It's Planning Time

Did you get everything done? It is a few days after Christmas, and we all can relax. The shopping is done, cards are sent and delivered, presents are unwrapped, cookies are eaten, Christmas dinner is now leftovers, the family has gone home, budget is blown, and decorations and tree are put away (maybe not yet). Many of us spent the last few months getting ready for the holidays. While you were getting all this done, did you set your priorities and make a plan? Accomplishing all of this often takes some planning and determining what is most important. Checklists, calendars, and to-do lists are tools that help to make the preparation easier and ensure it all gets done.

So now that Christmas is over, and everything is put away until next year, have you set your priorities and made a plan for 2019? Planning and preparing for the holidays has some similarities to preparing a risk assessment and determining an internal audit plan. Assessing risks and determining the controls are important parts of the internal audit function because they allow management to identify what could go wrong and where to establish controls to prevent or detect errors or irregularities. The risk assessment defines the priorities and where to focus your attention, which determines the internal audit plan. The internal audit plan provides the direction and a schedule to make sure the controls in each area are tested. During the planning process, consideration should also be given to audit resources and how the plan will be accomplished. Evaluating whether there are adequate time and internal audit staff to complete the internal audit plan for the year is an essential part of the planning process.

If you were too busy with the holidays and have not had time to get your risk assessment updated and internal audit plan ready, Wipfli can help make sure everything gets done.