Back to events list >

Lean & agile auditing

Presented by James Pateson

Lean and agile techniques provide tools and techniques to eliminate waste, maximise impact and increase value adding activities – key for many internal audit functions. They also point us towards ways to audit in a progressive way. At the same time, we must remain compliant with IIA standards; so, learn practical ways to be lean and agile whilst having a robust, IIA compliant, audit approach.

Who should attend?

Heads of internal audit, internal audit managers and experienced audit staff.

What will I learn?

Upon completion you will be able to:

understand the fundamentals of lean, lean six sigma and agile
reconsider who are the key customers of internal audit, what adds value and what doesn’t
reflect on the role of IA – for example how do you reduce time on follow-up assignments
improve assignment planning, with key exam questions
ensure stakeholders understand what is in/out of scope from a breadth and a depth perspective
how to generate work programmes at pace
drive “flow” through the assignment process and making progress in prioritised bite sized chunks via sprints, scrums/stand-ups and up-dating backlogs
be clear about root cause analysis fundamentals (lean technique key for insight)
reappraise reporting and action-planning, both in terms of the length of reports, the way they are written and the process for writing reports and agreeing actions
understand the measures that drive lean/agile ways of working, but also ensure compliance with IIA standards – and do we really need timesheets?
gain some practical insights around where to start first and some of the behavioural changes that are needed.

Course programme

understand the fundamentals of lean, lean six sigma and agile including the key similarities and differences.
reconsider who are the key customers of internal audit, what adds value and what doesn’t. In particular it doesn’t add value to tell stakeholders what they already know.
reflect on the role of IA – for example how do you reduce time on follow-up assignments and how can you play a greater role in more future-focussed issues.
improve assignment planning – what are the 2-3 exam questions we must really prioritise, and how much assurance are we going to give (e.g. review, audit or investigation). This is very important because as we do things more quickly we need to make sure stakeholders understand what has been in/out of scope from a breadth and a depth perspective.
drive “flow” through the assignment process and making progress in prioritised bite sized chunks, with a keen sense of the 80/20 rule and knowing when to stop.
be clear about root cause analysis fundamentals – for example there will always be more than one cause for an issue, and how root cause analysis will speed up audit assignments, not slow them down.
be clear how reporting and action planning will change with “flash reports” and the use of “killer facts”.
understand the measures that drive lean/agile ways of working, but also ensure compliance with IIA standards.
gain some practical insights around where to start first.
behavioural changes that show you are “on track” and signs that you might be losing your way (e.g. not thinking clearly enough about methodology changes.

CPE competency areas covered

Professionalism
Performance (Organisational governance | Risk management | Internal control | Engagements)
Environment (Organisational strategic planning and management)
Leadership and communication (Audit plan and coordinating efforts)