AUDIT STEPS

A fraud or special investigation may arise at any time. Most of these types of audits are initiated by someone who comes to management with a concern. It is not always the Internal Auditor that is contacted first; however, the President, Vice President, Police Chief, or another administrator usually contacts the Internal Auditing and Management Consulting (IAMC) Department to pursue the investigation.

AUDIT REPORT

Once the fraud/special investigation is completed, an audit report is necessary. Special care should be exercised. The IIA Standards address the reporting of fraud, as does the Government Auditing Standards (Yellow Book). Therefore, the UWF IAMC Department will incorporate the following format for its reports:

• Background: Gives a description of what brought the special review to the IAMC Department's attention. Be thorough and pertinent in what is included in this section.
• Objectives: The objectives will follow this format:
  1. To determine to what extent, if any, there was any impropriety in the ________.
  2. To recommend appropriate actions to correct any deficiencies that may exist.
• Scope: The Scope paragraph will be reworded to: "The review was made in accordance with the standards promulgated by the Government Auditing Standards and the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing in as much as these standards related to the objectives of the review. The review included, but was not limited to, the following: . . ."
• Observations/Results: Give a summary of the information and facts obtained during the review. It will be necessary to be thorough by including dates of interviews. In essence, it is a chronology of the audit itself as it unfolded.
• Finding(s)/Recommendations: The finding would be written as any other audit finding. It must include the basic elements: condition, effect, criteria, and cause. The recommendation would be written in the same manner as other audit recommendations; however, be careful as to the recommendation of any personnel actions. This determination should be made by the management of UWF, not the IAMC Department.
• Management's Response: The Management Response will appear immediately following the Recommendation in the body of the audit report. It will begin with "We concur with the audit finding and recommendation . . ." or "We do not concur with the audit finding and recommendation . . ."

The dissemination of the audit report is made under the direction of the President, on a need to know basis. However, all special reports are to be transmitted to the UWF Board of Trustees in the usual manner.

Should any subsequent litigation arise from this investigation, remember that working papers can be subpoenaed as evidence. Under Florida Statutes 228.093(3)(d) and 112.3189 certain personnel and student records are confidential. These working papers must be labeled "Confidential" and removed if they are to be reviewed by someone not authorized to have access to such information. Seek the advice of General Counsel should this situation arise.

Remember the working papers are to be factual and not opinionated. The job of the Internal Auditing and Management Consulting Department is to disclose the facts and present them to management for management to make decisions and take corrective actions.