Auditing and Reporting of Business Performance - Coursework Example

The Internal Auditing System needs to follow a structured model within the organization’s business framework that enables the business data to be fetched from various data sources such that they can be mapped with the Strategic Business Objectives within the auditing framework. Given that the strategic objectives of every business would be different, an empirical analysis pertaining to an industrial sector, in general, may not be completely useful to every company in that Industry. However, Organizations can definitely get the direction on the methodology that can lead to the successful implementation of an Internal Auditing system, which can help map the internal systems & processes of the organization with the strategic business objectives.  This research is an attempt to establish such an empirical generalization pertaining to the modern practices in auditing and improvement of Business Performance (Hewitt, Bill. 2008. pp50; Pollieri, Maria. 2007. pp26-30; Boerner, Hank. 2007. pp41-43; James, Mick. 2008. pp27-28)

While an external auditor can add value to the internal auditing system of an organization, the actual contributions would be tangible from the internal auditing team only. This is because the reports being put forward to the executive management would be effectively modeled and consolidated by an internal team possessing in-depth knowledge of the organization's business system. Given the role & positioning of Internal Auditors, they are best placed to analyze and build these analytical models and generate audit reports that shall help the executive management to take timely proactive steps in order to protect the current competitive advantages as well as form new competitive advantages of the organization in new market segments, locations or countries. These models deliver intelligently analyzed reports pertaining to business performance and hence are commonly known as “Business Performance Management (BPM)” that is supported by the “Business Activity Monitoring (BAM)” systems.

A BAM system has the potential to enable a business towards partial or full automation of business modeling & reporting thus ensuring better Process Efficiency, enhanced Employee Productivity, enhanced Customer satisfaction & retention, Transparency, Accuracy & Security of Business Information, improved compliance to Statutory Requirements & Regulations, and finally protection of Business & enhancement of Bottom Lines. The BPM practice essentially changes the way a business operates thus making it more structured, disciplined, informed, and well-aligned towards the business goals. Such a system unleashes a number of secrets of correlations and analysis pertaining to the business dynamics delivered with excellent levels of accuracy. The Internal Auditors are informed with accurate and consistent data from a tightly integrated and controlled system. (Landry, Steven. P, 2008. p218; April, Carolyn A. and Margulies David L. 2002. pp27)