IIA-Australia White Paper - Controlling Spreadsheet Risks

IIA-Australia White Paper - Controlling Spreadsheet Risks

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Author

Suzy Stamatonikolos M.IMS, B.Bus, B.Comp, PMIIA, CIA, CRMA, CISA

Date

 2023

Topics Explored

Internal Audit

Format

White Paper

Extract/Description

As internal auditors and Audit Committees consider the highest risks facing their entities, spreadsheet risks rarely rate a mention. Yet, simple and avoidable spreadsheet errors can have a profound effect on an entity’s reputation and the community’s confidence in its operations when spreadsheets are relied upon for business-critical functions.
The incorporation of periodic reviews of spreadsheet risks into the internal audit plan will help to deliver well-founded independent opinions on the adequacy of the safeguards in managing these risks.

Key Points

  1. Entity-wide surveys have revealed widespread usage of spreadsheets for assembling and manipulating decision-making information.
  2. Management needs to achieve a balance between convenience and risk.
  3. Internal auditors have a key role to play in ensuring that their entity has in place a suitable framework to guide spreadsheet development, usage and review.
  4. A periodic review of business-critical spreadsheets ought to be considered in the audit plan.

Relevant Industries

All

Level of Assumed Knowledge

Intermediate