GLIMPSE OF A CPA'S MIND

PROJECT MANAGEMENT & CHANGE MANAGEMENT Project management and change management are often confused. Although they both involve managing people and processes (and often work together to meet organizational goals), they are different disciplines (Lucid, n.d.). Understanding what those differences are and how both practices can (and should) work together to manage projects and their resulting changes is crucial for the success of your organization. The term “project management” can at once feel both obvious and vague. While most people intuitively understand what project management is, it’s useful to refer to the official definition. Project management is described as the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet project requirements. In other words, project management is about the process required to bring a team or product from point A to point B. To do this, project managers and their teams manage processes within five main project stages: Initiating Planning...

8 AREAS OF WASTE An organization is the collection of structures, processes, and people working collaboratively to  pursue a mission and achieve business goals. While organizations aim to pursue their missions  and goals by adhering to principles of efficiency and effectiveness, many suffer various degrees of  dysfunction during day-to-day operations. These issues can result in the erosion of stakeholder  value up to the point of insolvency, but internal auditors can support management efforts and  curtail these dynamics from taking hold by anticipating problems, reviewing current dynamics,  and making recommendations for improvement. Waste is anything done or acquired that is not required to successfully complete an activity or  support a process. Waste manifests itself in many ways, often resulting in higher time consumption  or underutilized financial resources. The Eight Areas of Waste Model provides a simple methodology  to identify acti...

In today's time, auditors enjoy conducting audits because of Computer Assisted Auditing Tools and Techniques (known as CAATTs). These CAATTs refer to different software tools that allow auditors to examine transactions and processes using computer-assisted techniques. CAATTs has two main categories --- (a) audit software and (b) test data. The following are POWERFUL AUDIT TOOLS that help audit: MS Excel (for spreadsheets) MS Access (for databases) SAS Audit Software (for performance and statistical analysis) ACL (for generalized audit) Crystal Reports (for business intelligence) Uses of CAATTs: Creation of electronic working papers Fraud detection Analytical tests Data analysis reports Continuing monitoring Curb stoning in surveys The following are QUALITY CONTROL TOOLS that can be generated through the use of CAATTs: Histograms Control charts (e.g. Pareto Chart) Cause and effect diagram (Fishbone & Ishikawa) Force field analysis Flowchart/ Process flow map/ Value stream map DI...