Lean Auditing: Driving Added Value and Efficiency in Internal Audit - Hardcover

by James C. Paterson (Author)

"How can you argue with the core principles of Lean, that you focus on what provides value to your customer and eliminate work that is not necessary (muda)? Internal auditors need to understand not only who their primary customers are, but what is valuable to them - which in most cases is assurance that the risks that matter to the achievement of objectives are properly managed. We need to communicate what they need to know and not what we want to say. This incessant focus on the customer and the efficient production of a valued product should extend to every internal audit team. How else can we ensure that we optimize the use of our limited resources to address the dynamic business and risk environment within which our organizations operate?"
Norman Marks, GRC Thought Leader


Using lean techniques to enhance value add and reduce waste in internal auditing

Lean Auditing is a practical guide to maximising value and efficiency in internal audit through the application of lean techniques. It is an ideal book for anyone interested in understanding what progressive, value adding audit can be like. It is also ideal for anyone wondering whether audit activities can be streamlined or better co-ordinated with other activities.

The book contains practical advise from the author's experience as CAE of AstraZeneca PLC; from his work as a consultant specializing in this field; as well as insights from leading CAEs in the UK, US and elsewhere. In addition, there are important insights from thought leaders such as Richard Chambers (IIA US) and Norman Marks (GRC thought leader) and Chris Baker (Technical Manager of the IIA UK).

Increasing pressure on resources is driving a need for greater efficiency in all areas of business, and Internal Audit is no exception. Lean techniques can help streamline the workflow, but having only recently been applied to IA, lack the guidance available for other techniques. Lean Auditing fills this need by combining expert instruction and actionable advice that helps Internal Auditors:

• Benchmark their efficiency against lean ways of working
• Understand warning signs of waste and lower added value
• Understanding practical ways of working that improve added value and reduce waste
• Gain confidence about progressive ways of working in internal audit
• Understand how improved ways of working in audit can positively impact the culture of the wider organization

One of the keys to the lean audit is finding out exactly what the stakeholder wants, and eliminating everything else. Scaling back certain operations can delineate audit from advisory, and in the process, dramatically improve crucial outcomes. To this end, Lean Auditing is the key to IA efficiency.

Front Jacket

Lean Auditing offers auditors, executives and board members numerous insights into proven ways internal audit can act as an effective catalyst for organizational growth and continuous improvement. In this groundbreaking book, James C. Paterson demonstrates the counterintuitive concept that if the internal audit process continues to carry out a large portion of traditional controls and compliance work it can often weaken and perpetuate a range of organizational and cultural problems with governance, risk and assurance.

By applying the suggestions and techniques presented in Lean Auditing, internal auditors will have the tools they need to benchmark current audit plans, reports, and approaches to work. In addition, they will have the ability to identify methods for increasing the value of their work, whilst minimizing waste. The book begins with a detailed overview of the origins and principles of various lean methodologies and moves on to a discussion of the differing perspectives and interpretations of value among key organizational stakeholders as they relate to internal audit.

Paterson shows the ways in which taking a lean approach to the audit plan can ensure that internal audit examines the right areas, overcoming the common failing of having a disconnect between the audit plan and the most important risks and value drivers. Lean Auditing also explores how lean, progressive audit practices can guide the way audit resources are allocated across different risk areas in order to maximize the value derived from the plan. A number of the lean techniques have been found to be invaluable for internal auditors facing pressure on their budgets.

Lean Auditing offers numerous insights into the reasons audit functions can struggle to deliver value and optimal productivity. This is supplemented with inputs from Paterson's extensive consulting experience in lean auditing, combined with inputs from a number of leading CAEs and other internal audit thought leaders, including Richard Chambers and Norman Marks. This practical resource provides a framework for maximizing returns from internal audit.

Back Jacket

APPLY LEAN TECHNIQUES TO MAXIMIZE THE VALUE AND EFFICIENCY OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION

In today's world of financial constraints, increased regulations, and a focus on corporate governance, internal audit departments are under pressure to get the most from limited resources. However, there is a tendency for audits to get bogged down in detail, reducing productivity and restricting the organization it serves.

Lean Auditing offers board members, senior managers, finance professionals and internal auditors an important resource that clearly demonstrates the use of lean principles and techniques to both inspire and support internal audit to better understand what it means to add value, and to drive out unproductive activities. James C. Paterson explains in detail why adopting lean audit ways of working can enable internal audit to play a much greater role in contributing to organizational success and efficiency.

Lean Auditing outlines a selection of essential lean tools and techniques that have proven their worth in terms of driving greater effectiveness and efficiency. This vital resource highlights the principles and best practices that define successful internal audit departments and gives audit professionals the confidence to apply these techniques in their day-to-day work.

Author Biography

JAMES C. PATERSON, is Director of Risk & Assurance Insights, Ltd, (www.RiskAI.co.uk) and provides consulting, coaching and training to clients in the public and private sectors in the UK, Europe and further afield. This allows him to combine his interests in risk assurance and internal audit alongside his passion for leadership and organizational development.

Paterson enjoyed a successful corporate career as the Head of the Group Financial Reporting Department of AstraZeneca PLC. After attending the IMPM programme and obtaining a Masters degree in Management from McGill University in Canada he became the Director or Leadership Development programmes for AstraZeneca PLC working on leadership development and culture change issues. After that he was appointed as the VP and Chief Audit Executive of AstraZeneca PLC from 2002 until the end of 2009. This was where he first developed his interest in lean ways of working, which eventually led to the writing of Lean Auditing.

James also has a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics & Philosophy from the University of Manchester in the UK and is PIIA qualified.