CFO Series: Driving Efficiency WEBCAST - Partnered with the Idaho Society

Overview

“It’s the little things that matter.” We are so busy that we sometimes fail to do the fundamental duties as well as we should. How can we get more out of every audit, reduce the pressure, and streamline the process? What lessons can we learn from diabolical and brazen fraud activities? We need to re-examine our internal controls so they will be effective today and will scale to remain effective in the future. Even the Statement of Cash Flows can be made much more effective – we will show you how. These ‘little things’ can and do have an outsized impact. We will review today’s best practices. We can all learn from the mistakes made by others so we will be even more efficient.

Highlights

Types of audits: external, internal, compliance, regulatory. Objectives of each audit type and how they differ. Aligning management’s role with auditor expectations. What to expect in the planning phase. Fieldwork survival tips and communication best practices. Documentation dos and don’ts. Responding to findings and building effective action plans. Avoiding common audit pitfalls. What internal controls are—and what they are not. Why even small organizations need controls. COSO and the five core components of a sound internal control system. Common control failures and real-world consequences. Examples of scalable financial, operational, and compliance controls. How to tailor controls to your organization’s size and risk profile. Embedding internal controls into daily operations. How to monitor, evaluate, and adapt controls over time. The importance and structure of the cash flow statement, and more.

Prerequisites

At least six months of professional financial statement analysis experience and/or at least six months of professional experience in preparing or reviewing accounting processes and reports. Experience working with internal clients or external clients and business leaders. Prefer some exposure to ethical dilemmas.

Designed For

Corporate financial leaders, financial managers, CEOs, CFOs, controllers, accountants, board members, advisors, and consultants. CPAs in public practice and CPAs in industry. Business owners, entrepreneurs, anyone interested in internal controls, process improvement, and professionals who are interested in streamlining workflows, realizing cost savings, increasing efficiencies and increasing value.

Objectives

Distinguishing between internal, external, and compliance audits. Identifying audit objectives and how to support them during engagements. How to prepare effectively for the planning and fieldwork phases. Improve communication with auditors and reduce common audit friction. Respond confidently and constructively to audit findings. Distinguishing between internal. external. and compliance audits. Identifying audit objectives and how to support them during engagements. How to prepare effectively for the planning and fieldwork phases. Improve communication with auditors and reduce common audit friction. Respond confidently and constructively to audit findings. Understand how and why most cash flow statements are misunderstood. Discuss alternative methods to make our users understand cash flow. Identify common red flags and warning signs of financial fraud. How do fraudsters exploit culture. controls. and assumptions? Analyze how internal controls failed in real-world examples? Strengthen professional skepticism through case-based reflection. Apply lessons learned to improve fraud awareness in your organization.