Effective Report Writing for Internal Auditors Course

Persuasive communication is an essential skill for auditors at all levels, and high-quality audit reports are a key communication tool. By participating in this course, auditors in all sectors and at all levels will learn what goes into an effective audit observation and how to organize reports that meet professional standards, elicit management action, and communicate crucial messages to executives and board-level readers. By honing these skills, they can distinguish themselves in their current positions and prepare themselves for advancement. 

This is a hands-on course that focuses on the organization and structure of audit reports and includes case study activities for practicing the basics of audit report writing. 

Course Objectives 

• Recognize the importance of thinking before writing.
• Understand the needs of readers and writers. 
• Understand the five components of the audit report. 
• Recognize the importance of identifying cause and impact of audit observations. 
• Identify advantages and disadvantages of three report formats. 
• Apply one of the audit reports formats. 
• Identify how to improve writing quality. 
• Identify how to develop reports that are accurate, objective, clear, concise, constructive, complete, and timely.

Course Contents 

The Audit Report Writing Task 

• Audit report guidance 
• Why audit reports are written
• Uses and readers of audit reports 
• Audit report limitations Components of Audit Observations
• Components of an audit observation 
• Types of criteria
• Condition summaries 
• Levels of cause and effect 
• Recommendations and action plans Audit Report Structure 
• Elements of a typical audit report 
• Audit report formats 
• Comparisons of audit report structures Quality of Reporting 
• Writing-quality guidance and issues 
• Coherence 
• Tone
• Objectivity 
• Sentence clarity: modifiers, pronouns, and parallel structure 
• Active and passive voice 
• Technical terminology 
• Readability and conciseness 
• Verb usage