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COVER
STORY
Preparing
for the Security Audit : Recommendations for Beginner IT Auditors
- - Lakshmana Rao Vemuri
Identifying
risks and vulnerabilities and evaluating the effectiveness
of perimeter security efforts are some of the steps beginner
IT auditors need to understand to conduct more effective reviews
of security controls. © 2006 Lakshmana Rao Vemuri. Originally
published in ITAudit, Vol. 9, April 10, 2006, published by
The Institute of Internal Auditors Inc., www.theiia.org/itaudit.
Reprinted with permission.
©
2006 Lakshmana Rao Vemuri. Originally published in ITAudit,
Vol. 9, April 10, 2006, published by The Institute of Internal
Auditors Inc., www.theiia.org/itaudit. Reprinted with permission.
FINANCIAL
REPORTING
Intellectual
Capital Reporting at the Crossroads
- - Madan Lal Bhasin
Intellectual
Capital (IC) is an important value driver in todays organizations.
Although, IC reporting is receiving increasing attention from
accountants in recent years, the innovativeness of the concept
makes IC not fully incorporated in financial accounting reports
as yet. At present, disclosure of IC-related information by
companies is done on a voluntary basis, as applicable accounting
regulations dictate the definition of a balance sheet and
the assets to be included therein. Omission of IC-related
information may adversely influence the decisions made by
shareholders or lead to material misstatements. Only when
companies provide IC statements on a large scale, would we
be able to speak of a true reporting revolution in company
valuationboth in theory and practice. There is a tremendous
need for homogenization in the field of Knowledge Management
(KM) and IC. First of all a solid theoretical base should
be achieved in order to advance in the field. Parallel with
this, future research should focus on the development of IC
guidelines and their harmonization. Additionally, researchers
should analyze IC reports from pioneer firms from around the
world to gather the best learning experiences. With this international
insight, firms could be advised on how to introduce a new
dimension in transparency that will strengthen its organizational
governance.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved
FINANCIAL
REPORTING
The
Changing Challenges of Financial Reporting
- - Garth Coppin
This
article speaks about changes in the accounting standards due
to changes in business practices, and also presents how the
changes in the accounting standards affect a companys financial
reporting mechanism.
©
2006 Accountancy SA (www.accountancysa.org.za). This article
first appeared in the June 2006 issue of Accountancy SA. Reprinted
with permission.
FINANCIAL
AUDIT
Global
Knowledge Management : Financial Audit Trial
- - Padma Srinivasan
Manually
prepared data is paper-oriented and time-consuming. This has
been successfully rewritten by the latest Knowledge Management,
aptly aided by Information Technology (IT), where data is
recorded as invisible magnetic dots on disks and tapes to
be stored as files. A sea change has occurred altering the
ways an auditor function. Throughout the world, visible changes
are taking place in the Audit methodology and outputs to bring
about perfect transparency and governance, while auditors
rely on electronic forms of data transmission and vouch for
supreme transparency.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved
BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT
Book-building
Process of Public Issues and Merchant Banking Activities in
the Indian Primary Capital Market
- - Siddhartha Sankar Saha
Book-building process is a transparent and flexible price
discovery method used in most developed countries for marketing
a public offer of equity shareseither Initial Public Offerings
(IPOs) or Further Public Offerings (FPOs) of a company. Under
this method, price of securities is fixed by the issuer company
along with Book Running Lead Managers (BRLM) on the basis
of feedback received from investors through market intermediaries
during a certain period, in accordance with Sebi guidelines
in India. In this perspective, this article makes an attempt
to review the different aspects of the book-building process
of public issues and merchant banking activities relating
to such process in the Indian primary capital market.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT
The
Corporate Fraud : Cycle How to Break the Chain
- - Thomas W Golden, Steven L Skalak, and Mona M Clayton
Fraud
evokes a visceral reaction in us. It is an abuse of our expectation
of fair treatment by fellow human beings. Beyond that, it
is a blow to our self-image as savvy managers capable of deterring
or detecting a fraudulent scheme. Whether we react because
of values or because of vanity, nobody likes to be duped.
One of the central outcomes of fraud is financial loss. Therefore,
in the minds of the investing public, the accounting and auditing
profession is inextricably linked with fraud deterrence, fraud
detection, and fraud investigation. This is true to such an
extent that there are those whose perception of what can be
realistically accomplished in an audit frequently exceeds
the services that any accountant or auditor can deliver and,
in terms of cost, exceeds what any business might be willing
to pay.
©
2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. All rights reserved. PricewaterhouseCoopers
refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers
International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent
legal entity. Originally published in Executive Perspectives,
PricewaterhouseCoopers global monthly online magazine. Reprinted
with permission.
SOA
Revisiting
the Ripple Effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- - Jo Lynne Koehn and Stephen C DelVecchio
The audit market changed since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
was implemented. Foreseen and unforeseen consequences of the
Act have been identified and discussed. This article presents
the `Ripple Effects and several additional effects that were
not originally identified.
©
2006 The New York State Society of CPAs. Published in the
CPA Journal (www.cpajournal.com), May 2006 issue. Reprinted
with permission. |
