By the end of the program, participants will be able to:

• Develop an understanding of project management
• Gain experience using project management tools and techniques
• Apply the concepts of Risk Management to audit engagements
• Develop counter measures to deal with “scope creep”
• Understand how Earned Value Management can track and forecast both performance to schedule and performance to budget

Project Management and Audit

• Defining project management and the project management process
• Major processes in the life of a project
• Major processes in an internal audit
• Project management’s relevance to internal audit
• Expanding audit project leaders’ core competencies

Cornerstones of Project Management

• What is a project?
• The project triangle
• Key project management definitions
• 9 knowledge areas of project management
• Elements of a project plan
• Mapping, scheduling, and controlling the project
• Allocating resources
• Identifying problems early in the process

Applying Project Management Strategies to IA

• Why project management?
• Successful audit/project management: key factors
• The audit/project planning process
• Using project management to plan audits
• Time estimates
• Common workflow planning problems
• Managing resources
• Guidelines and examples of good audit/project management
• Improving time management

Applying Project Management to the Audit Process

• The benefits of adopting a project management focus
• The relationship of planning to control
• Maximizing your investment in planning
• Developing a work breakdown structure
• Developing early warning systems
• Minimizing your investment in fieldwork
• Writing and issuing meaningful reports promptly

Practice Case

• Defining project scope and requirements
• Developing the project work plan
• Defining activity dependencies and creating network diagrams
• Estimating work
• Producing a project plan
• Monitoring and controlling projects
• Closing the project

The Successful Project Manager

• Project manager attributes
• Roles and responsibilities
• Focus areas: communication, motivation, and problem-solving
• 7 ways to succeed
• 7 ways to fail
• Directing and managing others
• Conducting meetings and interviews
• Rational and creative problem-solving techniques

Meeting Today’s Audit Challenges with Project Management Techniques

• How the project manager’s role differs in compliance and operational reviews
• Multi-tasking: an essential competency for managing operational audits
• How to avoid bottlenecks
• How to differentiate workflows for assurance and consulting reviews
• How to manage your project when you don’t know the final product at the onset
• Sarbanes-Oxley compliance
• Enterprise-wide risk assessment
• Special projects

Internal Auditors, Auditors-in-Charge, Financial & Operational Auditors, Finance Personnel, External Auditors, Audit Managers and Supervisors, IT Auditors, Team Leaders and Directors, Operations Managers, Audit Managers