What Working With Us Looks Like
Our Engagement Process is structured to provide you with timely and relevant information to manage your operations in a transparent, collaborative, and constructive manner. All audit and advisory projects will follow this general cadence:
[1. Planning] ──► [2. Fieldwork] ──► [3. Reporting] ──► [4. Follow-Up]
Phase 1: Engagement & Planning
- Notification Letter: We will send an official engagement letter to the appropriate individual (e.g., department head, business manager) outlining the high-level objectives and the anticipated timeline.
- Entrance Conference: We schedule a 60-minute meeting with your key team members to discuss the scope, logistics, and data needs. This is your opportunity to highlight specific areas where you feel your department excels or where you may want our advice on improving.
- 💡Tip: The scope of an audit is set by us and is generally not negotiable. However, the scope of an advisory engagement is set by you – you tell us what you’d like us to do.
- Information Gathering: We will request basic documentation such as organizational charts, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and recent budget reports.
- 💡Tip: The best way to prepare for an audit is to ensure your department’s written procedures match your actual daily practices. If you do things differently than your written policy states, that may result in exceptions to the testing attributes.
Phase 2: Fieldwork & Testing
- Understanding Your Processes: We interview key personnel to understand how tasks are performed and how risks are managed.
- Testing the Controls: We select samples of transactions (e.g., travel reimbursements, equipment purchases, Shamrock Card expenditures) to verify they comply with University policy.
- Continuous Communication: If we identify an error or a weak control point, we discuss it with you immediately to ensure we understand the context. We do not hide findings until the final report.
Phase 3: Reporting & Action Plans
- Draft Report: We compile our observations (including a priority rating) and recommendations into a confidential draft report.
- 💡Tip: An audit report will only include medium and high priority comments. Low priority comments will be discussed with you verbally if necessary.
- Management Responses & Action Plans: Your department is given 15 business days to provide formal written responses to the recommendations. A good response includes:
- An agreement (or respectful disagreement) with the finding.
- A specific action plan to resolve the issue.
- A target implementation date.
- Exit Conference: A final meeting to review the report and management responses together before it is distributed to University leadership and the Audit Committee. This meeting is often held after the draft report is shared with you but prior to formal submission of your management responses, particularly for first-time auditees.
Phase 4: Follow-Up
- Closing the Loop: Approximately 6 to 12 months after the report is issued, we will reach out to check on the progress of your action plans. Once the agreed-upon changes are implemented, the audit will be officially closed.