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FAQs
Q:What is the authority
of the University Audit Department?
A: The University Audit
Department receives its authority from the Audit Committee
of the Yale Corporation. The authority includes full and unrestricted
access to all personnel and departmental records while conducting
audit activities. All information received by the audit department
is held at the appropriate level of confidentiality.
Q:
How does the department gets selected to be audited?
A:
There are several factors that affect what departments are selected
to be audited. Internally, the Audit Department management assesses
the degree of risk or exposure to loss any given department
represents to the University. This assessment is used to weigh
the order in which departments are selected. Audit requests
also come from external sources. Departments sometimes contact
us to request an audit if they feel they have a problem. We
have also received anonymous phone calls. Senior management
of the University frequently request our services as well.
Q How
long does an audit typically take?
A:
The length of time it takes to complete an audit varies
significantly. Some take as little as a couple of weeks and
others can take several months. The audit is a dynamic process,
the scope of which can be expanded or reduced at any time depending
on the findings.
Q: What
does the basic audit process involve?
A:
An audit is broken down into four main parts. They are as
follows:
- Planning:
During this phase we gather various types of information
from interviews with department personnel and from financial
analyses we perform from the University Ledger. This information
helps us get a clear understanding of the various functions
of a department and establish the preliminary scope for
the engagement.
-
Fieldwork: This phase is where we begin spending
a good deal of time "on site" in the department.
We perform tests of various department transactions. The
number of transactions tested varies from audit to audit
depending on our scope. The transactions to be tested will
be provided in advance so that department personnel have
ample time to gather the information before our arrival.
-
Reporting: The compilation phase. During this part
of the audit we assemble any findings and/or suggestions
in draft form for discussion with department management.
As a result, some findings are resolved and some remain
to be included as part of the "official" audit
report.
-
Follow-up: It is anticipated that all Audit Report
and Management Letter comments will be followed up with
the department approximately 6 months after the reports
is issued.
Q: What are the
benefits of the audit process to my department?
A:The overall goal of
our audit is to provide the department being reviewed with
an assessment of their control environment and compliance
with appropriate policies. A secondary goal of our review
is to make recommendations, if necessary, that are aimed to
improve the efficiency and/or accuracy by which certain procedures
are performed. The Audit Department is uniquely qualified
in this respect because it has broad exposure to the University
and other departments and can therefore relate its experiences
to the department being reviewed .
Q: What information
will I need to provide to the auditors?
A: Prior to our review,
we submit an Initial Request for Information to the department.
This request includes general department information which
aids us in gaining an understanding of the department being
reviewed. When we begin the fieldwork segment of our review
the department will need to provide us with various detail
supporting the transactions we are testing.
Q: Will the audit
interfere with normal workflow within my department?
A: Inevitably there will
be some disruption within the department's daily schedule.
However, we try to keep this disruption to a minimum and schedule
our meetings with department personnel at their convenience.
Q: Is all the information
I provide to you confidential?
A: Yes. All information
provided to us is held in the strictest confidence. The only
people outside of Internal auditing who are privy to this
information are the recipients of the audit report.
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