non-Certified Internal Auditor |

So, New Year comes - New Audit comes. You can easily imagine, that upcoming week will bring your accounting and reporting team a lot of fun, while you (internal auditor) will be relaxing somewhere in quiet and peaceful corner of your office checking 2009 controls. However, let’s go to today’s topic - planning of engagement by external auditor.

I initiate this topic because sometime we receive from external auditors, with whom we are working over 5 years, strange letters about our plans for year end. We receive it every year and these are always the same: When you plan to submit us tests of controls?

Probably, I’m writing this post to close this question once and forever.

So, Dears, sweet and honey auditors…

You always start 2nd week of January. This YE it would be January 11, 2010. Your Financial team will come and start reviewing or financial reporting (not for SOX control purposes).

Your IT team would not be busy and not taking into account our tests of controls, so they will start review of ITGC and IT-related business processes starting from Tuesday, January 12, 2010, just because both they and or IT team do not prefer to start on Mondays

18 January, 2010 part of your team, mostly first year auditors will stop getting and analyzing data from reporting team and will have some spare time to start from ELC.

So, do not ask me, when will we be ready, do not make me think of you as “Dumb Auditors“. Just tell us, when you are going to start. Anyway we know it, but I understand that you really need to roll the ball officially.

And we will be ready. Thanks and Happy New Year!