Internal Auditing: The 24/7 Approach

Internal Auditing: The 24/7 Approach - 6/1/2009

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HEADLINES \| SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS \| COURT FILINGS LINKS TO OTHER NEWS \| NEWS ARCHIVE	HEADLINES ARCHIVED SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS ARCHIVED

HEADLINE NEWS:

Internal Auditing: The 24/7 Approach, Not Satisfied With Monitoring Small Data Samples, More Companies Are Seeking Complete Automation Of The Audit Function.
David McCann

CFO.com. June 1, 2009
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EXCERPT: For Harrah's Entertainment, an effort to fully automate the internal auditing process begun early last year could not have been timed more fortunately. That's because the casino industry — already subject to stiff compliance demands from state authorities and the payment-card industry — saw its bar raised further at the beginning of this year by new reporting requirements, mostly involving system security, from the Nevada Gaming Commission. At Harrah's, the heavier compliance crush is eased considerably by its ongoing project to achieve "continuous auditing." Definitions for that term vary widely; the Institute of Internal Auditors, for one, calls it "any method used by auditors to perform audit-related activities on a more continuous or continual basis." Increasingly, though, individual practitioners see the cutting edge as auditing 100% of data relating to transactions, processes, policies, or whatever else is to be audited, rather than reviewing small samplings at longer intervals, as many organizations still do. Achieving that level of scrutiny generally is accomplished by writing data-analytic scripts for each area to be audited, then integrating them with any database and reporting systems used internally and with off-the-shelf auditing software programs like ACL, Idea, and Microsoft Access. The integration work was a big undertaking for Harrah's, which has 40-plus properties, including 13 in Nevada. Each property has three key systems that run its slot machines, table games, and sports-book service, and there are also food-and-beverage, ATM, and in some cases hotel management systems. "We're talking about a lot of systems in a casino," says Cheryl Kondra, chief audit executive for Harrah's. A lot of employees, too, which is a crucial factor. That's because monitoring workers' access to systems is one of the most important tasks for Kondra's department.

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