8
The information contained herein is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavor to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No one should act on such information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of the particular situation. KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (www.us.kpmg.com), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”). KPMG International’s member firms have 140,000 professionals, including more than 7,900 partners, in 146 countries. ©2013 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. NDPPS 159167 Contact For more information about repeatable and sustainable data analytics-enabled auditing, quantitative-based continuous risk assessment for dynamic audit planning and continuous auditing, please contact: Jim Littley Global Leader Continuous Auditing/ Continuous Monitoring T: 267-256-1833 E: [email protected] Acknowledgement Special thanks to contributing author Todd Aspell and writer Joanna Vargas. kpmg.com ADVISORY SERVICES Transforming Internal Audit: A Maturity Model from Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance kpmg.com

Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

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Page 1: Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

The

info

rmat

ion

cont

aine

d he

rein

is o

f a g

ener

al n

atur

e an

d is

not

inte

nded

to a

ddre

ss t

he

circ

umst

ance

s of

any

par

ticu

lar i

ndiv

idua

l or e

ntit

y. A

ltho

ugh

we

ende

avor

to p

rovi

de a

ccur

ate

and

tim

ely

info

rmat

ion,

the

re c

an b

e no

gua

rant

ee t

hat s

uch

info

rmat

ion

is a

ccur

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f the

da

te it

is re

ceiv

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r tha

t it w

ill c

onti

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re. N

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ould

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rmat

ion

wit

hout

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ropr

iate

pro

fess

iona

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ice

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r a t

horo

ugh

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inat

ion

of t

he

part

icul

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tion

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irm

s af

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h K

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tern

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oope

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n ab

out r

epea

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d su

stai

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e da

ta

anal

ytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g, q

uant

itativ

e-ba

sed

cont

inuo

us

risk

asse

ssm

ent f

or d

ynam

ic a

udit

plan

ning

and

con

tinuo

us

audi

ting,

ple

ase

cont

act:

Jim

Lit

tley

Glo

bal

Lea

der

Co

nti

nu

ou

s A

ud

itin

g/

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nti

nu

ou

s M

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rin

g

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y@kp

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now

led

gem

ent

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cial

than

ks to

con

trib

utin

g au

thor

Todd

Asp

ell a

nd

writ

er J

oann

a Va

rgas

.

kpm

g.c

om

AD

VIS

OR

Y S

ER

VIC

ES

Tran

sfo

rmin

g In

tern

al A

ud

it:

A M

atur

ity M

odel

from

Dat

a A

naly

tics

toC

ontin

uous

Ass

uran

ce

kpm

g.c

om

Page 2: Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

Co

nte

nts

Exec

utiv

e su

mm

ary

1

Mak

ing

the

jour

ney

2

The

valu

e of

iden

tify

ing

mat

urit

y le

vels

4

Inte

rnal

aud

it d

ata

anal

ytic

s an

dco

ntin

uous

aud

itin

g m

atur

ity

mod

el

5

Inte

rnal

aud

it p

lan

deve

lopm

ent

at v

ario

us m

atur

ity

leve

ls

6

Exec

utio

n an

d re

port

ing

at v

ario

us m

atur

ity

leve

ls

9

Cha

lleng

es

12

Con

clus

ion

13

The

Mat

urity

Mod

el |

13

Man

y in

tern

al a

udit

depa

rtm

ents

are

thin

king

abo

ut d

ata

anal

ytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g an

d co

ntin

uous

aud

iting

pro

cess

es s

tric

tly fr

om a

tact

ical

app

roac

h w

hile

not

co

nsid

erin

g th

e ad

vant

ages

cre

ated

thro

ugh

the

inte

grat

ion

of d

ata

anal

ytic

s an

d co

ntin

uous

aud

iting

thro

ugho

ut a

n in

tern

al a

udit

met

hodo

logy

. How

ever

, the

re a

re

trem

endo

us b

enef

its to

be

real

ized

by

thin

king

mor

e st

rate

gica

lly a

nd tr

ansf

orm

ing

how

inte

rnal

aud

it de

part

men

ts p

lan

and

exec

ute

audi

ts th

roug

h th

e us

e of

repe

atab

le

and

sust

aina

ble

data

ana

lytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g; q

uant

itativ

e-ba

sed

cont

inuo

us ri

sk

asse

ssm

ent f

or d

ynam

ic a

udit

plan

ning

; and

con

tinuo

us a

uditi

ng. T

his

tran

sfor

mat

ion

requ

ires

mor

e th

an ju

st d

evel

opin

g te

chni

cal c

apab

ilitie

s to

per

form

dat

a an

alyt

ics.

It

invo

lves

reev

alua

ting

and,

whe

re n

eces

sary

, mod

ifyin

g th

e in

tern

al a

udit

met

hodo

logy

bei

ng u

sed

by th

e en

tire

inte

rnal

aud

it de

part

men

t to

crea

te a

str

ateg

ic

appr

oach

to im

plem

ent,

sus

tain

, and

exp

and

data

ana

lytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g an

d ot

her r

elat

ed in

itiat

ives

suc

h as

con

tinuo

us a

uditi

ng, c

ontin

uous

mon

itorin

g, a

nd e

ven

cont

inuo

us a

ssur

ance

. Fin

ally

, acc

epta

nce

and

supp

ort f

rom

man

agem

ent a

nd k

ey

busi

ness

sta

keho

lder

s is

crit

ical

to e

nsur

ing

that

inte

rnal

aud

it’s

tran

sfor

mat

ion

effo

rts

rem

ain

rele

vant

and

val

uabl

e to

the

busi

ness

.

Co

ncl

usi

on

Page 3: Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

12 |

The

Mat

urity

Mod

el

Eac

h le

vel o

f mat

urity

con

tain

s its

ow

n se

t of c

halle

nges

. Som

e m

ay b

e m

ore

pred

icta

ble

than

oth

ers,

but

it’s

crit

ical

to re

cogn

ize

the

diff

icul

ties

expe

rienc

ed

by o

ther

s to

app

ropr

iate

ly p

repa

re a

nd a

void

them

. Som

e ty

pica

l pitf

alls

that

may

de

rail

data

ana

lytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g an

d co

ntin

uous

aud

iting

initi

ativ

es in

clud

e th

e fo

llow

ing:

Gen

eral

• D

eter

min

ing

and

esta

blis

hing

con

sens

us o

n ob

ject

ives

and

suc

cess

crit

eria

.

• M

easu

ring

and

dem

onst

ratin

g su

cces

s.

• Li

mite

d re

sour

ces

(tec

hnol

ogy

and

hum

an k

now

how

).

Dat

a A

vaila

bili

ty a

nd

Qu

alit

y •

Lack

of a

cces

s to

dat

a

• D

ispa

rate

info

rmat

ion

syst

ems

with

diff

eren

t dat

a fo

rmat

s.

• In

com

plet

e da

ta s

ets,

inco

nsis

tent

dat

a qu

ality

.

• D

ata

priv

acy/

secu

rity

issu

es to

nav

igat

e.

Dat

a A

nal

ytic

s•

Inab

ility

to e

ffect

ivel

y le

vera

ge d

ata

anal

ytic

s to

ach

ieve

aud

it ob

ject

ives

.

• D

efin

ition

of “

exce

ptio

n;”

addr

essi

ng “

fals

e po

sitiv

es”

and

“fal

se n

egat

ives

”.

• W

orkf

low

aro

und

exce

ptio

n re

solu

tion;

man

agin

g vo

lum

es o

f exc

eptio

ns.

Ch

ange

Man

agem

ent

• M

anag

ing

impa

ct o

f dat

a an

alyt

ics,

con

tinuo

us a

uditi

ng, a

nd c

ontin

uous

m

onito

ring

proc

esse

s on

aud

itors

and

bus

ines

s pr

oces

s ow

ners

.

Ch

alle

nge

s

The

Mat

urity

Mod

el |

1

If y

ou’re

trav

elin

g do

wn

a pa

th th

at n

ever

reac

hes

its d

estin

atio

n, w

ould

you

sta

y on

th

e sa

me

path

or w

ould

you

try

a di

ffere

nt a

ppro

ach?

It’s

a q

uest

ion

wor

th a

skin

g,

espe

cial

ly w

hen

it co

mes

to d

ata

anal

ytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g.

Alth

ough

the

bene

fits

of d

ata

anal

ytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g ar

e w

ell k

now

n, m

any

orga

niza

tions

hav

e be

en

unab

le to

real

ize

them

. The

prim

ary

reas

ons

may

lie

in th

eir a

ppro

ach.

Mos

t org

aniz

atio

ns ta

ke a

tact

ical

and

te

chni

cal’

appr

oach

tow

ard

leve

ragi

ng d

ata

anal

ytic

s in

pla

nnin

g an

d ex

ecut

ing

audi

ts. T

his

incl

udes

buy

ing

soph

istic

ated

sof

twar

e to

ols

and

hirin

g sp

ecia

lists

to ru

n an

alyt

ics

and

expe

ctin

g th

at to

be

suff

icie

nt to

ac

hiev

e da

ta a

naly

tics-

enab

led

audi

ting

acro

ss th

eir a

udit

univ

erse

. But

to b

e tr

uly

effe

ctiv

e an

d su

stai

nabl

e,

data

ana

lytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g re

quire

s m

ore

than

pro

ceed

ing

with

bus

ines

s-as

-usu

al a

nd a

ddin

g so

me

tact

ical

and

tech

nica

l dat

a an

alyt

ic c

apab

ilitie

s.

Whi

le te

chni

cal s

kills

and

tool

s ar

e su

rely

impo

rtan

t to

the

proc

ess,

org

aniz

atio

ns n

eed

to ta

ke a

mor

e st

rate

gic

appr

oach

to im

plem

ent,

sus

tain

, and

exp

and

data

ana

lytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g. T

his

may

requ

ire

tran

sfor

min

g th

e w

ay y

ou p

lan,

exe

cute

, and

repo

rt a

udits

, inc

ludi

ng y

our r

elat

ions

hips

with

bus

ines

s st

akeh

olde

rs. T

he k

ey is

to fo

cus

on y

our a

udit

met

hodo

logy

, or a

ppro

ach,

not

just

you

r tec

hnic

al c

apab

ilitie

s.

This

pap

er p

rovi

des

a m

ulti-

dim

ensi

onal

refe

renc

e m

odel

to il

lust

rate

how

to ta

ke a

tran

sfor

mat

ive

appr

oach

to

war

d au

dit p

lann

ing

and

exec

utio

n in

ord

er to

impl

emen

t sus

tain

able

dat

a an

alyt

ics-

enab

led

audi

ting.

In

the

exam

ples

pro

vide

d, w

e’ve

mod

ified

a tr

aditi

onal

inte

rnal

aud

it m

etho

dolo

gy b

y in

tegr

atin

g an

alyt

ics

and

high

light

ing

char

acte

ristic

s th

roug

hout

eac

h ph

ase.

Thi

s ca

n he

lp s

erve

as

a re

fere

nce

on h

ow a

nd

whe

re y

ou c

an m

odify

you

r int

erna

l aud

it m

etho

dolo

gy. W

e’ve

then

take

n it

a st

ep fu

rthe

r by

appl

ying

a

mat

urity

mod

el a

s an

ove

rlay

to th

e m

etho

dolo

gy.

The

mat

urity

mod

el, s

een

thro

ugh

the

lens

of a

n in

tern

al a

udit

met

hodo

logy

, is

desi

gned

to il

lust

rate

th

at th

ere

are

man

y da

ta a

naly

tics-

enab

led

audi

ting

char

acte

ristic

s ac

ross

our

five

pha

ses

of a

n au

dit

met

hodo

logy

at e

ach

of th

e fiv

e pr

opos

ed m

atur

ity le

vels

. As

you

will

see

in th

e fo

llow

ing

page

s, th

e m

atur

ity m

odel

ser

ves

as a

refe

renc

e to

hig

hlig

ht s

peci

fic d

ata

anal

ytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g ch

arac

teris

tics

from

a v

ery

basi

c le

vel o

f mat

urity

thro

ugh

a ve

ry m

atur

e le

vel f

or e

ach

phas

e of

the

audi

t met

hodo

logy

. K

now

ing

thes

e ch

arac

teris

tics

may

ass

ist y

ou o

n yo

ur jo

urne

y to

tran

sfor

m y

our a

udit

met

hodo

logy

, or

appr

oach

, to

incl

ude

data

ana

lytic

s in

ord

er to

reac

h yo

ur d

esire

d ul

timat

e in

tern

al a

udit

dest

inat

ion.

Exe

cuti

ve s

um

mar

y

Page 4: Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

2 | T

he M

atur

ity M

odel

Doe

s yo

ur in

tern

al a

udit

appr

oach

add

val

ue to

sen

ior m

anag

emen

t’s v

iew

of b

usin

ess

risk

and

stra

tegi

c go

als?

Wha

t rol

e do

es in

tern

al a

udit

play

in th

e as

sess

men

t of r

isks

that

dire

ctly

impa

ct y

our o

rgan

izat

ion’

s ab

ility

to a

chie

ve it

s st

rate

gic

goal

s? Is

the

inte

rnal

aud

it de

part

men

t a p

artn

er in

dev

elop

ing

the

stra

tegi

c pr

iorit

ies

and

visi

on o

f the

com

pany

? D

oes

inte

rnal

aud

it’s

met

hodo

logy

effe

ctiv

ely

leve

rage

dat

a an

alyt

ics

in o

rder

to c

ontin

ually

ass

ess

the

risks

that

wou

ld in

hibi

t the

ach

ieve

men

t of t

he o

rgan

izat

ion’

s st

rate

gic

goal

s? R

egar

ding

the

risks

iden

tifie

d, h

ow d

oes

your

app

roac

h de

term

ine

how

aud

its a

re id

entif

ied,

pla

nned

an

d ex

ecut

ed?

If th

e an

swer

s to

thes

e qu

estio

ns a

re u

ncle

ar w

ithin

you

r int

erna

l aud

it de

part

men

t, y

ou’re

ce

rtai

nly

not a

lone

.

The

cont

inuo

us a

ssur

ance

of e

nter

pris

e ris

k m

anag

emen

t1 (as

not

ed in

Mat

urity

Lev

el V

in th

e ch

art b

elow

) is

an

ambi

tious

goa

l for

inte

rnal

aud

it de

part

men

ts, m

any

of w

hich

are

stil

l see

king

to a

chie

ve a

sta

te o

f in

tegr

ated

or s

usta

ined

dat

a an

alyt

ics,

con

tinuo

us ri

sk a

sses

smen

t and

con

tinuo

us a

uditi

ng p

roce

sses

. Tru

th

be to

ld, r

epea

tabl

e an

d su

stai

nabl

e da

ta a

naly

tics

and

cont

inuo

us a

uditi

ng p

roce

sses

rem

ain

a to

p go

al fo

r m

any

inte

rnal

aud

it de

part

men

ts a

nd s

enio

r man

agem

ent,

but

mos

t org

aniz

atio

ns a

re s

till i

n th

eir i

nfan

cy o

r pl

anni

ng s

tage

s w

hen

it co

mes

to a

ctua

l exe

cutio

n.

As

inte

rnal

aud

it de

part

men

ts s

eek

to a

dvan

ce th

eir a

ppro

ach,

the

use

of a

mat

urity

mod

el c

an h

elp

benc

hmar

k th

e de

part

men

t, u

sing

a fe

w b

asic

cha

ract

eris

tics

(an

exam

ple

of w

hich

can

be

foun

d on

pag

e 6)

, to

pro

vide

a c

lear

pat

h to

war

d ac

hiev

ing

data

ana

lytic

s-en

able

d in

tern

al a

uditi

ng, c

ontin

uous

aud

iting

, and

be

yond

. Roo

ted

in a

n in

tern

al a

udit

met

hodo

logy

, the

mat

urity

mod

el s

erve

s as

a g

uide

alo

ng th

e jo

urne

y fr

om tr

aditi

onal

inte

rnal

aud

it m

odel

s to

war

d m

ore

mat

ure

leve

ls o

f con

tinuo

us a

uditi

ng, a

nd th

roug

h to

the

cont

inuo

us a

ssur

ance

of e

nter

pris

e ris

k m

anag

emen

t – a

n ul

timat

e go

al o

f int

erna

l aud

it, a

s w

ell a

s, m

ost

ente

rpris

es a

nd th

eir e

xecu

tive

man

agem

ent.

A k

ey fi

rst s

tep

with

in th

e m

atur

ity m

odel

is th

e su

cces

sful

in

tegr

atio

n of

dat

a an

alyt

ics.

Mak

ing

th

e jo

urn

ey

1 C

ontin

uous

Ass

uran

ce is

a p

rogr

essi

ve s

hift

in a

udit

prac

tices

tow

ards

the

max

imum

pos

sibl

e de

gree

of a

udit

auto

mat

ion

as a

way

of t

akin

g ad

vant

age

of th

e te

chno

logi

cal b

asis

of t

he m

oder

n en

tity

in o

rder

to re

duce

aud

it co

sts

and

incr

ease

aud

it au

tom

atio

n. G

iven

the

emph

asis

on

the

tran

sfor

mat

ion

of th

e en

tire

syst

em o

f aud

iting

, th

e de

velo

pmen

t of C

ontin

uous

Ass

uran

ce re

quire

s a

fund

amen

tal r

ethi

nk o

f all

aspe

cts

of a

uditi

ng, f

rom

the

way

in

whi

ch d

ata

is m

ade

avai

labl

e to

the

audi

tor,

to th

e ki

nds

of te

sts

the

audi

tor c

ondu

cts,

how

abn

orm

aliti

es a

re

deal

t with

, wha

t kin

ds o

f rep

orts

are

issu

ed, h

ow o

ften

and

to w

hom

they

are

issu

ed, a

nd m

any

othe

r fac

tors

, the

im

port

ance

of s

ome

of w

hich

will

onl

y be

com

e ap

pare

nt a

s C

ontin

uous

Ass

uran

ce is

impl

emen

ted.

“Con

tinuo

us A

ssur

ance

for t

he N

ow E

cono

my”

, Rut

gers

Bus

ines

s S

choo

l, Fe

brua

ry 2

010.

An

ove

rvie

w o

f mat

uri

ty le

vels

The

mat

urity

mod

el b

elow

repr

esen

ts th

e st

ages

of m

atur

ity fr

om th

e le

ast m

atur

e st

ate

of tr

aditi

onal

au

ditin

g th

roug

h to

the

mos

t mat

ure

stat

e of

con

tinuo

us a

ssur

ance

of e

nter

pris

e ris

k m

anag

emen

t.

Leas

t M

atu

reM

ost

Mat

ure

Trad

ition

alA

uditi

ng

Ad

Hoc

Inte

grat

edA

naly

tics

Con

tinuo

us R

isk

Ass

essm

ent &

Con

tinuo

usA

uditi

ng

Inte

grat

ed

Con

tinuo

usA

uditi

ng &

C

ontin

uous

M

onito

ring

Con

tinuo

us

Ass

uran

ce o

f En

terp

rise

Ris

kM

anag

emen

t

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel V

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel I

VM

atu

rity

Leve

l III

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel I

IM

atu

rity

Leve

l I

The

Mat

urity

Mod

el |

11

Inte

rnal

aud

it ca

n th

en le

vera

ge th

e an

alyt

ics

and

mon

itorin

g pe

rfor

med

by

the

busi

ness

and

dat

a qu

ality

is

regu

larly

val

idat

ed. A

utom

ated

aud

iting

tech

niqu

es a

chie

ve s

ever

al a

udit

obje

ctiv

es b

ased

on

“exc

eptio

n”

audi

ting.

This

type

of a

uditi

ng is

per

form

ed o

n a

cont

inuo

us b

asis

rath

er th

an o

nly

whe

n an

aud

it is

sch

edul

ed.

Thes

e au

dit p

rogr

ams

allo

w in

tern

al a

udit

to g

ain

incr

easi

ng e

ffici

enci

es a

nd to

exp

and

audi

t cov

erag

e. Th

e au

dit

team

inte

rpre

ts, a

naly

zes,

and

cha

lleng

es th

e re

sults

of t

he a

naly

tics.

The

root

cau

se is

inve

stig

ated

thro

ugh

the

data

and

ver

ified

by

man

agem

ent t

hrou

gh in

quiry

and

the

exce

ptio

ns a

nd re

sults

are

ver

ified

by

the

busi

ness

pr

oces

s ow

ners

.

Exe

cuti

on

an

d R

epo

rtin

g a

t M

atu

rity

Lev

el

VTh

e ne

xt m

atur

ity le

vel,

whi

ch c

an b

e vi

ewed

as

the

ultim

ate

obje

ctiv

e of

inte

rnal

aud

it or

gani

zatio

ns, i

s th

e co

ntin

uous

ass

uran

ce o

f ent

erpr

ise

risk

man

agem

ent (

Mat

urity

Lev

el V

). Th

e ex

ecut

ion

and

repo

rtin

g m

etho

dolo

gy p

hase

at t

his

leve

l inc

lude

s pr

ojec

t pla

nnin

g in

whi

ch b

usin

ess

mon

itorin

g an

d au

dit’s

pro

cedu

res

rely

on

the

sam

e pr

oces

ses,

tech

nolo

gy, d

ata

and

info

rmat

ion.

The

aud

itor p

erfo

rms

proc

edur

es v

erify

ing

the

unde

rlyin

g da

ta a

naly

tics

and

repo

rtin

g ar

e al

igne

d w

ith th

e st

rate

gic

obje

ctiv

es.

The

audi

t sco

pe is

flui

d, fo

cusi

ng o

n ro

ot c

ause

ana

lysi

s an

d m

anag

emen

t’s

effe

ctiv

enes

s at

mon

itorin

g an

d re

spon

ding

to ri

sks.

Con

tinui

ng to

look

at p

roce

ss a

naly

sis

as a

n ex

ampl

e, a

t thi

s m

atur

ity le

vel,

proc

ess

anal

ysis

invo

lves

dat

a an

alyt

ics

that

are

exe

cute

d by

the

ente

rpris

e’s

syst

ems

to c

ontin

uous

ly v

erify

that

cer

tain

risk

tole

ranc

es a

re n

ot e

xcee

ded.

Th

is le

vel o

f mat

urity

is c

hara

cter

ized

by

a m

ore

expa

nsiv

e an

d co

nsis

tent

us

e of

adv

ance

d an

alyt

ics

incl

udin

g pr

edic

tive

and

pres

crip

tive

anal

ytic

s.

The

busi

ness

risk

s ar

e re

conc

iled

to th

e en

tity

leve

l key

str

ateg

ic ri

sks

on

a co

ntin

uous

bas

is. A

tech

nolo

gy-e

nabl

ed p

roce

ss a

naly

zes

inte

rnal

and

ex

tern

al q

uant

itativ

e an

d qu

alita

tive

data

suc

h as

com

petit

ive

land

scap

e in

form

atio

n, n

ew re

gula

tions

, eco

nom

ic tr

ends

, etc

., an

d de

tect

s an

y ris

ks th

at m

ay im

pede

the

achi

evem

ent o

f the

org

aniz

atio

n’s

stra

tegi

c go

als.

Dat

a tr

endi

ng in

form

atio

n fo

r cer

tain

key

pro

cess

es a

nd

cont

rols

are

ava

ilabl

e to

sen

ior l

evel

man

agem

ent a

nd e

nhan

ced

and

dyna

mic

repo

rtin

g of

resu

lts a

re a

vaila

ble

for m

anag

emen

t’s a

nd

inte

rnal

aud

it’s

revi

ew a

nd re

spon

se.

At t

his

final

mat

urity

leve

l, au

tom

ated

aud

iting

is u

sed

and

is

focu

sed

on m

anag

emen

t’s re

spon

ses

to b

usin

ess

anom

alie

s an

d tr

igge

r eve

nts.

Inte

rnal

aud

it ve

rifie

s th

e re

conc

iliat

ion

of th

e bu

sine

ss’ m

onito

ring

of p

roce

ss ri

sks

and

cont

rols

w

ith th

e en

tity’

s st

rate

gic

leve

l ris

ks o

n a

cont

inuo

us b

asis

. Se

nior

Man

agem

ent p

rovi

des

insi

ghts

to o

rgan

izat

iona

l and

pe

ople

man

agem

ent b

y in

terp

retin

g an

d an

alyz

ing

the

resu

lts.

Roo

t cau

se in

vest

igat

ions

and

reco

mm

enda

tions

focu

s on

man

agem

ent p

roce

ss im

prov

emen

ts a

nd e

xcep

tions

an

d re

sults

are

dis

cuss

ed a

nd v

erifi

ed b

y th

e bu

sine

ss

proc

ess

owne

rs.

Page 5: Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

10 |

The

Mat

urity

Mod

el

Exe

cuti

on

an

d R

epo

rtin

g a

t M

atu

rity

Lev

els

I a

nd

II

This

pha

se o

f an

inte

rnal

aud

it m

etho

dolo

gy is

focu

sed

on th

e id

entif

icat

ion

and

com

mun

icat

ion

of

findi

ngs

and

perf

orm

ance

impr

ovem

ent o

ppor

tuni

ties

usin

g fo

rmal

doc

umen

tatio

n an

d m

eetin

gs w

ith

vario

us c

onst

ituen

t gro

ups

such

as

the

audi

t com

mitt

ee, s

enio

r man

agem

ent,

pro

cess

ow

ners

, and

oth

er

stak

ehol

ders

to c

omm

unic

ate

the

resu

lts o

f the

inte

rnal

aud

it w

ork.

Thi

s dr

ives

cha

nge

that

con

trib

ute

to th

e ac

hiev

emen

t of t

he e

nter

pris

e’s

stra

tegi

c an

d bu

sine

ss o

bjec

tives

. Dur

ing

the

exec

utio

n an

d re

port

ing

phas

e, a

udito

rs ty

pica

lly re

view

fina

ncia

l sta

tem

ents

, man

agem

ent r

epor

ting,

prio

r aud

it re

port

s,

perf

orm

ance

and

risk

indi

cato

rs a

ffect

ed b

y th

e pr

oces

s to

gai

n an

und

erst

andi

ng o

f the

bus

ines

s pr

oces

s.

In tr

aditi

onal

aud

iting

(Mat

urity

Lev

el I)

, dat

a an

alyt

ics

are

gene

rally

not

util

ized

to d

rive

the

exec

utio

n of

th

e au

dit p

lan.

In M

atur

ity L

evel

II, a

d ho

c da

ta a

naly

tics

help

to id

entif

y ou

tlier

tran

sact

ions

and

focu

s au

dit

scop

e. T

he a

naly

tics

are

desc

riptiv

e in

nat

ure

and

thei

r res

ults

gui

de th

e w

alkt

hrou

gh p

roce

dure

s fo

cusi

ng

on id

entif

ied

gaps

, and

the

prio

ritiz

atio

n of

the

mea

sure

and

ana

lyze

pro

cedu

res.

Exe

cuti

on

an

d R

epo

rtin

g a

t M

atu

rity

Lev

el I

IIE

xecu

tion

and

repo

rtin

g at

the

cont

inuo

us ri

sk a

sses

smen

t and

con

tinuo

us a

uditi

ng m

atur

ity le

vel

(Mat

urity

Lev

el II

I) w

ould

incl

ude

key

busi

ness

pro

cess

es w

ith a

utom

ated

ana

lytic

s ge

nera

ted

for

the

audi

tor d

urin

g pl

anni

ng in

ord

er to

sco

pe a

nd fo

cus

audi

t eff

orts

.

As

part

of t

he e

xecu

tion

and

repo

rtin

g m

etho

dolo

gy p

hase

, int

erna

l aud

it ac

tivel

y re

view

s pe

rfor

man

ce a

nd ri

sk

indi

cato

rs, b

ench

mar

k co

mpa

rison

s an

d ex

tern

al in

form

atio

n. D

ata

is re

adily

ava

ilabl

e, a

naly

tics

are

desc

riptiv

e,

diag

nost

ic, a

nd e

ven

som

e pr

edic

tive

with

som

e an

alyt

ics

bein

g pr

e-pa

ckag

ed. T

he a

naly

tic re

sults

focu

s th

e w

alkt

hrou

gh p

roce

dure

s an

d th

e pr

iorit

izat

ion

of m

easu

re a

nd a

naly

ze p

roce

dure

s. In

tern

al a

udit

utili

zes

data

an

alyt

ics-

enab

led

audi

t pro

gram

s to

exp

and

audi

t cov

erag

e an

d im

prov

e au

ditin

g ef

ficie

ncy

and

effe

ctiv

enes

s.

Mos

t dat

a is

read

ily a

vaila

ble

to th

e au

dito

r and

is v

alid

ated

dur

ing

audi

t exe

cutio

n. R

oot c

ause

is in

vest

igat

ed

thro

ugh

the

data

and

ver

ified

by

inqu

iry. T

he d

ata

and

resu

lts a

re a

vaila

ble

and

verif

ied

by th

e bu

sine

ss

proc

ess

owne

rs.

Exe

cuti

on

an

d R

epo

rtin

g a

t M

atu

rity

Lev

el I

VIn

Mat

urity

Lev

el IV

(int

egra

ted

cont

inuo

us a

uditi

ng a

nd c

ontin

uous

mon

itorin

g), t

he b

usin

ess

proc

ess

owne

rs m

onito

r per

form

ance

and

risk

indi

cato

rs fo

r the

bus

ines

s pr

oces

ses

durin

g pr

ojec

t pla

nnin

g.

The

audi

t tea

m le

vera

ges

the

busi

ness

’ mon

itorin

g an

d pe

rfor

ms

inde

pend

ent a

naly

ses

on th

e m

onito

ring

outp

ut to

iden

tify

tren

ds a

nd p

riorit

ize

area

s to

focu

s au

dit e

ffort

s.

Inte

rnal

aud

it is

now

con

nect

ed to

the

sam

e da

ta a

nd re

port

ing

as m

anag

emen

t. In

tern

al a

udit

asse

sses

th

e da

ta q

ualit

y an

d th

e an

alyt

ics

mon

itore

d by

the

busi

ness

. Con

tinui

ng w

ith th

e pr

oces

s an

alys

is a

rea

of th

e ex

ecut

ion

and

repo

rtin

g ph

ase

as a

n ex

ampl

e, in

tern

al a

udit

perf

orm

s an

alys

es o

f the

resu

lts

from

man

agem

ent’s

mon

itorin

g pr

oces

s to

gai

n an

und

erst

andi

ng o

f how

wel

l ris

ks a

re m

onito

red

and

cont

rolle

d. S

yste

m e

vent

logs

and

pro

cess

seq

uenc

ing

are

anal

yzed

. In

addi

tion

to d

escr

iptiv

e an

d di

agno

stic

ana

lytic

s, p

redi

ctiv

e an

alyt

ics

may

be

used

mor

e ex

tens

ivel

y, p

resc

riptiv

e an

alyt

ics

may

be

intr

oduc

ed, a

nd th

e an

alyt

ics

may

be

prog

ram

med

or e

ven

auto

mat

ed. (

see

side

bar o

n pa

ge x

x)

The

anal

ytic

resu

lts g

uide

wal

kthr

ough

pro

cedu

res

and

the

prio

ritiz

atio

n of

the

mea

sure

and

an

alyz

e pr

oced

ures

.

Whi

le m

any

inte

rnal

aud

it de

part

men

ts m

ay h

ave

alre

ady

adde

d th

e us

e of

dat

a an

alyt

ics

in th

e pl

anni

ng,

scop

ing,

and

exe

cutio

n of

aud

its, m

any

have

don

e so

in a

n ad

hoc

fash

ion

– us

ing

one

or tw

o te

chni

cal

reso

urce

s fo

r one

or m

ore

isol

ated

are

as o

f aud

it fo

cus.

As

a re

sult,

thes

e in

tern

al a

udit

depa

rtm

ents

are

ju

st s

kim

min

g th

e su

rfac

e an

d ar

e un

deru

tiliz

ing

the

full

pote

ntia

l of d

ata

anal

ytic

s by

faili

ng to

radi

ate

this

po

wer

ful c

apab

ility

acr

oss

thei

r dep

artm

ents

and

thei

r aud

it un

iver

se.

Her

e lie

s th

e fu

ndam

enta

l pro

blem

. Mos

t org

aniz

atio

ns h

ave

not c

onsi

dere

d th

e us

e of

dat

a an

alyt

ics

or

cont

inuo

us a

uditi

ng in

rela

tion

to th

e de

part

men

t’s in

tern

al a

udit

met

hodo

logy

, inc

ludi

ng a

tran

sfor

mat

ion

of h

ow a

udits

are

pla

nned

, exe

cute

d, a

nd re

port

ed. F

or e

xam

ple,

mos

t int

erna

l aud

it m

etho

dolo

gies

do

not

conn

ect o

r int

egra

te th

e us

e of

dat

a an

alyt

ics

or c

ontin

uous

aud

iting

thro

ugho

ut th

e va

rious

pha

ses

of a

n au

dit c

ycle

. Hen

ce, d

ata

anal

ytic

s be

com

es m

ore

of a

bol

t-on

activ

ity, w

hich

dep

artm

ents

try

to s

usta

in b

y bu

ildin

g a

”tec

hnic

al”

capa

bilit

y, ra

ther

than

a s

trat

egic

ena

bler

inte

grat

ed in

to th

e fa

bric

of t

he a

udit

proc

ess.

By

not i

nteg

ratin

g da

ta a

naly

tics

with

in th

e in

tern

al a

udit

proc

ess

to g

uide

the

depa

rtm

ent i

n pl

anni

ng a

nd

exec

utin

g au

dits

, int

erna

l aud

it de

part

men

ts s

trug

gle

with

impl

emen

ting

the

use

of d

ata

anal

ytic

s. E

ven

if th

ey h

ave

impl

emen

ted

its u

se, t

hose

sam

e de

part

men

ts h

ave

stru

ggle

d w

ith e

xpan

ding

its

use

beyo

nd o

ne

or tw

o re

sour

ces,

bey

ond

one

or tw

o au

dit a

reas

, or b

eyon

d us

e on

an

infr

eque

nt b

asis

. Fur

ther

, whe

n its

us

e is

con

cent

rate

d w

ith o

ne o

r tw

o ke

y re

sour

ces,

and

thos

e re

sour

ces

leav

e th

e de

part

men

t, u

se o

f dat

a an

alyt

ics

freq

uent

ly s

tops

. Con

sequ

ently

, the

resu

lts g

ener

ated

from

trad

ition

al a

d ho

c an

alyt

ics

ultim

atel

y do

not

hav

e a

sign

ifica

nt im

pact

on

the

depa

rtm

ents

’ aud

it ap

proa

ch b

ecau

se o

f thi

s la

ck o

f int

egra

tion

into

th

e ov

eral

l aud

it pr

oces

s.

As

a re

sult,

ther

e co

ntin

ues

to b

e a

barr

ier i

n th

e w

ay th

at in

tern

al a

udit

depa

rtm

ents

are

leve

ragi

ng

data

ana

lytic

s, w

hich

can

be

over

com

e by

fund

amen

tally

tran

sfor

min

g th

e au

dit p

roce

ss v

ia a

new

aud

it ap

proa

ch, o

r met

hodo

logy

. A m

atur

ity p

ath

may

hel

p to

effe

ctiv

ely

initi

ate

and

adva

nce

the

use

of d

ata

anal

ytic

s an

d co

ntin

uous

aud

iting

.

By

star

ting

with

the

phas

es o

f a c

omm

on in

tern

al a

udit

met

hodo

logy

and

iden

tifyi

ng th

e ch

arac

teris

tics

at

diffe

rent

leve

ls o

f mat

urity

, an

orga

niza

tion

can

iden

tify

logi

cal i

nteg

ratio

n po

ints

for r

epea

tabl

e an

d su

stai

nabl

e da

ta a

naly

tics,

con

tinuo

us a

uditi

ng, a

nd o

ther

rela

ted

initi

ativ

es. T

he re

sult

is a

new

inte

rnal

aud

it m

etho

dolo

gy

adap

ted

to re

pres

ent d

ata

anal

ytic

s-en

able

d in

tern

al a

uditi

ng a

t eac

h ph

ase

of th

e au

dit p

roce

ss.

By

star

tin

g w

ith

th

e p

has

es o

f a c

om

mo

n

inte

rnal

au

dit

met

ho

do

logy

an

d id

enti

fyin

g

the

char

acte

rist

ics

at d

iffer

ent

leve

ls o

f m

atu

rity

, an

org

aniz

atio

n c

an id

enti

fy

log

ical

inte

gra

tio

n p

oin

ts fo

r re

pea

tab

le

and

su

stai

nab

le d

ata

anal

ytic

s, c

on

tin

uo

us

aud

itin

g, a

nd

oth

er r

elat

ed in

itia

tive

s.

Page 6: Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

4 | T

he M

atur

ity M

odel

Th

e va

lue

of i

den

tify

ing

mat

uri

ty le

vels

The

first

ste

p on

you

r tra

nsfo

rmat

ion

jour

ney

tow

ard

achi

evin

g da

ta a

naly

tics-

enab

led

audi

ting

invo

lves

id

entif

ying

you

r cur

rent

leve

l of m

atur

ity. K

now

ing

your

cur

rent

mat

urity

leve

l is

nece

ssar

y to

det

erm

ine

gaps

with

in th

e ap

proa

ch th

at n

eed

to b

e ad

dres

sed

in o

rder

to re

ach

the

desi

red

futu

re s

tate

. Not

eve

ry

orga

niza

tion

requ

ires

the

sam

e le

vel o

f mat

urity

in th

eir d

ata

anal

ytic

s or

con

tinuo

us a

uditi

ng p

roce

sses

. It

dep

ends

on

a nu

mbe

r of f

acto

rs in

clud

ing,

for e

xam

ple,

the

need

s an

d go

als

of th

e en

terp

rise,

the

ambi

tions

and

per

mis

sion

s of

the

chie

f aud

it ex

ecut

ive,

the

natu

re o

f the

ent

erpr

ise’

s bu

sine

ss, a

nd th

e re

gula

tory

env

ironm

ent i

n w

hich

the

ente

rpris

e op

erat

es n

ow a

nd in

the

futu

re.

Est

ablis

hing

whe

re y

our i

nter

nal a

udit

orga

niza

tion

stan

ds re

quire

s co

mpa

rison

with

a re

fere

nce

mat

urity

m

odel

, whi

ch in

clud

es c

lear

leve

ls o

f mat

urity

, for

eac

h ph

ase

of th

e au

dit p

roce

ss, w

ith c

onsi

dera

tion

of a

va

riety

of p

eopl

e, p

roce

ss, a

nd te

chno

logy

fact

ors.

The

pur

pose

of s

uch

a co

mpa

rison

, or g

ap a

sses

smen

t,

is to

hel

p id

entif

y th

e de

sire

d fu

ture

sta

te m

atur

ity le

vel t

hat i

s rig

ht fo

r you

r int

erna

l aud

it or

gani

zatio

n, th

e ga

ps b

etw

een

the

curr

ent a

nd fu

ture

sta

tes,

and

to e

nabl

e bu

ildin

g a

stra

tegy

to a

chie

ve th

e de

sire

d fu

ture

m

atur

ity s

tate

. Mor

eove

r, th

e m

odel

ser

ves

as a

mec

hani

sm to

mea

sure

pro

gres

s al

ong

the

way

.

KP

MG

has

dev

elop

ed th

e fo

llow

ing

refe

renc

e m

atur

ity m

odel

to il

lust

rate

the

appl

icat

ion

of d

ata

anal

ytic

s an

d th

eir r

elat

ed c

hara

cter

istic

s fo

r eac

h ph

ase

of th

e au

dit m

etho

dolo

gy a

nd h

ow th

ey m

ay v

ary

at d

iffer

ent

mat

urity

leve

ls.

The

Mat

urity

Mod

el |

9

With

in a

n in

tern

al a

udit

met

hodo

logy

, exe

cutio

n an

d re

port

ing

invo

lves

the

scop

ing

of e

ach

audi

t, c

reat

ing

and

exec

utin

g th

e au

dit s

teps

, con

duct

ing

the

busi

ness

pro

cess

ana

lysi

s, id

entif

icat

ion

of c

ontr

ol g

aps

to b

e co

nsid

ered

or e

valu

ated

, and

the

docu

men

tatio

n of

aud

it ev

iden

ce a

nd re

port

ing

of a

ny fi

ndin

gs. T

he u

se o

f an

alyt

ics-

enab

led

audi

ting

char

acte

ristic

s at

this

pha

se in

crea

ses

as y

ou m

ove

up fr

om e

ach

of th

e fiv

e m

atur

ity

leve

ls a

s sh

own

in th

e ch

art b

elow

.

Exe

cuti

on

an

d r

epo

rtin

g a

t va

rio

us

mat

uri

ty le

vels

Inte

rnal

Au

dit

D

ata

An

alyt

ics

and

Co

nti

nu

ou

s A

ud

itin

g

Mat

uri

ty M

od

elTr

adit

ion

al

Au

dit

ing

Ad

Ho

c In

teg

rate

d

An

alyt

ics

Co

nti

nu

ou

s R

isk

Ass

essm

ent

&

Co

nti

nu

ou

s A

ud

itin

g

Inte

gra

ted

C

on

tin

uo

us

Au

dit

ing

&

Co

nti

nu

ou

s M

on

ito

rin

g

Co

nti

nu

ou

s A

ssu

ran

ce

of E

nte

rpri

se

Ris

k M

anag

emen

t

Exe

cuti

on

an

d

Rep

ort

ing

• D

ata

Ana

lytic

s ar

e no

t util

ized

to

driv

e th

e ex

ecut

ion

of

the

audi

t pla

n in

trad

ition

al

audi

ting

• A

d ho

c da

ta

anal

ytic

s ar

e ut

ilize

d to

iden

tify

outly

ing

tran

sact

ions

or

to a

ssis

t in

sco

ping

th

e au

dit.

• U

se o

f an

alyt

ics

may

incl

ude

desc

riptiv

e an

d so

me

diag

nost

ic

• Ke

y bu

sine

ss

proc

esse

s ha

ve

auto

mat

ed

anal

ytic

s re

ady

for t

he a

udito

r du

ring

plan

ning

to

sco

pe

and

focu

s au

dit e

ffort

s.

• D

ata

anal

ytic

en

able

d au

dit

prog

ram

s

• U

se o

f an

alyt

ics

may

incl

ude

pres

crip

tive,

di

agno

stic

, an

d so

me

pred

ictiv

e

• A

utom

ated

A

uditi

ng

tech

niqu

es

achi

eve

seve

ral a

udit

obje

ctiv

es

base

d on

“e

xcep

tion”

au

ditin

g.

• In

tern

al A

udit

is c

onne

cted

to

the

sam

e da

ta a

nd

repo

rtin

g as

m

anag

emen

t an

d as

sess

es

the

qual

ity o

f th

e da

ta a

nd

the

anal

ytic

s m

onito

red

by

the

busi

ness

.

• Pr

edic

tive

and

pres

crip

tive

anal

ytic

s m

ay

be a

dded

to

the

desc

riptiv

e an

d di

agno

stic

• A

udit

proc

edur

es

are

desi

gned

to

ver

ify th

e un

derly

ing

data

ana

lysi

s an

d re

port

ing

of ri

sk a

t the

bu

sine

ss le

vel

to e

nsur

e th

at th

ey a

re

alig

ned

with

th

e E

nter

pris

e st

rate

gic

goal

s an

d ob

ject

ives

.

• A

utom

ated

au

ditin

g is

fo

cuse

d on

ro

ot c

ause

an

alys

is a

nd

man

agem

ent’s

re

spon

ses

to

risks

incl

udin

g bu

sine

ss

anom

alie

s an

d tr

igge

r eve

nts.

• C

onsi

sten

t use

of

ana

lytic

s in

clud

ing

desc

riptiv

e,

diag

nost

ic,

pred

ictiv

e an

d pr

escr

iptiv

e

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel I

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel I

IM

atu

rity

Leve

l III

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel I

VM

atu

rity

Leve

l V

Page 7: Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

8 | T

he M

atur

ity M

odel

Def

inin

g a

nal

ytic

cap

abili

ties

Ana

lytic

al c

apab

ilitie

s ca

n be

def

ined

and

org

aniz

ed in

to th

e fo

llow

ing

four

cat

egor

ies

of c

apab

ility

: Des

crip

tive,

D

iagn

ostic

, Pre

dict

ive

and

Pres

crip

tive.

You

will

nee

d to

man

age

the

capa

bilit

ies

as a

por

tfol

io. S

ee "A

dvan

ced

Ana

lytic

s: P

redi

ctiv

e, C

olla

bora

tive

and

Perv

asiv

e."

Des

crip

tive

an

alyt

ical

cap

abili

ties

: Des

crip

tive

anal

ysis

/mod

els

prov

ide

info

rmat

ion

abou

t the

sta

te o

f eve

nts,

tr

ends

, pat

tern

s an

d re

latio

nshi

ps in

the

exis

ting

data

and

pro

vide

the

basi

s fo

r mod

els

whi

ch m

ay b

e us

ed to

fin

d va

rianc

e to

pat

tern

s in

new

dat

a. (N

ote:

With

des

crip

tive

mod

els,

ther

e is

no

resp

onse

[dep

ende

nt] v

aria

ble

that

you

are

tryi

ng to

pre

dict

the

valu

e of

.) Th

e ty

pica

l kin

d of

ana

lytic

que

stio

n an

swer

ed is

"Wha

t hap

pene

d or

w

hat i

s ha

ppen

ing

right

now

and

how

doe

s it

rela

te to

his

toric

al p

atte

rns?

"

Dia

gn

ost

ic a

nal

ytic

al c

apab

iliti

es: T

hese

type

s of

ana

lysi

s ar

e de

velo

ped

to u

nder

stan

d th

e ca

uses

of a

n ou

tcom

e, o

ften

in th

e co

ntex

t of a

pro

cess

or r

elat

ed e

vent

s. V

ario

us te

chni

ques

and

mod

els

can

be u

sed

to a

bstr

act a

nd a

ccou

nt fo

r dep

ende

ncie

s am

ong

caus

al fa

ctor

s. Ty

pica

l kin

ds o

f ins

ight

pro

vide

by

this

sor

t of

ana

lysi

s in

clud

e an

swer

s to

the

busi

ness

que

stio

n "W

hy d

id it

hap

pen?

"

Pre

dic

tive

an

alyt

ical

cap

abili

ties

: The

se ty

pes

of a

naly

sis

are

deve

lope

d fo

r pre

dict

ing

the

valu

es o

f on

e or

mor

e re

spon

se (d

epen

dent

) var

iabl

es fr

om th

e va

lues

of p

redi

ctor

(ind

epen

dent

) var

iabl

es in

the

data

set.

Pre

dict

ive

mod

els

use

hist

oric

al d

ata

with

kno

wn

resp

onse

s to

dev

elop

(or e

stim

ate)

a m

odel

th

at c

an b

e us

ed to

pre

dict

val

ues

for n

ew d

ata.

The

se s

orts

of c

apab

ility

are

nee

ded

to s

uppo

rt

lead

ing

perf

orm

ance

mea

sure

s: e

.g.,

"Wha

t will

hap

pen?

" and

"Wha

t is

likel

y to

hap

pen?

"

Pre

scri

pti

ve a

nal

ytic

al c

apab

iliti

es: P

resc

riptiv

e m

odel

s an

d an

alys

is a

re u

sed

to d

evel

op a

co

urse

of a

ctio

n (a

dapt

atio

n) in

resp

onse

to a

n ev

ent o

r ser

ies

of e

vent

s. A

pre

scrip

tive

mod

el c

an

be u

sed

to d

efin

e an

d ar

ticul

ate

the

idea

l pro

cess

to fo

llow

to a

ddre

ss o

r res

pond

to a

n ev

ent.

G

iven

that

a c

erta

in a

ctio

n or

eve

nt h

as ta

ken

plac

e, th

e pr

escr

iptiv

e m

odel

can

be

used

to fi

nd

the

best

resp

onse

. Thi

s ki

nd o

f ana

lysi

s ca

n an

swer

bus

ines

s qu

estio

ns s

uch

as "W

hat i

s th

e re

com

men

ded

next

act

ion?

"

So

urc

e: B

est

Pra

ctic

es in

An

alyt

ics:

Inte

gra

tin

g A

nal

ytic

al C

apab

iliti

es a

nd

P

roce

ss F

low

s, G

artn

er, M

arch

201

2

The

Mat

urity

Mod

el |

5

Leve

l ILe

vel I

ILe

vel I

IILe

vel I

VLe

vel V

Inte

rnal

au

dit

dat

a an

alyt

ics

and

co

nti

nu

ou

s au

dit

ing

mat

uri

ty m

od

elA

ud

it M

eth

od

olo

gy-b

ased

Mat

uri

ty M

od

el

Usi

ng th

e m

atur

ity m

odel

to la

y th

e gr

ound

wor

k, a

n in

tern

al a

udit

orga

niza

tion

will

nee

d to

eva

luat

e its

cu

rren

t int

erna

l aud

it m

etho

dolo

gy fo

r aud

it pl

anni

ng, e

xecu

tion,

and

repo

rtin

g. T

he e

arly

pha

ses

of a

typi

cal

inte

rnal

aud

it m

etho

dolo

gy s

houl

d in

clud

e st

rate

gic

anal

ysis

and

ent

erpr

ise

risk

asse

ssm

ent.

Str

ateg

ic

anal

ysis

pro

vide

s an

initi

al u

nder

stan

ding

of a

n or

gani

zatio

n’s

busi

ness

from

a to

p-do

wn

pers

pect

ive

and

offe

rs a

fram

ewor

k to

hel

p id

entif

y or

gani

zatio

nal a

nd in

dust

ry is

sues

, str

ateg

ic o

bjec

tives

and

cha

lleng

es.

Nex

t, a

n en

terp

rise

risk

asse

ssm

ent i

s ne

cess

ary

to g

ain

insi

ght i

nto

the

risks

that

may

thre

aten

a c

ompa

ny’s

ac

hiev

emen

t of b

usin

ess

and

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

.

For i

llust

rativ

e pu

rpos

es, w

e ar

e fo

cusi

ng th

e fo

llow

ing

page

s on

two

sele

ct p

hase

s of

the

inte

rnal

aud

it m

etho

dolo

gy –

inte

rnal

aud

it pl

an d

evel

opm

ent a

nd e

xecu

tion

and

repo

rtin

g –

to h

ighl

ight

the

appl

icat

ion

of,

and

char

acte

ristic

s re

latin

g to

the

inte

grat

ion

of, d

ata

anal

ytic

s w

ithin

the

refe

renc

e m

atur

ity m

odel

.

Mat

uri

ty L

evel

s

IAM

eth

od

olo

gyTr

adit

ion

al

Au

dit

ing

Ad

Ho

c In

teg

rate

d

An

alyt

ics

Co

nti

nu

ou

s R

isk

Ass

essm

ent

&

Co

nti

nu

ou

s A

ud

itin

g

Inte

grat

ed

Con

tinu

ous

Aud

itin

g &

C

onti

nuou

s M

onit

orin

g

Co

nti

nu

ou

s A

ssu

ran

ce

of E

nte

rpri

se

Ris

k M

anag

emen

t

Str

ateg

ic

An

alys

is

En

terp

rise

Ris

k A

sses

smen

t

Inte

rnal

A

ud

it P

lan

D

evel

op

men

t

Exe

cuti

on

an

d

Rep

ort

ing

Co

nti

nu

ou

s Im

pro

vem

ent

Typ

es o

f Dat

a A

nal

ytic

s A

pp

licab

leD

escr

iptiv

eD

escr

iptiv

e,

Dia

gnos

tic

Des

crip

tive,

D

iagn

ostic

, Pr

edic

tive

Des

crip

tive,

D

iagn

ostic

, Pr

edic

tive,

Pr

escr

iptiv

e

Des

crip

tive,

D

iagn

ostic

, Pr

edic

tive,

Pr

escr

iptiv

e

Dat

a A

naly

tics

are

gene

rally

not

use

dD

ata

Ana

lytic

s ar

e pa

rtia

lly u

sed

but

are

sub-

optim

ized

Dat

a A

naly

tics

are

effe

ctiv

ely

and

cons

iste

ntly

use

d (o

ptim

ized

)

Man

y or

gani

zatio

ns h

ave

an in

tere

st in

exp

andi

ng d

ata

anal

ytic

s an

d m

ovin

g be

yond

the

trad

ition

al a

uditi

ng p

roce

ss to

war

d re

peat

able

and

su

stai

nabl

e da

ta a

naly

tics-

enab

led

audi

ting,

qua

ntita

tive-

base

d co

ntin

uous

risk

ass

essm

ent f

or d

ynam

ic a

udit

plan

ning

and

con

tinuo

us

audi

ting.

Oth

ers

may

see

k ad

ditio

nal v

alue

thro

ugh

the

inte

grat

ion

of c

ontin

uous

aud

iting

and

con

tinuo

us m

onito

ring

func

tions

. And

the

truly

am

bitio

us w

ill g

o fu

rthe

r and

see

k to

ach

ieve

full

mat

urity

to a

chie

ve th

e co

ntin

uous

ass

uran

ce o

f ent

erpr

ise

risk

man

agem

ent.

The

auth

ors

do n

ot m

ean

to s

ugge

st th

at C

A n

eeds

to b

e in

pla

ce b

efor

e or

in o

rder

for C

M to

be

in p

lace

. CM

can

be

impl

emen

ted

by

man

agem

ent i

ndep

ende

nt o

f int

erna

l aud

it. H

owev

er, i

f bot

h C

A a

nd C

M a

re in

pla

ce, t

hey

shou

ld b

e in

tegr

ated

– w

hich

is th

e fo

cus

of

Mat

urity

Lev

el IV

.

Page 8: Transforming Internal Audit- Maturity Model From Data Analytics to Continuous Assurance

6 | T

he M

atur

ity M

odel

Inte

rnal

au

dit

pla

n d

evel

op

men

t at

va

rio

us

mat

uri

ty le

vels

Inte

rnal

aud

it pl

an d

evel

opm

ent s

houl

d be

bas

ed o

n th

e pr

iorit

izat

ion

of th

e ris

ks id

entif

ied

durin

g th

e en

terp

rise

risk

asse

ssm

ent p

hase

of a

n au

dit m

etho

dolo

gy. I

nter

nal a

udit

plan

dev

elop

men

t inv

olve

s de

finin

g th

e op

erat

iona

l, fin

anci

al a

nd s

trat

egic

risk

s th

at n

eed

to b

e ad

dres

sed

thro

ugh

the

exec

utio

n of

the

inte

rnal

aud

it pl

an, i

nclu

ding

the

appr

oxim

ate

reso

urce

s ne

cess

ary

to a

ccom

plis

h th

e sc

ope,

and

pro

vide

s a

basi

s fo

r an

orga

niza

tion

to m

onito

r pro

gres

s an

d pe

rfor

man

ce. T

he u

se o

f ana

lytic

s-en

able

d au

ditin

g ch

arac

teris

tics

at th

is p

hase

incr

ease

s as

you

mov

e fr

om a

ver

y ba

sic

leve

l of m

atur

ity (M

atur

ity L

evel

I)

thro

ugh

to a

ver

y m

atur

e le

vel (

Mat

urity

Lev

el V

) as

repr

esen

ted

in th

e ch

art b

elow

.

Inte

rnal

A

ud

it D

ata

An

alyt

ics

and

C

on

tin

uo

us

Au

dit

ing

M

atu

rity

M

od

elTr

adit

ion

al

Au

dit

ing

Ad

Ho

c In

teg

rate

d

An

alyt

ics

Co

nti

nu

ou

s R

isk

Ass

essm

ent

&

Co

nti

nu

ou

s A

ud

itin

g

Inte

gra

ted

C

on

tin

uo

us

Au

dit

ing

&

Co

nti

nu

ou

s M

on

ito

rin

g

Co

nti

nu

ou

s A

ssu

ran

ce o

f E

nte

rpri

se R

isk

Man

agem

ent

Inte

rnal

A

ud

it P

lan

D

evel

op

men

t

• Li

mite

d us

e of

des

crip

tive

data

ana

lytic

s

• U

se o

f m

anag

emen

t re

port

ing

unde

rlyin

g da

ta to

pe

rform

bro

ad

desc

riptiv

e da

ta

anal

ytic

s (i.

e.

benc

hmar

king

)

• U

se o

f an

alyt

ics

may

incl

ude

desc

riptiv

e an

d so

me

diag

nost

ic

• A

pre

defin

ed

set o

f ana

lytic

s is

est

ablis

hed

to id

entif

y an

d pr

iorit

ize

risk

• A

utom

ated

ex

trac

t,

tran

sfor

m,

and

load

(ETL

), an

alyt

ics

and

repo

rtin

g

• U

se o

f an

alyt

ics

may

incl

ude

pres

crip

tive,

di

agno

stic

, an

d so

me

pred

ictiv

e

• M

anag

emen

t sy

stem

s ar

e le

vera

ged

to e

nabl

e co

ntin

uous

as

sess

men

t and

pr

iorit

izat

ion

of

busi

ness

risk

s

• Sy

stem

ge

nera

ted

anal

ytic

s an

d da

shbo

ards

ar

e m

onito

red

by th

e bu

sine

ss

agai

nst

spec

ified

ris

k cr

iteria

• Pr

edic

tive

and

pres

crip

tive

anal

ytic

s m

ay

be a

dded

to

the

desc

riptiv

e an

d di

agno

stic

• Th

e E

nter

pris

es’

stra

tegi

c go

al

and

obje

ctiv

es

are

alig

ned

with

risk

m

anag

emen

t pr

actic

es

• S

trat

egic

ob

ject

ives

and

ris

ks to

thos

e ob

ject

ives

are

m

onito

red

and

prio

ritiz

ed o

n a

cont

inuo

us

basi

s

• IA

Pla

n is

dy

nam

ic a

nd

able

to re

act t

o ch

ange

s in

the

busi

ness

• C

onsi

sten

t use

of

ana

lytic

s in

clud

ing

desc

riptiv

e,

diag

nost

ic,

pred

ictiv

e an

d pr

escr

iptiv

e

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel V

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel I

VM

atu

rity

Leve

l III

Mat

uri

tyLe

vel I

IM

atu

rity

Leve

l I

The

Mat

urity

Mod

el |

7

Inte

rnal

Au

dit

Pla

n D

evel

op

men

t at

Mat

uri

ty L

evel

s I

an

d

IIIn

trad

ition

al in

tern

al a

udit

met

hodo

logi

es (M

atur

ity L

evel

I), d

ata

anal

ytic

s ar

e no

t typ

ical

ly u

tiliz

ed to

de

velo

p th

e au

dit p

lan.

At t

he n

ext m

atur

ity le

vel o

f ad

hoc

anal

ytic

s (M

atur

ity L

evel

II),

inte

rnal

aud

it m

ay

use

som

e hi

gh le

vel q

uant

itativ

e m

easu

res,

suc

h as

fina

ncia

l sta

tem

ent t

rend

s an

d in

dust

ry b

ench

mar

king

, in

con

junc

tion

with

the

trad

ition

al q

ualit

ativ

e ap

proa

ch. T

he q

uant

itativ

e m

easu

res

are

utili

zed

to c

onfir

m a

nd

valid

ate

the

risks

and

are

as o

f foc

us id

entif

ied

durin

g th

e qu

alita

tive/

trad

ition

al p

lann

ing

proc

ess.

Thi

s ty

pe o

f id

entif

icat

ion

and

prio

ritiz

atio

n ty

pica

lly o

ccur

s on

an

annu

al b

asis

.

Inte

rnal

Au

dit

Pla

n D

evel

op

men

t at

Mat

uri

ty L

evel

III

Dur

ing

the

third

mat

urity

leve

l of c

ontin

uous

risk

ass

essm

ent a

nd c

ontin

uous

aud

iting

(Mat

urity

Lev

el II

I), in

tern

al

audi

t mon

itors

a n

umbe

r of q

uant

itativ

e m

easu

res

that

pro

vide

insi

ghts

to c

hang

es in

the

busi

ness

, con

trol

w

eakn

esse

s an

d bu

sine

ss p

erfo

rman

ce. T

he q

uant

itativ

e an

d qu

alita

tive

mea

sure

s ar

e al

igne

d w

ith p

riorit

y bu

sine

ss ri

sks

and

inte

rnal

aud

it ev

alua

tes

thes

e qu

antit

ativ

e an

d qu

alita

tive

mea

sure

s re

gula

rly th

roug

hout

th

e ye

ar o

n a

quar

terly

or m

onth

ly b

asis

. Bus

ines

s ris

ks a

nd a

udit

area

s ar

e re

-prio

ritiz

ed in

acc

orda

nce

with

the

busi

ness

risk

pro

file.

In a

dditi

on, t

he a

ssur

ance

of r

isk

appe

tite2 a

nd c

over

age

is fu

rthe

r ref

ined

and

enh

ance

d us

ing

data

ana

lytic

s. Th

e ty

pes

of a

naly

tics

used

may

incl

ude

desc

riptiv

e, d

iagn

ostic

and

eve

n so

me

pred

ictiv

e.

The

anal

ytic

s ut

ilize

d id

entif

y ris

ks th

at a

re o

utsi

de o

f est

ablis

hed

risk

appe

tite

para

met

ers

and

the

anal

ysis

is

per

form

ed m

ore

freq

uent

ly a

t det

erm

ined

tim

e in

terv

als.

At t

his

third

mat

urity

leve

l, ev

olvi

ng e

vent

s in

the

regu

lato

ry a

nd ri

sk e

nviro

nmen

t are

con

side

red

near

real

tim

e fo

r im

pact

to th

e bu

sine

ss a

nd fo

r bus

ines

s re

spon

se to

the

chan

ge in

the

envi

ronm

ent.

Inte

rnal

Au

dit

Pla

n D

evel

op

men

t at

Mat

uri

ty L

evel

IV

The

next

mat

urity

leve

l to

cons

ider

is c

ontin

uous

aud

iting

and

con

tinuo

us m

onito

ring

(Mat

urity

Lev

el IV

). A

t thi

s fo

urth

mat

urity

leve

l, pr

ojec

t pla

nnin

g du

ring

inte

rnal

pla

n de

velo

pmen

t inv

olve

s m

any

key

busi

ness

pr

oces

ses

that

leve

rage

bus

ines

s in

telli

genc

e an

d co

ntin

uous

mon

itorin

g te

chni

ques

to e

valu

ate

busi

ness

ris

k an

d fin

anci

al a

nd o

pera

tiona

l res

ults

. Ana

lytic

s in

clud

e bo

th in

tern

al a

nd e

xter

nal d

ata

and

resu

lts a

re

benc

hmar

ked

agai

nst l

eadi

ng p

ract

ices

. Int

erna

l aud

it le

vera

ges

the

busi

ness

’ con

tinuo

us m

onito

ring

proc

ess

and

outp

ut to

iden

tify

audi

t trig

ger e

vent

s an

d re

-prio

ritiz

e ris

ks a

t app

ropr

iate

inte

rval

s (e

.g.,

mon

thly

, qua

rter

ly,

etc.

). Th

e as

sura

nce

of ri

sk a

ppet

ite a

nd c

over

age

is fu

rthe

r ref

ined

and

enh

ance

d us

ing

data

ana

lytic

s.

Pred

ictiv

e an

alyt

ics

may

be

used

mor

e ex

tens

ivel

y an

d pr

escr

iptiv

e an

alyt

ics

may

be

intr

oduc

ed. D

ata

anal

ytic

s ar

e sy

stem

gen

erat

ed fr

om w

ithin

the

busi

ness

uni

ts to

ena

ble

audi

ts to

be

adde

d, a

ccel

erat

ed, d

ropp

ed,

or d

efer

red

(i.e.

, dyn

amic

aud

it pl

anni

ng).

Aud

it pl

ans

are

dyna

mic

ally

cre

ated

usi

ng a

num

ber o

f var

iabl

es,

incl

udin

g ke

y pe

rfor

man

ce in

dica

tors

(KPI

s), k

ey ri

sk in

dica

tors

(KR

Is),

and

hist

oric

al re

sults

prio

r aud

its.

Inte

rnal

Au

dit

Pla

n D

evel

op

men

t at

Mat

uri

ty L

evel

V

In th

e ul

timat

e m

atur

ity le

vel o

f con

tinuo

us a

ssur

ance

of e

nter

pris

e ris

k m

anag

emen

t (M

atur

ity L

evel

V),

inte

rnal

aud

it pl

an d

evel

opm

ent w

ould

invo

lve

the

mon

itorin

g of

an

ente

rpris

e’s

stra

tegi

c an

d bu

sine

ss p

roce

ss

risks

usi

ng b

usin

ess

inte

llige

nce

and

cont

inuo

us m

onito

ring

tech

niqu

es. T

he ri

sks

and

perf

orm

ance

indi

cato

rs

are

cont

inuo

usly

reco

ncile

d to

an

ente

rpris

e’s

stra

tegi

c bu

sine

ss o

bjec

tives

. The

str

ateg

ic ri

sk fa

ctor

s in

clud

e bo

th in

tern

al a

nd e

xter

nal f

acto

rs th

at m

ay in

hibi

t the

ach

ieve

men

t of t

he s

trat

egy

and

the

anal

ysis

of t

he

chan

ges

in ri

sk d

rives

the

prio

ritiz

atio

n of

aud

it ar

eas

on a

con

tinuo

us b

asis

at p

rede

term

ined

inte

rval

s (e

.g.,

daily

, wee

kly,

mon

thly

, etc

.). T

his

leve

l of m

atur

ity is

cha

ract

eriz

ed b

y a

mor

e ex

pans

ive

and

cons

iste

nt

use

of a

dvan

ced

anal

ytic

s in

clud

ing

pred

ictiv

e an

d pr

escr

iptiv

e an

alyt

ics.

2 R

isk

appe

tite

is g

ener

ally

rega

rded

as

the

amou

nt o

f ris

k th

at a

com

pany

is w

illin

g to

ass

ume

over

a p

erio

d of

tim

e an

d in

the

purs

uit o

f its

m

issi

on, T

urni

ng R

isk

into

Adv

anta

ge: A

Cas

e S

tudy

, KP

MG

LLP

(201

1)