Audit resources
Regional bodies for auditors-general
AFROSAI
www.intosai.org/Level2/2_REGION.html#Anker176479
African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions)
ARABOSAI
www.arabosai.org
Arab Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions
ASOSAI
www.asosai.org
Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions
CAROSAI
www.oagbermuda.gov.bm
Caribbean Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions
EUROSAI
www.eurosai.org
European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions
OLACEFS
www.intosai.org/Level2/2_REGION.html#Anker186673
Organisation of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions
SPASAI
www.oag.govt.nz/HomePageFolders/SPASAI/SPASAIHome.htm
South Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions
The Public Audit Forum (PAF)
www.public-audit-forum.gov.uk/
A joint body of all of the public audit institutions from the UK. It regularly provides papers on the role and responsibilities of public-sector audit and other issues of common interest.
Websites of national offices of the Auditor-General
National Audit Office (NAO) (UK)
www.nao.org.uk/home.htm
The website of the National Audit Office contains a wealth of detail, including the 50 value-for-money reports, which have been issued each year over the last few years.
National Audit Office (NAO) (UK ) - International Training Course
www.nao.org.uk/about/training1.htm
International Training Course. This training course is provided without any course fees (travel and accommodation have to be paid for). It provides an introduction to the NAO's approach to audit, including its value-for-money work.
General Accounting Office (GAO) (USA)
www.gao.gov/
This is the Auditor-General's Office for the USA. The site includes access to the Government Auditing Standards, usually known as the Yellow Book.
Office of the Auditor-General of South Africa
www.agsa.co.za/
This site also includes access to the reports produced in recent years by the Auditor-General of South Africa.
International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI)
www.intosai.org/Level2/2_DIRECT.html
This site links the auditors-general from around the world and lists other websites of supreme audit institutions.
Audit reading resources
Government Auditing Standards (the Yellow Book), 2003 Revision
www.gao.gov, June 2003. The Yellow Book contains the auditing standards for the General Accounting Office (the Auditor-General's office of the USA )
The Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts
www.intosai.org, October 1977. The basic document which outlines the most important aspects of public-sector external audit is the Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts. The chief aim of the Lima Declaration is to call for independent government auditing. The Lima Declaration is the foundation document, with its comprehensive precepts on auditing in the public sector.
INTOSAI - Code of Ethics and Auditing Standards 2001 [PDF download]
www.intosai.org, 2001. This document provides an overview of auditing standards and ethics agreed by INTOSAI. Thus, this is the most authoritative source of international standards for public sector audit and it builds on the Lima Declaration. The Code of Ethics is a statement of values and principles guiding the daily work of auditors. One of the principles outlined in the Code of Ethics is the auditor's obligation to apply generally accepted auditing standards. The Auditing Standards contain the postulates and principles for carrying out audit work.
Independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) Project, Final Task Force Report [PDF download]
www.intosai.org, 2003. INTOSAI regularly undertakes surveys of the level of independence which its member bodies enjoy. This reports the results of the latest survey.
International Journal of Government Auditing
www.intosai.org. The INTOSAI quarterly newsletter. This provides updates and news of developments in offices of auditors-general across the world.
State Audit in the European Union – (UK NAO)
www.nao.org.uk. This book provides an introduction to each of the national supreme audit institutions in the member countries of the European Union. Thus it provides an overview of the above three models.
The IMF code of fiscal transparency
www.imf.org. This is the foundation document from the International Monetary Fund which is commonly used to assess the extent to which a government has open and transparent financial management and accountability.
The Sharman Report [PDF]
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk, 2001. Holding to account - the review of audit and accountability for central government in the UK.
Risk management readings
www.theiia.org. The IIA have produced a list of risk-related articles, books, and other publications to assist internal auditors and their organisations in monitoring, evaluating, and improving the effectiveness of risk management systems and processes. Internal auditors are encouraged to evaluate risk management information from a wide variety of sources, to ensure that they can effectively add value to their organisations through monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of their organisations' risk management systems
The IIA bookstore
www.theiia.org. Visit the IIA Bookstore's 'New Products' and 'Coming Soon' sections regularly to learn what's new and what's on the way, and add your name to an e-mail notification list so that they can let you know when products of interest to you become available.
Research opportunities in internal auditing
www.theiia.org. To understand the ramifications of, and the opportunities from, the new corporate governance environment, 10 well-known and respected academics have written on the past, present and future of internal auditing. These academics have also outlined key questions that collectively present an ambitious research agenda.
Independence and objectivity - the new challenges for internal auditors?
www.iia.org.uk. Recent corporate failures have clearly demonstrated the importance of internal audit in the practice of good corporate governance. This new publication aims to provide guidance to organisations as they grapple with the issue of how best to obtain independent assurance on risk management and internal control.
www.auditnet.org
AuditNet was developed by Jim Kaplan. The original concept was of a central electronic resource for the audit community that would provide a link for auditors worldwide. This has evolved into a network of resources available for auditors. A listing of those electronic resources is updated and distributed monthly via the Internet. AuditNet includes Jobs for Auditors and an inventory of Audit Work Programs.
The Auditors Sharing Audit Workpapers Project provides you with the opportunity to share your best practice standard forms with other auditors. To access the documents go to AuditNet and click on Audit Programs or Audit Workpapers from the Virtual Library.
AuditNet has added a section for new (and seasoned) auditors detailing the audit process, using a step-by-step approach. The section will include templates, sample documents, flowcharts and links to other resources. The success of these pages will rely on the philosophy of Auditors Sharing Knowledge (ASK) for Progress and grow as more seasoned auditors contribute and find value in educating others in their own best and continuing practices.
Appraising internal audit
www.iia.org.uk, December 2003. This briefing, written for audit committee members and heads of internal audit, looks at ways to assess internal audit effectiveness. It introduces the IIA International Standards as the profession's recognised measure of effectiveness, and includes questions for assessing the quality of assurance that internal audit provides.
World Bank Institute courses on internal audit in Africa
www.worldbank.org. Details of the courses provided by the World Bank Institute in 2003 and more recently are provided on dedicated websites. The courses include, for example, the Consultative Forum on Internal Audit for Anglophone Africa held in February 2004 and the courses for public-sector auditors held in Addis Ababa in May 2003. These websites include details of the participants, the resource persons and some of their presentations.
Audit Committee Handbook (UK)
Revised draft, www.hm-treasury.gov.uk, 2004. This Handbook has been prepared to provide those responsible for establishing and appointing audit committees, and members of audit committees, with support in their respective roles. Because no two organisations are exactly the same it is not possible to write a 'rule book' for an audit committee in central government. The contents of this Handbook are intended to help:
- accounting officers and boards work out the best arrangements for particular circumstances
- audit committees and individual members of audit committees reflect on their role and on the ways in which they function.
Audit committee self-assessment checklist [PDF download]
www.nao.org.uk, 2003. The UK National Audit Office have developed this checklist for good practice on the management of audit committees in central government.
Audit training
UK National Audit Office (NAO) International Training Course
www.nao.org.uk. This training course is provided each year without any course fees (travel and accommodation have to be paid for). It provides an introduction to the NAO's approach to audit, including its value-for-money work.
Computer audit training module
www.nao.org.uk. The audit of computer and other IT systems is one of the most significant challenges facing auditors. The International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Standing Committee on IT Audit has developed a range of training modules for IT audit. These have been designed specifically for external audit in the public sector.