⊿ Point. {R} Glossary. ◢ Keyword: A. ▰ Sources. 〓 Books [B] ◥ University. {q} PhD. ⏫ THEMES. ⏫ Big Data. [B] Big Data. ⚫ USA. ↂ EndNote. ☝️ BD Dummies. Audit. The general definition of an audit is a planned and documented activity performed by qualified personnel to determine by investigation, examination, or evaluation of objective evidence, the adequacy and compliance with established procedures, or applicable documents, and the effectiveness of implementation.[1] The term may refer to audits in accounting, internal controls, quality management, project management, water management, and energy conservation.
Auditing is defined as a systematic and independent examination of data, statements, records, operations and performances (financial or otherwise) of an enterprise for a stated purpose. Etymology[edit] Historically, the word ‘auditing’ has been derived from Latin word “audire” which means “to hear”. Accounting[edit] Auditing is a vital part of accounting. Cost accounting is a process for verifying the cost of manufacturing or producing of any article, on the basis of accounts measuring the use of material, labor or other items of cost. Audit trail. An audit trail (also called audit log) is a security-relevant chronological record, set of records, and/or destination and source of records that provide documentary evidence of the sequence of activities that have affected at any time a specific operation, procedure, or event.[1][2] Audit records typically result from activities such as financial transactions,[3] scientific research and health care data transactions,[4] or communications by individual people, systems, accounts, or other entities.
Industry uses[edit] In telecommunication, the term means a record of both completed and attempted accesses and service, or data forming a logical path linking a sequence of events, used to trace the transactions that have affected the contents of a record. In information or communications security, information audit means a chronological record of system activities to enable the reconstruction and examination of the sequence of events and/or changes in an event. References[edit] ☝️ Machi (2016) Auditing. ✊ Harvey (2009) Auditor's report.
The auditor's report is a formal opinion, or disclaimer thereof, issued by either an internal auditor or an independent external auditor as a result of an internal or external audit or evaluation performed on a legal entity or subdivision thereof (called an "auditee"). The report is subsequently provided to a "user" (such as an individual, a group of persons, a company, a government, or even the general public, among others) as an assurance service in order for the user to make decisions based on the results of the audit. An auditor's report is considered an essential tool when reporting financial information to users, particularly in business. Since many third-party users prefer, or even require financial information to be certified by an independent external auditor, many auditees rely on auditor reports to certify their information in order to attract investors, obtain loans, and improve public appearance.
Auditor's report on financial statements[edit] Unqualified Opinion[edit] Opinion. Audit committee. An audit committee is a committee of an organisation's board of directors which is responsible for oversight of the financial reporting process, selection of the independent auditor, and receipt of audit results both internal and external. In a U.S. publicly traded company, an audit committee is an operating committee of the board of directors charged with oversight of financial reporting and disclosure. Committee members are drawn from members of the company's board of directors, with a Chairperson selected from among the committee members.
A qualifying (cf. paragraph "Composition" below) audit committee is required for a U.S. publicly traded company to be listed on a stock exchange. Audit committees are typically empowered to acquire the consulting resources and expertise deemed necessary to perform their responsibilities. The role of audit committees continues to evolve as a result of the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Definitions[edit] All public companies having:
Academic audit. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In academia, an audit is an educational term for the completion of a course of study for which no assessment of the performance of the student is made nor grade awarded.[1] Some institutions may record a grade of "audit" to those who have elected not to receive a letter grade for a course in which they are typically awarded. In this case, 'audit' indicates that the individual merely has received teaching, rather than being evaluated as having achieved a given standard of knowledge of the subject. The term 'audit' is Latin, translating as, 'he/she hears'. In other words, the audit student has experienced the course, but has not been assessed. Auditing is generally an option at institutions of higher learning, such as colleges and universities, rather than grammar school or secondary school.
See also[edit] Academic administration References[edit] Sub-Institutional Audit - Analytic Quality Glossary - Quality Research International. External sub-institutional audit core definition explanatory context The sub-institutional element being checked may be an academic area, administrative area, resource (sub as library or computing facility) or an aspect that cuts across institutions, such as compliance with disability legislation or health and safety. This is similar to thematic evaluation. Subject assessment, programme accreditation are also similar to external sub-institutional audits but unlike audits include some for of evaluative judgement. Note: the term sub-institutional audit is rarely used as such but this is a generic term to cover external audits of any element within an institution such as external subject audit; external library audit; external legislation compliance audit.
Sub-institutional audits can also be undertaken internally. analytical review The UNESCO definition of audit is directed at programme level and is about checking that aims and objectives are met. Associated issues related areas See also audit Top. External Institutional Audit - Analytic Quality Glossary - Quality Research International. External institutional audit core definition explanatory context Audit is often used as a shorthand for external institutional audit. In the UK, external institutional audit is also known as institutional review. Evaluations of institutions (Kristoffersen, 2003) is similar in as much as it ‘aims at assessing the organisational, administrative and managerial framework of an educational institution, e.g. typically covering administration, financing, research, education and quality assurance’. analytical review The UNESCO definition links institutional audit with institutional review: Institutional Audit/Institutional Review: An evidence-based process carried out through peer review that investigates the procedures and the mechanisms by which an institution ensures its quality assurance and quality enhancement.
The South African HEQC (2004) view is: Campbell and Rozsnyai (2002, p. 31): UMIST defines institutional audit rather unusually as an external review of performance associated issues See also. Internal Sub-Institutional Audit - Analytic Quality Glossary - Quality Research International. Internal sub-institutional audit core definition explanatory context An internal sub-institutional audit is something operated and undertaken by the institution without any external agency involvement. However, if the institution sees fit it may involve external experts or consultants to help with the process. Note, the term ‘sub-institutional audit’ does not occur very often, instead the sub-unit is named, for example, ‘faculty audit’, ‘department audit’, ‘health and safety audit’.
An example of a sub-institutional audit is the in faculty audits, commended by HEFCE (1997) ‘The sound operation of the University’s internal faculty audit procedures, which aid the dissemination of good practice (paragraph 46)’. analytical review The City University of Hong Kong, for example, sees internal audit as an audit of a sub-unit and describes Internal Quality Audit as follows: The University has in place an Internal Quality Audit scheme 1995. Associated issues related areas See also management audit Sources. Management auditing. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Systematic analysis and assessment of decisions and actions of management Management audit is a systematic examination of decisions and actions of the management to analyse the performance.
Management audit involves the review of managerial aspects like organizational objective, policies, procedures, structure, control and system in order to check the efficiency or performance of the management over the activities of the company. Unlike financial audits, management audit mainly examine the non financial data to audit the efficiency of the management. A management audit is an assessment of methods and policies of an organization's management in the administration and the use of resources, tactical and strategic planning, and employee and organizational improvement.
Objectives[edit] Audit procedures[edit] Generally auditor deploy following audit procedures to conduct the management audit. See also[edit] References[edit] Performance audit. Performance audit refers to an independent examination of a program, function, operation or the management systems and procedures of a governmental or non-profit entity to assess whether the entity is achieving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the employment of available resources.[1] The examination is objective and systematic, generally using structured and professionally adopted methodologies.
In most countries, performance audits of governmental activities are carried out by the external audit bodies at federal or state level. Many of these audit bodies have established guides for conducting performance audits which explain how performance audits are planned, conducted and its results reported. INTOSAI, the International Association of Supreme Audit Institutions, has published generally accepted principles of performance auditing in its implementation guidelines.
Performance audits may also be conducted by internal auditors who are employees of the entity being audited. Departmental Audit - Analytic Quality Glossary - Quality Research International. Audit core definition explanatory context Audit and institutional audit tend to be used interchangeably. However, there is a distinction between an external and internal audit (the former by an external agency) and between an institutional audit and a sub-institutional audit.
There are then, four possibilities, external institutional audit, internal institutional audit, external sub-institutional audit and internal sub-institutional audit. Audit tends also to be shorthand for quality audit, although it might also include, or specifically be about, auditing standards. In a sense, external examining is a standards auditing procedure. Audits might establish the existence of procedures or may attempt to audit their effectiveness. Audit may be to ensure conformance with regulations or procedures specified by an external body, such as regulations relating to examination of students. Audit may aim to ensure compliance to policy objectives or system-wide practices. Analytical review associated issues. Quality audit. Examination of quality systems by auditors Quality audit is the process of systematic examination of a quality system carried out by an internal or external quality auditor or an audit team.
It is an important part of an organization's quality management system and is a key element in the ISO quality system standard, ISO 9001. Quality audits are typically performed at predefined time intervals and ensure that the institution has clearly defined internal system monitoring procedures linked to effective action. This can help determine if the organization complies with the defined quality system processes and can involve procedural or results-based assessment criteria. With the upgrade of the ISO9000 series of standards from the 1994 to 2008 series, the focus of the audits has shifted from purely procedural adherence towards measurement of the actual effectiveness of the Quality Management System (QMS) and the results that have been achieved through the implementation of a QMS.
Sources. 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.[1] Internal auditing is a catalyst for improving an organization's governance, risk management and management controls by providing insight and recommendations based on analyses and assessments of data and business processes.
With commitment to integrity and accountability, internal auditing provides value to governing bodies and senior management as an objective source of independent advice. Professionals called internal auditors are employed by organizations to perform the internal auditing activity. History of internal auditing[edit] The Internal Auditing profession evolved steadily with the progress of management science after World War II. Monitoring. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Monitoring may refer to: Science and technology[edit] Biology and healthcare[edit] Computing[edit] Environmental science[edit] Environmental monitoring, processes and activities that characterise and monitor the quality of the environmentParticipatory monitoring, monitoring of natural resources and biodiversity by local people Other uses in science and technology[edit] Condition monitoring, a process for tracking parameters in industrial equipmentCure monitoring, for composite materials manufacturingDeformation monitoring, measurement and tracking of the alteration in the shape or dimensions of an object as a result of stressesEnergy monitoring and targeting, an energy efficiency technique Other uses[edit] See also[edit] Topics referred to by the same term.
Internal Quality Monitoring - Analytic Quality Glossary - Quality Research International. Internal quality monitoring core definition explanatory context Internal monitoring operates at three levels (the institution, the course and the module). Internal monitors include: · institutional units, such as audit and assessment units, institutional research units, management information units (such as statistics section of Registry/Central administration); · sub-committees of academic boards/senate; · standing institutional audit and review bodies; · specially convened review boards; · faculty-based units; · sub-committees of faculty boards; · programme boards (or sub-committees, programme directors); · individual teachers and researchers; · student organisations; · formal or ad hoc groups of students at programme or module level; · external examiners: analytical review The term internal quality monitoring tends not to be defined as such but is used internationally.
One of EUA’s key goals, for example, is ‘to strengthen universities’ capacity to monitor their quality internally’ (Jensen, 2003). Evaluations of Quality Assurance Mechanisms - Analytic Quality Glossary - Quality Research International. Institutional Review - Analytic Quality Glossary - Quality Research International.