Auditing & Assurance Services: A Systematic Approach with ACL CD and OLC Card

Messier employs the new audit approach currently being used by auditing professionals. This new approach is a direct result of the demands of Sarbanes-Oxley, which has changed the way auditors do their jobs. The new auditing approach emphasizes understanding the entity (i.e., the organization or business being audited) and its environment (i.e. industry), and then assessing the business risks faced by the entity and how management controls those risks. This new audit process focuses on business processes instead of accounting cycles. This unique and innovative approach has been developed in response to changing market dynamics. The systematic approach, referred to in the subtitle of the text, reflects the early introduction of three basic concepts that underlie the audit process: materiality, audit risk, and evidence; this allows Messier to build upon this model in subsequent chapters. These are central to everything an auditor does and a unique feature of Messier. As such, this approach helps students develop auditor judgment, a vital skill in today’s auditing environment.

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Legitimate Work From Home - Why You Need to Look at Energy Auditing

Given the fickle state of the global economy, it is no wonder that people are interested in legitimate work from home prospects. But, obviously some prospects are time wasters, others are real. The area of energy saving is certainly a real opportunity.

I don't need to tell you that the global financial crisis has highlighted the fact that employment can be very unstable. Even professional people can be laid off regardless of their experience or qualifications.

This new reality has led many of us to think seriously about our employment situation and to look for ways to be more in control. Working from home and being your own boss is a great way to take your career into your own hands.

But only if you get the basics right!

Of course, working for yourself does involve a degree of risk, depending on your investment in it. And there are many scammers online trying to fool people into sinking their money into a dodgy home business venture. So don't be fooled when researching legitimate work from home businesses.

Growth in Home Business Opportunities

The way that we think about employment has changed significantly in recent years, largely as a result of the internet and improved communication methods. People are now able to create their own online business which enables them to effectively communicate with customers and develop a profitable company.

The internet has also made professional training a lot easier by eliminating the need to commit to attending college or university in order to attain qualifications. Online training opportunities make it a lot easier for you to study in a convenient time and place, while improving your career prospects.

If you have a great legitimate work from home business idea, but you're not sure how to implement it, there is a mountain of material online that can assist you in getting started. You can websites that guide you through the step-by-step process of creating your own e-business and making the internet work for you. Do your research for a successful work from home business.

People and companies are now also using the internet to outsource much of their administrative and technical work, rather than hiring full-time employees. Using these services cuts costs and time you can spend on the bigger picture.

Stay at your present job and supplement your income. Or jump into your new venture full-time.

Energy Auditing as a Legitimate Work from Home Business.

One of the legitimate work from home opportunities that has received a lot of attention in recent years is energy auditing.

Energy auditing and working from your home is a winning combination: You combine working your way with the urgent need for households and businesses to save energy.

It can be easy to complete energy auditing training online, depending on the course you choose. You may use this certification to start your own energy audit business or take a job.

This line of work is well suited to working from home. Start-up costs are very low, there is a growing demand for energy audits and you can do it by yourself or build it up and have people working for you.

Energy auditing is a legitimate work from home business that can be rewarding in many ways.

Individuals and businesses need to save money on electricity and implement alternative energy systems on their properties. Energy auditors have the professional knowledge to guide the public through this process.

This knowledge is valued as awareness of rising costs of finite fossil fuel reserves and alternative solutions grows.

AlternateEnergySources.com has long been concerned about the effects of global warming. We use our experience in practical approaches towards alternate energy sources to survive and thrive with climate change. See http://www.alternate-energy-sources.com/home-energy-audit.html

Auditing and Investigation

One gospel that is being vigorously preached in the corporate world today is the need to embrace corporate governance. Corporate governance is all about improving stakeholder value. There is need to institute well-developed international standards on best practices in the management of businesses for the benefits of all stakeholders. The existence of international standards would definitely give comfort to investors, creditors and regulatory agencies, etc., across the world. One issue that is very critical in corporate governance is the monitoring of compliance with international financial standards, which is the concern of auditing and investigation. It is as a result of this that we are X-raying this text entitled "Auditing and Investigation" this week.

It is written by Olugbemiga Olagbaiye, a 1978 graduate of Pharmacology from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria and Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). Olagbaiye, who has been involved in student training and development since 1984, has varied experience in accounting practice in the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy. He has also been a lecturer with the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration (NASFA), Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria for about two decades.

Olagbaiye says the resolve to provide enduring solutions to the difficulties experienced by students of tertiary institutions in general and those preparing for the professional examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, in particular has motivated him to write this book. He assures that the book will be a very useful guide to both academics and practitioners, especially that special attention has been paid to developments that have significantly affected the auditors' work, including recent Accounting and Auditing Standards and Guidelines.

The text is segmented into 22 chapters. Chapter one is interrogatively christened "Why audit?" Here, Olagbaiye educates that audit today involves the scrutiny of the account of an enterprise in sufficient details to ensure that the auditors can form an opinion based on truth and fairness. He stresses that auditors' opinion will be expressed in a written report addressed either to those who have commissioned the audit or to those to whom the auditors may have a statutory responsibility.

This author also discusses the concept of stewardship. He explains that stewardship is the name given to the practice by which the productive resources owned by one person or group are managed by another person or group of people. Olagbaiye discloses that today, most businesses are operated by limited liability companies that are owned by shareholders and managed by directors appointed by them.

He also sheds light on financial statements and parties involved. In his words, "Ordinarily annual reports and accounts are produced for the attention of members of a company, i.e. the shareholders. However, a much wider range of people are now interested in these annual reports & accounts and these are: owners or shareholders; lenders or debenture holders; employees; customers; suppliers; stockbrokers...."

Chapter two is based on the subject matter of Auditing and the Company Act. In this chapter, the author X-rays different provisions of relevant statutes regulating auditing practice in Nigeria. He explains that a person will not be qualified for appointments as an auditor of a company except he is a member of a body of accountants in Nigeria established by an Act or Decree.

Chapter three focuses on audit planning. Olagbaiye says the Nigerian Standards on Auditing (NSA) 8, that is, "Planning an Audit of Financial Statements", is the local standard that governs audit planning. He expatiates that the purpose of NSA is to establish standards and provide a guide on the considerations and activities applicable to planning an audit of financial statements. This NSA is framed in the context of recurring audits and the requirements of this standard comply substantially with ISA 300, that is, "Planning and Audit of Financial Statements", Olagbaiye educates. He adds that planning an audit involves establishment of the overall audit strategy for the engagement and development of an audit plan in order to reduce audit risk to an acceptable low level.

In chapters four to 10, Olagbaiye beams his intellectual searchlight on concepts such as audit evidence; audit timing; the modern audit stages; verification of assets and liabilities; audit working papers; audit report; and accounting standards.

Chapter 11 examines code of ethics in auditing. This professional accountant says code of ethics is essentially a set of professional ethical standards regulating the relationship of chartered accountants with their clients, employers, employees, fellow members of the group and the public in general. According to him, in Nigeria, maintenance of ethical standards is the collective concern of the ICAN and members of the accounting profession.

In chapters 12 to 18, he analytically X-rays concepts of internal control system; internal audit; auditors' liability; investigation; fraud and error; special audits; and share transfer audit.

Chapter 19 has thematic focus of valuation of shares. Olagbaiye educates that assets can be real or financial. Physical assets, according to him, are called "real assets", while securities such as shares and bonds are referred to as "financial assets". He says a well-informed, properly functioning capital market is called an "efficient capital market".

In chapters 20 to 22, Olagbaiye examines the concepts of computer-based accounting system; public sector audit; and accountancy as an indispensable profession.

If there is one thing that stylistically underscores the strength of this book, it is the didactic mode of presentation of the highly-sequential concepts that are products of in-depth research. The mode is also complemented by the proficiency and simplicity of the language. The outer front cover design embedded with physical symbols of auditing and investigation is visually suggestive of the overall subject matter of the text.

The layout of the text is okay. In short, the packaging of this text reflects a perfect blend of Olagbaiye's experience in the academia, as well as in the public and private sectors as he cohesively radiates the three professional backgrounds.

However, some minor errors are found in the text, which need to be corrected in the next edition. One is "Acknowledgement" (page viii) instead of "Acknowledgements". Another is "...to enable the auditors form" (page 1), instead of "...to enable the auditors to form". The use of the preposition "To", with the verb "Enable" in the preceding and succeeding ways (double) is compulsory. However, the second "To" is almost always omitted in Nigerian English, probably because it is "thought" to be redundant. The use of the second "To" is a kind of correlative like "Either or" and is an obligatory transformation in syntax. Another error is "Third partie's" (page xi) instead of "Third parties".

Generally, this text is a treasury of auditing knowledge; a radiation of high level of intellectual acumen. It is therefore recommended to students, lecturers, auditors as well as operators and regulators in the public and private sectors.

GOKE ILESANMI, Editor-in-Chief/CEO of http://www.gokeilesanmi.com and Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is a Certified Public Speaker/Emcee, (Business) Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker, Career Management Coach, Renowned Book Reviewer, Corporate Leadership Expert and Editorial Consultant.
Tel: +234(0)8055068773; +234(0)8056030424
Email: info@gokeilesanmi.com; gokeiles2010@gmail.com

The SHELL Audit - A Skills Assessment and Auditing System For Business and Personal Success

The S.H.E.L.L. Audit is a skills assessment and personal strengths recognition system that anyone can use to mine their background for fun and profit. It is a strengths assessment that business managers, executives and small entrepreneurs can use to get more attention, articulate greater value and increase personal and even business income.

For instance, if your whole department or business organization undergoes a SHELL audit, you have a much greater chance of identifying under-utilized intellectual capital that may be used to attract strategic partners or create profitable licensing opportunities.

The SHELL AUDIT Skills Assessment

Since the SHELL Audit is designed to maximize the intellectual capital monetization in formal and informal settings, it often requires that we customize it to the particular context of individual clients. Keep this fact in mind as you read through the subsequent sections describing this unique skills audit process.

Here are the components of the S.H.E.L.L. Audit.

S - Skills And Strengths

One of the easiest ways to begin with this area is to audit your resume and translate your past job descriptions into skills inventory covering the areas of responsibility and know-how that your jobs involved. In the "skills" section, you want to identify both "business" and personal skills.

Categories of skills may include technical and functional "hard" skill sets like:

Programming skills
IT skills
Administrative (office) skills

Or they may include soft skills areas like:

Leadership skills
Management skills
Organizational skills
Problem-solving skills

H - Hobbies And Habits

Your hobbies may be indoor or outdoor hobbies. They may be lifestyle-oriented or may be common to only certain demographics. In this age of information publishing and digital content publishing, many individuals have found ways to turn their hobbies into very lucrative profit sidelines and even full businesses.

Make a list of your hobbies to decide whether you might be able to create a community or content marketing platform around them.

E - Experiences or Epics

Your life experiences (or epics as I call them) can be highly valuable means of creating value in personal or business contexts. Many consultants have been able to build a base of business customers from expertise developed through their personal experiences.

For instance, John Maxwell who is a Christian evangelical pastor has built a worldwide thought leadership and a massive leadership development and consulting organization based on insights and expertise developed from his personal background.

My coaching clients at MarriageInspiration.com have built thriving marriage coaching and communications consulting businesses on the back of a unique epic of marital dysfunction, acrimonious divorce and blissful reconciliation.

L - Learning And Academic Background

Your academic background or your intellectual pursuits can provide the backdrop for identifying and assessing skills that you could package and provide to the marketplace for promotion or profit. Dig through the transcripts of your college career, or through training and certification programs you have completed over the course of your life and see if there are special and valuable skills or competencies that you can identify from them.

L - Loves and Life Missions

Sometimes, an individual's accomplishments and identity are defined by an all-consuming passion or by a philosophy that they adhere to. The example of John Maxwell above is one of those instances where a person leverages their spiritual background to build intellectual assets and skills that he is being paid for today.

What do you love or believe in so deeply that it can inspire you to deliver speeches, write books and create organizations?

Make a comprehensive list of these things and then see if you can match them to any of the other areas of your SHELL or connect them to a specific need in your company or in the marketplace.

Gogo Erekosima, The Small Business Digital Coach is the CEO and Lead strategist at The Idea Age Business Consulting firm, where he developed the S.H.E.L.L. audit for his clients in leadership positions.

He recommends the resources at www.TurnAttentionIntoDollars.com for small businesses (and professionals) seeking to leverage the internet to attract clients, build profitable email lists, generate internet traffic, win influential partners and grow sales in record time.

The Case For Logistics Auditing

An adage in The Art of War (that "amateurs study tactics, the professionals study logistics") applies to business and coordination of any large organization. End to end logistics management is one of the keys to running an efficient operation, and it's something that can always be improved on.

There are two ways to improve your logistics management: An audit of what you actually possess, and streamlining the flow of material from one location to another.

Logistics auditing has another name - inventory control. A dedicated inventory control system should be user transparent, and should automate the entry of data for items that are checked in and checked out as much as possible; the one thing you can be certain of is that when your business is humming along, the last thing that people want to do is stop their work flow to fill out paperwork to show what tools they have, what carton of what materials they have and so on.

There are great strides being made in logistics auditing, ranging from the hand scanners used in super markets to web based clients that can be assigned to track down the IP addresses and software licenses on all computers or electronic hardware that's present on a sub-network. Good logistics auditing software is often tailored to a company's specific business process, through custom modules. For many smaller companies, some off the shelf solutions are sufficient.

The key to making logistics auditing software work for you is making it as easy to use and as transparent to use as is possible; this has always been the goal in this software sector. The benefits of good logistics management software comes down to knowing where everything is, where it's being used, and whether or not you're running short on a vital component, with sufficient time to buy more of it.

Other uses of logistics and auditing software include analytical reports on sales trends, including timing of inventory levels to seasonal effects and corroboration of the success (or lack of success) in a marketing campaign. Logistics auditing is one of the key markers for success in a small business as it transitions from small, one-or-two person operation to a larger company with employees and a dedicated process with which to run.

What logistics auditing won't do is 'trigger startup growth' in your company. That sort of growth curve stems from innovations in the product space you're in. Logistics auditing is about improving efficiency in the processes you already use, or identifying a process that needs refinement or change.

One particular area where logistics auditing comes into its own is in freight handling and freight logistics. The threshold where an automated rate comparison program makes sense is surprisingly low. One of the best tools on the market for this sort of logistics audit is RateLinx, their popular ShipLinx system being an integrated technology platform that covers all aspects of shipping, from quote generation to fuel prices, even to integrating with any ERP or inventory control system.

Loan Auditing Services Protect Homeowners From Predatory Lending

Loan audit companies have flourished over the years by providing homeowners with tools they can use to save their homes from foreclosure.

These companies monitor lenders to be sure they follow loan and mortgage laws properly. They create a safe environment for borrowers who are approved for home loans and they also provide forensic loan auditing services that thoroughly investigate homeowner's loan documents for any signs of fraud, predatory lending, or elder abuse.

Common Services Provided by Loan Audit Companies

One of the services provided by loan audit companies includes extensive pricing options. This helps borrowers get the best mortgage deal possible. These pricing options are also helpful in situations where mitigation support and investment review are needed.

Court Proceedings Witness and Case Consulting Service are also offered by loan audit companies, usually for a fee. Through these services, borrowers are guaranteed professional support in their home mortgage case. Some providers may bundle in a few add-ons for an additional small fee. These add-ons can include things like reports on case law summaries, violations key points, etc.

Types of Audits Available

The Basic Forensic Audit:

? The BAS includes the initial analysis of a loan and all the details attached to it. TILA (understated only), HOEPA, state and local predatory state regulations, RESPA, manual forensic audit, and exceptions and investor custom reports are all included with the BAS.

? The purpose of a basic audit is to catch inconsistencies that violate USC and CFR codes on home loans and mortgages.

? Through this type of audit, the borrower is made aware of possible discrepancies in the loan, which he or she can bring to the lender's attention for a possible compromise or modification of the loan as deemed fit by.

The Extensive Forensic Audit:

? This is similar to the basic audit but has a few more additions in the report. The TILA aspect included is both understated and overstated.

? The purpose of this report is to cover anything missed in a basic audit. Any differences between the basic report and this report will be noted, and both will be combined as one single, extensive report.

? An Extensive Forensic Audit benefits the borrower by reducing the risk of his or her investment. Risk tolerance is shown on the audit through a grade. This aspect of the audit guarantees the quality of the loan. Anything that goes over the loan's terms will be checked right away.

Nationwide Loan Auditing helps homeowners by providing them with the legal leverage of a court ready loan audit that can be used to restructure their faulty mortgage loan. Our team includes Auditing Advisors that are mortgage industry experts in consumer protection regulations and who are dedicated to providing homeowners with the necessary tools they need to stay in their homes.

Energy Auditing Training - Why Seven Trends Make it Just Right For Goldilocks

Goldilocks says energy audit training is "just right" for her - and for her husband. What is so "just right" about it? Well, it's much more than the chair, the bowl of porridge and the bed.

Becoming an energy auditor builds on at least seven growing trends and opportunities that have come together to make this a low-risk, rewarding and lucrative occupation, or business. Lets have a look at why this is...

First, what do energy audits do?

Energy audit training equips the student with skills to help people with rising energy-cost problems that are growing as we speak. An energy assessment in a residential home, commercial or public building identifies where energy is wasted.

When acting on an energy audit report the building owner will on average save around 30% or more on their power bill.

Goldilocks trends and opportunities

These are the trends that Goldilocks finds so enticing:

Energy costs - your electricity bill and gas bill - are going up and will continue to go up. Rising fossil fuel costs and high renewable energy costs combine to make this an inevitable reality. Everyone needs to reduce their energy use! They want energy auditors to help them do that.
Climate change forces a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions globally.
Governments everywhere are offering generous incentives to have energy audits done to save their economies, both to save money and create new, green, jobs. A free energy audit anyone?
There are a 109 million homes and 5.6 million small businesses in the US alone, in need of reducing their energy cost to stay in their game competitively.
Energy audits for new buildings are already mandatory in some places, and this will increasingly happen.
Energy efficiency training may take only a short time in order to become a fully certified energy auditor, from a zero knowledge base in this area.
Training can be in face-to-face classes, or online career training, where the second option adds low-cost and convenience to other benefits of taking energy audit courses. Some energy audit training courses teach you how to set up as a small energy auditor business as part of their training.
I told you it's more than kept Goldilocks happy back in those days where the three bears' home did not run any gas or electricity!

Energy management is a buzzword like never before. In small business and big. One famous US beverage producer for example, committed itself to saving 5.6 million kilowatt hours by just replacing its lighting system in 24 of its facilities in 2009.

Self-employment is on the rise

According to a Yahoo, Hot Jobs article, energy auditors can earn between $70,000 and $106,000 per year. Not bad. So why is the US GDP still growing in the face of continuing job losses? Well, people are taking to becoming self-employed. 126,000 Americans did so in the last quarter of 2009.

Energy audit training is just one such opportunity in a rising "green" market. Many will take it in 2010 and beyond. It is not one of the best careers for the future. It is it now.

Dr Erik Leipoldt has long been concerned about the effects of global warming. In particular he uses his own experience in practical approaches towards alternate energy sources to survive and thrive in our environmentally disabled world. See http://www.alternate-energy-sources.com/home-energy-audit.html.