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Companies today expect their accounting, finance, and audit professionals to be adept critical thinkers. But what that actually entails can be difficult to describe. As noted in the October 21, [...]

Many organizations understand the value of a successful business student internship program and have achieved success with their programs. The ideas we share in this article, which include quotes from [...]

The overarching objective of an internal audit activity is to add value by helping the organization achieve its objectives. The best way to do this is to deliver risk-based services [...]

Allstate Corp. started integrating the recommendations of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) into its internal audit process after the COSO came out with its final report in 1992. In charge of the integration was the company's Corporate Auditing Dept. However, the Worksheet application process that was adopted by Allstate only covers risk assessment and control activities, failing to deal with the other components of internal control as recommended by the COSO.

Allstate's internal auditing team is maximizing productivity through a seven-step risk assessment process. The role of the Corporate Auditing Department at Allstate has shifted over the last several years in [...]

All state and local governments receiving federal funding worth $100,000 or more are required by the Single Audit Act of 1984 to undergo a comprehensive annual audit. The law was enacted to help state and local governments manage federally assisted programs more effectively, to standardize audit requirements for these programs and to help maximize the use of audit resources. A survey was conducted to examine how government finance officials and auditors of government bodies perceive the Single Audit Act. Local government officials who responded to the survey expressed doubt as to the usefulness of the audit. The auditors polled felt that they were not being paid enough for the added work and risk brought on by the Act. Survey responses also indicated that problems with the new law's execution need to be further scrutinized.

U.S. companies are adopting a number of strategies including JIT, TQM, and automation to gain competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive global environment. One such strategy is statistical process control [...]

THE ALLSTATE INTERNAL AUDIT TEAM TACKLED A REAL HEAVYWEIGHT -- CFIA -- AND WON. THEIR RECENT BENCHMARKING INITIATIVE LED TO INSIGHTS, IMPROVEMENTS, AND PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS. AT FIRST GLANCE, THE COMPETENCY [...]

Internal auditors at Allstate Insurance Company are finding that their new risk inventory is far more than an audit-planning tool. It's also helping to boost risk knowledge 2 and awareness [...]

Investigates the internal outsourcing of internal audit functions at Trans Union Corp. in Chicago, Illinois. Evidence for cost-effective added value of internal auditing to organizations; Benefits from internal outsourcing; Lessons from the Trans Union experience. INSET: Internal outsourcing case examples..