By the end of this course delegates will be able to:

• How to analyze your audience and organize your ideas to meet their needs
• Learn what you must include in your reports to meet S-OX requirements
• Know techniques and tips to edit your work and the work of others
• Learn how to develop a report issuance process

Internal Auditors, Financial & Operational Auditors, Finance Personnel, External Auditors, Audit Managers and Supervisors, IT Auditors, Senior and In-Charge Auditors, Team Leaders and Directors

The Building Blocks of Writing to Achieve Results

• Discover the building blocks of writing to achieve results in audit reports
• Use the building blocks for evaluating all forms of writing in audit reports
• Fixing the Macro before addressing the micro
• Understanding the importance of following a writing process in audit report writing

Writing Basics: Determining Audience and Purpose

• Review the principles of good writing
• Identify your audience
• Be clear about your purpose
• Identify the essential information the audience needs given your purpose
• Determine how to communicate as clearly and concisely as possible
• Understand the importance of word choice
• Seek feedback before you send to the reader
• Writing from a viewing point vs. a point of view

Mind-mapping: Organizing for Results

• Learn a method for thinking critically, organizing logically, and prioritizing strategically
• Establish a desired result
• Generating ideas and information related to audience and purpose
• Organizing, discussing, and prioritizing ideas and information
• Presenting a final mind-map and receiving feedback

Transparent Structure: Making Reading Easy

• Learn and practice using a wide range of graphic tools that help make organizational structure transparent to the reader
• Formatting documents to make reading and comprehension easier
• Creating visually appealing audit reports

Cutting the Clutter

• Demonstrate the importance of clarity and conciseness
• Enhance the readability of reports
• Learn how to become a better editor of your own writing
• Identify redundant words

Making Sentences Make Sense

• Emphasize the importance of making every thought in writing clear to the reader
• Communicating ideas clearly
• Identify run-on sentences and learn to edit from the viewpoint of the reader

Writing Findings and Recommendations

• Understand the Deming quality management concept as it applies to report writing
• Identify the five components of a well-written Finding and Recommendation
• Practice organizing your thoughts before your write
• Write a Finding and Recommendation from the view point of the reader

Fixing the Micro

• Realize the importance of noun/pronoun agreement
• Realize the importance of subject/verb agreement
• Recognize the importance of parallel structure in sentence formation and bulleted items
• Become familiar with using a grammar reference manual

Editing

• Review the six most common editing problems
• Review the six most useful editing techniques

Proofreading

• Review the seven most common proofreading problems
• Review the six most useful proofreading techniques
• Identify common errors in an audit report

CDGA attendance certificate will be issued to all attendees completing minimum of 75% of the total course duration.