Performer Profile
Salesforce.com is an enterprise cloud computing company that provides comprehensive customer management and collaboration applications and an application development platform to businesses of all sizes and industries worldwide. John Beeler, salesforce.com’s Senior Vice President of Internal Audit, discusses internal audit’s performance-oriented role in ERM. “Our team’s performance is measured by meeting the objectives outlined each year in the company’s goal-setting process, which we refer to as the ‘V2MOM’ process,” Beeler says. “This stands for Vision – what we want; Values – what is important about it; Methods – how we achieve it; Obstacles – what prevents us from achieving it; and Metrics – how we know when we have it.”
Article and Related Poll
The pace of change in mobile device technology is rapid and unpredictable for firms that manufacture and distribute tablets and smartphones – and it is no slower for industries using mobile technology to attract, serve and retain customers. One emerging aspect of the rapid evolution of mobile devices is the race across all industries to publish mobile applications that allow customers to interact more directly with their favorite brands – and empower brands to better connect with their customers. This article suggests tactics for reducing risk.
This week’s poll question asks: "Regardless of industry, is addressing smartphone security a top priority for your organization in 2012?"
Podcast
On December 19, 2011, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) issued an exposure draft detailing proposed updates to its Internal Control – Integrated Framework, which was first introduced in 1992. In this podcast, Protiviti Managing Director Jim DeLoach summarizes COSO's proposed changes to the framework. DeLoach serves on COSO's Advisory Council on the project to update the framework.
Auerbach Article
One of the concepts that is gaining popularity is called “lean management” or “lean performance.” It’s based on the principles from Toyota’s production system (TPS). These concepts helped take Toyota from a small car company to one of the market leaders in the automotive industry in terms of quality and efficiency.
Questions & Answers
This section of the "Guide to Public Company Readiness – Frequently Asked Questions" focuses on additional governance considerations. Topics covered include: How can a pre-public company ensure that it has in place a sufficient set of corporate governance, risk management and compliance capabilities? Are public companies required to maintain an internal audit function? And, how many corporate directors do boards typically contain?
Policy
This policy outlines areas of responsibility related to the company tax process, including federal and state tax, payroll tax, audits, and acquisitions/dispositions.
Updated Checklist
This checklist should be used when planning the nature, timing and extent of work on an individual audit assignment. The audit team can use it in connection with a planning and scoping memorandum template to prepare detailed instructions for the work.
Featured Event
Database systems are both the most overlooked and the most crucial areas in need of securing. In many instances, all the critical information held by an organization will be found in its databases. This webinar will provide valuable guidance to any security, compliance or IT audit professional with responsibility for ensuring the security of their organization’s databases. Register now, or click on the link above for more info.
Featured KLplus Course
This basic-level online tutorial covers flexible budgets and overhead analysis and how they are used by management to control operations. The completed course is worth 1 credit and by the end of the course the learner will be able to:
- Understand why organizations use budgets
- Understand the type of budgets organizations use
- Explain the limitations of static budgets
- Explain the benefits of flexible budgets
- Explain how management uses flexible budgets
- Identify the types of variable and fixed and overhead variances
- Calculate variable and fixed overhead variances
To view the full list of CPE courses available on KnowledgeLeader, please visit the KLplus page, or to request an upgrade to KLplus, visit the My Account page.
University Center Addition
Topics include discussion of criminal statues related to financial crimes, techniques used in solving financial crimes, interviewing, rules of evidence, sources of information, forensic accounting procedures, and current issues in financial investigations.
Featured Links
Are you prepared as global IT outsourcers shrink onshore staff? These tips will help you keep projects moving as offshore IT service provides cut back on the on-site staff that used to work as liaisons between customer and provider. Source: CIO.com
Most Institute members say audit firm term limits will not necessarily improve audit quality and may increase costs and diminish the collaboration between internal and external auditors required by IIA Standards, according to The IIA’s response to the PCAOB. Source: TheIIA.org
Coming Soon!
Finance Code of Conduct Policy
This policy serves as a sample code of conduct specific to senior financial officers of a company, documenting a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities. Look for this policy in our next issue!
Featured Favorite
The objective of this audit work program is to evaluate a business unit’s application controls to determine compliance with corporate policies and that the application environment is appropriately protected. This work program was tagged as a Favorite by your fellow subscribers.
From the Archive
This fourth GTAG is designed for CAE and internal audit management personnel who are responsible for overseeing IT audits. The focus of this guide is on providing specific recommendations that a CAE can implement immediately, and to help sort through the strategic issues regarding planning, performing, and reporting on IT audits. Consideration is given to the fundamentals as well as emerging issues.
Did You Know?
This page provides links to authoritative auditing and accounting standards set forth by domestic and global organizations and associations.
CCH Tax and Accounting - Accounting Research Manager Updates
- Checklists -- AutoCheck U.S. GAAP Disclosures and AutoCheck U.S. GAAP Interim Disclosures Checklists Updated
- Sovereign Debt -- SEC Staff Issues Guidance on European Sovereign Debt Exposures
- Income Taxes -- FAF Issues Post-Implementation Review Report on Tax Uncertainties
- Liquidation Basis of Accounting -- FASB Discusses Liquidation Basis of Accounting and Other Matters
- Recent AICPA Auditing Standards -- Checklist Updated
- Auditor's Opinions -- AICPA Standards on Emphasis-of-Matter Paragraphs and Other-Matter Paragraphs in the Independent Auditor’s Report Discussed
- Yellow Book -- New CPE Requirements under the Yellow Book Discussed
Top 5 Pages on KnowledgeLeader
The following links will take you to the five most popular pages from the week of January 9, 2012.