Assignment: Current Trends and Issues in the Audit Profession
Guidelines and Grading Guide
Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a presentation of a well-researched topic within the audit field to present as you would in the workplace. The project will be completed as an individual project. Each student will have a different topic to present. Interim deliverables (milestones) are required and are a significant portion of your final grade. The final product represents an authentic demonstration competency, because you will prepare a presentation that requires research and detailed knowledge of your chosen topic and how it applies in the field. The project is divided into six milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Three, Five, Seven, Eight and Nine.
Main Elements
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• Research: Develop familiarity with reviewing information from the internet for accuracy and bias. Use provided resources to learn about a new topic.
• Communication/Information Technology: Develop professional slides that create interest in the topic. Prepare and deliver a professional script to accompany slides.
• Analytical Skills: Select the most important points from diverse sources to include in presentation.
• Communication: Appropriately organize important points, and expand through explanation.
• Communication: Develop meaningful questions for peers.
• Strategic Approach: Complete project over a nine-week period while balancing other demands.
TASK:
Your first task is to identify what project topic(s) are of interest to you. A sample of possible topics is provided below; you may select one of these or propose your own topic.
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INTERNAL AUDIT
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AUDIT FAILURES
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ETHICS, AUDITOR BEHAVIOR
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Communicating Bad News
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Relying on Third-Party Audit Work
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Ethics & Independence Standards
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Auditing Regulatory Compliance
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PCAOB Inspections
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Blind Spots (Bazerman)**
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Continuous Audit Process
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PCAOB Enforcement Actions
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Predictable Surprises (Bazerman)**
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Audit Work Paper Management
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SEC AAERs
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The Honest Truth About Dishonesty (Ariely)**
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Writing a Better Audit Report
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Audit Failure Case Studies*
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Thinking Fast & Slow (Kahneman)**
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Internal Audit Objectivity
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Audit Document/File Retention
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*Audit failure case studies must be cases that are not covered in the case study text. Examples include Adelphia, HealthSouth, RiteAid, Cendant, Tyco, Crazy Eddie's, Phar-Mor, Krispy Kreme, Parmalat, Satyam, ZZZZ Best and many others.
**These are books that you can use as the basis to develop a presentation on auditor behavior.
Using a variety of library, professional, and internet-based information, you will study your assigned topic. Use of just internet-based materials is not sufficient. Library resources include research journals, textbooks, and the Wall Street Journal. Professional association resources (e.g., IIA, ISACA, AICPA, KnowlegeLeader) and Big Four website materials should be utilized where possible. Internet-based information includes blogs, wikis, and consumer magazines.
PRESENTATION LENGTH:
Your presentation should contain approximately 10 to 15 slides.
PRESENTATION SPECIFICS:
Communicate the most important concepts from your research as you would in the workplace, explaining why it is important that others understand the information. You must include an explanation of how the topic relates to audit professionals in the workplace.
Within the presentation you must address the following:
• Background: An overview of the topic
• Definitions: List and define unfamiliar terms
• Statistics: If there are stats available about your topic, include them
• Relate this topic to your current (or future) job as an auditor:
o Why should we care about the topic?
o How might it impact your firm or company (finances, reputation, compliance, other)?
• How should this be addressed by auditors? Consider audit elements such as:
o Overall risk assessment
o Audit planning
o Specific audit program steps
o Audit time budgets
• Real-life examples - A good "story" keeps the audience's interest. If you can find examples, include them. You may choose to interview someone with experience in the audit profession and include a summary or quotations in your presentation.