For webinars, participants need to be logged in with their unique webinar link AND prove that they are paying attention (answering polls) in order to receive full credit. Yellowbook-CPE will poll participants at least three times an hour. Participants must answer 70% of all polling questions to earn full CPE credit.
All new courses, including live seminars (“Group programs”) and self-study programs are reviewed by a content reviewer who is a licensed CPA to assure that the program is accurate and current and addresses the stated learning objectives. This content review occurs before the start date of live seminars.
Live seminars (“Group programs”) are updated to incorporate new auditing or accounting standards as needed. All courses including live seminars and self-study will be updated at least annually. All CPE programs are reviewed by a content reviewer who is a licensed CPA after each significant revision.
I’ve had a few months to digest the changes to the 2018 Yellow Book (Government Auditing Standards),and I’ve taught a few seminars and webinars about the changes. Most of the changes do not shock my audiences. But I am noticing that quite a few auditors are not familiar with the Green Book which was published by […]
However, they do tell us in words how it all works. The concepts and terms linking in the standards are too many to list, but here are a few that come to mind.
GAGAS 2021: 8.06 Auditors should design the methodology to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence that provides a reasonable basis for findings and conclusions based on the audit objectives and to reduce audit risk to an acceptably low level.
Then you’re in the right place! I invite you to join me for one of my most popular classes, the Virtual Audit Bootcamp scheduled for June 3-7. In this series of five ½-day webinars for a total of 20 CPE hours, we explore each phase of conducting a government audit while learning how to comply with significant Yellow Book and IIA standards. And, there’s a bonus to help develop your interviewing skills! Earn 7 extra hours of CPE at your own pace with a complimentary self-study course, Interviewing Skills for Auditors. This class often sells out, so register today!
Always make sure the major parts of the audit fit together. The objective is satisfied, and the risks are addressed. The findings address the objective and the risks while supported by evidence… Linkage!
The GAO’s ethical guidelines for auditors remind us who we are and why we do what we do. And this is a very good thing, because it is easy to get balled up in the details of our day-to-day work and, forgetting the bigger picture of who we are and what we do, take the […]
Objectives: Identify the purpose of the GAO’s Green Book. Distinguish between components of internal control. Distinguish between management objectives Choose a finite subject matter on which to apply controls Identify the auditor’s responsibilities regarding application of the Green Book Most of the changes between the 2011 Yellow Book and the 2018 Yellow Book that we […]
Objectives: Assess whether an audit team has met the Yellow Book requirements regarding quality control and peer review At the most basic level, the quality control requirements are twofold. The Yellow Book requires that audit shops: have an internal quality control system, and undergo an external peer review that determines whether the audit shop’s quality […]
The GAO issued the 2018 version of Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards Tuesday. Find the online version here: https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/693136.pdf. Find an audio summary of the changes to the standards here: https://www.gao.gov/multimedia/podcast/692926 I suggest you scan chapter 4 and specifically section 4.16 to make sure you are compliant with the CPE requirements. Also notice that the GAO has […]
Enjoy this excerpt from the self-study text: The Yellow Book Interpreted which qualifies for 15 hours of CPE. The GAO has a few things to say about a government auditor’s ethical responsibilities and, thus, added a large section on ethics to the 2007 revision of the Yellow Book. The same ethical principles appear in the 2017 […]
Want to accomplish more, but there never seems to be enough hours in a day? You’re definitely not alone if you ever feel like you’re falling behind on projects important to you. Yes, it’s sometimes difficult to relinquish “control,” but you could possibly create time by delegating an “opportunity” for someone else to learn a new skill!
The first step is to document what you currently do with your time – both professionally and personally. Write down all the tasks you perform in a day. Then, for each one, ask yourself these questions to help determine whether you should delegate certain tasks to someone else:
Why? If you keep doing the same things over and over again, you will get the same results over and over! If you want the time to do new things and make progress in your career, hand tasks over to make room for the new.
How? Explain what you expect them to learn and lay out specifics about requirements, deadlines and why you want it done. Provide tools, resources and examples. Also, remove (or at least identify) any obstacles. Once it’s done, follow up and provide specific feedback, then let them try it again!
When? When you’re out of time (and aren’t we all?) and need to devote energy to more important tasks. When you have the confidence to ask peers to take on additional tasks. When you can allow others to do it their way!
One of the most requested courses I present for on-site teams is How to Manage an Audit Project. In this live and customized 16+ hour Yellow Book CPE class, you learn how to keep a handle on project quality, scope and resources while communicating clearly with stakeholders. I also cover how to develop your staff, delegate technical tasks to team members and enhance your skills as a servant leader. Email me for more information.
GAO Green BookThe recently-published 2024 Yellow Book changed its audit quality control standards. Previously, an annual monitoring report was a requirement. Now, there’s an annual evaluation report with a conclusion regarding the strength of the quality management system. Check out this contrast for more clarity on the standard’s new expectations.
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“Leita is an Excellent communicator and teacher! She relays the information clearly and well, in relatable, real-life fashion, throwing in a dash of her wonderful humor and laughter. She keeps the attention of the attendees every time I’ve attended her courses. The time flies by in each of Leita’s classes.
I highly recommend Leita to anyone desiring to learn more about the topic at hand in easy-to-understand terms, descriptions, and applications…full of real world examples, applications, and helpful, applicable interactive activity.” – Customized Seminar participant
“Our office has used Leita’s training services for many years because she offers the most relevant, in-depth, and practical (real stories) training compared to other training resources and trainers we’ve used in the past. Leita also has a very special talent of making “auditing and audit standards” entertaining! That is not easy to do. As a result, we have highly recommended Leita to other California agencies as well.
“I want to say that Leita is the “Mary Poppins of all Auditors.” Leita is the BEST trainer I have ever had. She really helped me to retain knowledge of what is extremely difficult to sit through (Yellow Book), and her teaching style sparked numerous interests through out. Look forward to more training from Leita.” – Customized Seminar participant
While we auditors are busy designing our audits to catch fraud, we often bypass government corruption because it is so hard to prove. It’s easier for us to uncover the account clerk’s transfers into a personal account or prove that the executive assistant overcharged for travel expenses than it is for us to look at […]
An auditor program is a great place for a reviewer view – on one document – how an auditor’s working papers fit together. An audit program gives a succinct overview of what the auditor is doing to satisfy the audit objective.
Why doesn’t the GAO require an audit program? Well, they do mandate that you have an audit objective and that you document your methodologies. So the elements of an audit program do have to be in the audit documentation, they just don’t mandate that all of these elements show up in the same place on the same document.
I think this approach makes a lot of sense given that most audit shops use electronic working papers and can generate something that gives the reviewer an overview of the content of the audit documentation with a click of a button.
In a 2014 book, former Secretary of State Powell explained how he judges evidence and where he went wrong with his speech to the UN on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. These same principles apply to audit evidence.
Featured speaker, Douglas Hileman, shares how government entities play an important role in ESG reporting. Government promulgates regulations, develops policies, manages programs, and may have monitoring and enforcement authority over business partners and regulated entities. So much to know!
Chapter 5 of the 2024 Yellow Book specifies 6 engagement quality objectives. Audit teams use these objectives to assess quality risk and design responses to address those risks. Be careful… These objectives overlap quite a bit!
An auditor’s emotional bank account balance always starts with zero! Follow these easy guidelines as soon as possible to build up that emotional bank account with your auditee and watch your investment grow.
We have a problem in Texas. State statute requires that every county have a County Auditor. However, the County Auditor is not an ‘auditor’ at all. Instead, the County Auditor acts as a chief financial officer for the county.
Wrong! The audit function should report to the board of commissioners. Why? Because the County Auditor’s activities might be the subject of the audit function’s audit and the County Auditor could silence the auditors, thereby keeping the truth from the board of commissioners.
