don’t over play your hand – be realistic with risks • When you raise the alarm, they will listen

  24. World Class Audit Organization • Great Team – Check • Influential Audit Department – Check • All we need now is a Leader…

  25. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • Leaders • Inspire people to achieve organizational excellence. • Build and sustain trust both inside and outside the organization. • Should be held to a higher standard. • Maintain the credibility of the organization and the trust and confidence of its staff

  26. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • Equip your staff with the tools they need to succeed • Training • Mentoring • Praising publicly, counseling privately • When necessary, let people go if they can’t (or won’t) do their job

  27. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should be Courageous • Saying things that aren’t necessarily popular but need to be said • Dig in when you need to, but don’t view compromise as weakness. • Impacts staff morale and pride in the organization (for good or for bad!)

  28. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should have Integrity • Has the trust of followers • Honest dealings • Incorruptible values • Ethical and stable • Emotional Integrity • Predictable/Measured reactions • Consistent and fair

  29. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should be Competent • Ability to challenge, model, and encourage others • Action / Outcomes • Forward-thinking • Proactive • Encourages and values these traits in others

  30. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should Have Effective Communication Skills • Exercises prudence and discretion. • Treats others with dignity. • Provides clear guidance. • Gives effective feedback. • Is candid and truthful. • Does not encourage or participate in office gossip.

  31. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should be Flexible • Ability to multi-task and re-prioritize • Easy to work with • Willing to take on new responsibilities without clear personal benefit. • Views new responsibilities as an opportunity rather than a burden. • Open to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking.

  32. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should be Magnanimous • Ensures team members are given credit for their team success • Takes personal responsibility for failures. • Understands that leadership motivated by self interest does not serve the well-being of the team.

  33. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should be Respectful • Values and develops team members so that they will grow professionally while also meeting current and future organizational goals. • Appreciates different team player styles and leverages their strengths for the better for the team.

  34. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should be Creative • Challenges conventional wisdom and is not satisfied with “that’s the way we have always done it” as an argument against improvement and organizational change. • Possesses a “can-do” attitude • Invests energy in developing innovative solutions to address problems

  35. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should be Enthusiastic • Is excited and optimistic about the opportunity each job presents. • Views stressful events as an opportunity to influence positive change rather than an obstacle which must be borne. • Uses levity and enthusiasm to energize and encourage staff.

  36. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader is Dedicated • Committed to the success of the OIG mission, the team’s goals, and all its team members. • Spends the necessary time/energy to accomplish projects within given time and resource constraints. • Inspires dedication from their staff by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the OIG’s organizational vision.

  37. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • A Leader Should be Assertive • Understands that assertiveness is not the same as aggressiveness. • Strikes a careful balance of being clear and direct while also maintaining diplomacy and composure and respecting the dignity of others.

  38. Pillar 3: Growing Leaders • Bottom Line: • To be a good leader, you need to be someone people want to follow

  39. World Class Audit Organization • Closing Thoughts: • Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the US: • “Accountability professionals need to step up. People are looking to us during these tough economic times.” • (Speaking at the National Intergovernmental Audit Forum, Nov 2011)

  40. World Class Audit Organization • Closing Thoughts: • Rep Henry Cuellar (TX, District 28) “Auditees should not view audit reports as a “Gotcha!” but rather as a way to improve themselves.” (Speaking at the National Intergovernmental Audit Forum, Nov 2011)

  41. World Class Audit Organization • We need to be audit evangelists! • Put out the good word that “We really are here to help!” • Internal Auditors are perfectly positioned problem solvers • We have that rare organizational-wide view that can identify systemic issues • We understand our organization, its culture, and priorities • We have the right skill sets---We’re analytical problem solvers!

  42. World Class Audit Organization • We need to change the paradigm from “Oh no, the auditors are coming” to “Call the auditors and find out what they think”

  43. Questions?????????

  44. Contact Information: • The Honorable Theresa Grafenstine CPA, CISA, CIA, CGEIT, CRISC, CGAP, CGMA • Inspector General • U.S. House of Representatives • 386 Ford House Office Building • Washington, DC 20515 • 202.226.1250 • Theresa.Grafenstine@mail.house.gov

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