（2008）ACL Audit Benchmarking Survey 2008.pdfVIP

ACL Audit Benchmarking Survey 2008 The role of audit and the value it provides to business has evolved considerably over the past five years. The detail with which a company is scrutinised by internal and external stakeholders has become more complex, while the volumes of data in organizations must review and audit on a regular basis has grown exponentially. Concurrently, the pressure to respond to compliance and regulatory requirements has placed financial departments and the audit function under pressure to do more with less The Audit Benchmarking survey was undertaken by ACL to provide a snapshot view of issues associated with technology and processes that support the audit role. The report shows a range of responses to three key audit areas: • Challenges in undertaking effective audits • Use and distribution of audit technology • Range and integration of audit and analysis activities The following summary of these three areas and commentary on the findings provide audit professionals with peer opinions on best practice and overall approach to audit management. Research Methodology The research used an online survey distributed to audit professionals across the globe. The findings are based on a sample of over 500 audit professionals. Key attributes of the sample are described below: • On average, the survey respondent group / department comprised of between 15-20 members • 15% of the sample were part of large external audit consultancies • Average company size represented by respondents was between $10-$15 billion annual turnover Organizational size varied from $500 million revenue per year, to over $50 billion revenue per year, and the results were largely consistent across all sizes of organization. All commentary on the findings is given on the basis of global averages from the data. ACL Audi