INTERNAL AUDIT A GREAT STARTING POINT FOR A FINANCE PROFESSIONAL

Transcription

1 INTERNAL AUDIT A GREAT STARTING POINT FOR A FINANCE PROFESSIONAL December 11, 2010 Nischal Shah nischalrshah@gmail.com 1

2 AGENDA Introduction and definition of internal audit Range of assignments conducted by a Corporate Internal Auditor Two representative assignments in Corporate Internal Audit Internal Audit (IA) profile is best suited to Learning from my stint in Corporate Internal Audit Career options after Internal Audit 2

3 DEFINITION OF INTERNAL AUDIT Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes. -adopted by The Institute of Internal Auditors 3

4 RANGE OF ASSIGNMENTS IN CORPORATE INTERNAL AUDIT Assignments I handled during my two year stint with corporate internal audit team of a large corporate Risk assessment Starting point for an internal audit Operations review Financial audit Investigation Other assignments handled by the team IT Systems audit SOX implementation & Testing Due diligence in M&A transaction The emphasis is not on performing transaction based control checks but on path breaking or simple suggestions which can result in substantial savings on recurring basis and/or mitigates significant risks 4

5 SAMPLE ASSIGNMENT - I Objective: Achieve quantum reduction in transportation cost in one of the business units Importance: Transportation cost represents 10% of the total cost; the second biggest cost component after employee cost Origin of the assignment: Identified by the business unit Coverage: Multiple locations, teams and customers 5

6 SAMPLE ASSIGNMENT - II Objective: Revenue optimization in one of the fastest growing business units Importance: Any revenue leakage or forgone opportunity means a direct hit on the top line and bottom line Origin of the assignment: Risk assessment conducted by the Corporate Internal Audit team Coverage: Sample based selection which was subsequently replicated across locations 6

7 IA PROFILE IS BEST SUITED TO A candidate (CA or MBA) who: has less inclination towards statute oriented work profile (taxation/law/accounting standards) wants to pursue career in consulting is looking for a long career in a large corporate likes to challenge As Is and Create a difference by innovative ideas has strong analytical skills prefers assignment based work profile and moderate work-life balance IA stint offers time and opportunity to evaluate wide range of career options 7

8 LEARNING FROM MY STINT IN CORPORATE INTERNAL AUDIT Improvement in thought process, analytical ability and communication skills Development in interpersonal skills Leadership skills Opportunity to interact with senior management and meet high customer expectations In depth understanding of systems, processes and business risks 8

9 CAREER OPTIONS AFTER CORPORATE INTERNAL AUDIT Direct progression Within the organization Business finance, Financial Planning & Analysis (MIS), Controllership (Accounting), Treasury, Risk management Outside the organization Risk advisory or Business advisory Quality improvement through Six Sigma, Lean etc. Forensic audit and investigation M&A due diligence (accounting/legal/tax) Management audit Sector specific equity research, credit research Others MBA, Law, Systems audit (CISA) Statute oriented work profile 9

10 THANK YOU 10