1. DATA ANALYSIS SERIES-
WORKSHOP CODE (BADD)
NO OF DAYS: 5 DAYS
02 – 06 OCTOBER, 2023
BUSINESS ANALYTICS FOR DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING
Learn how to lead your firm to make better business decisions using analytic methods and create competitive advantages from data
MAWA EVENTS

2. BUSINESS ANALYTICS FOR DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING
COURSE OVERVIEW
Executing a cost-effective and value-added audit requires an understanding of population analysis. Without this knowledge, you run the risk of spreading your
resources and your sampling over low risk subsets of the population. This could result in crucial data not being collected.
In this course, you will learn when and how to use population analysis in the planning phase of the audit and how to identify subsets of the population that
behave differently from a benchmark data set.
This course is appropriate for auditors, managers, and executives working in both the public and private sectors.
WHO TAKES THIS COURSE
Data is one of the most significant disruptors for the Internal Audit (“IA”) function. It’s impact will continue to be far reaching, ranging from the
nature of your audits, the way you interact with your auditees, the IA lifecycle, your risk assessments, methodology, technologies, reporting and
capabilities. Internal Auditors need an effective response.
This course will take you through the considerations of coming up with your vision and the steps you might take to bring it to fruition. This
includes identifying where in the entire IA lifecycle data is relevant, through to the steps needed to build the data capability within your function.
We will share with you experiences and case studies from SMEs to MNCs.
WE WILL ADDRESS QUESTIONS SUCH AS:
Where do I start?
What’s ready for data in my IA plan?
Which technologies are hot right now?
THE BENEFITS THIS WILL PROVIDE YOU ARE:
Credibility with your stakeholders.
More insight with less effort and more coverage, and greater likelihood of turning your insights into practical actions.
Sustainability and agility –an IA function which can keep pace with your changing business. Data audit can be creative and forward
looking.
The ability to move to leading indicators of risk rather than lagging.
Learn the business Risks of using IT, related controls and IS assurance and audit concepts
What does an IT Audit engagement involve and approach to risk based IS audits
Overview of IS assurance and audit standards, tools and techniques
Planning & performing riskbased IS audit procedures
An understanding of the scope of the emerging technology concepts, related issues & business risks
WHAT ARE THE GOALS ?
Summarize introductory terminology and methodology related to Data Analysis.
Evaluate shapes of distribution relevant to their important characteristics.
Determine which measure of central tendency and variation to use based on the frequency distribution.
Evaluate the important differences between a set of data and a chosen benchmark standard using shape, central tendency, and variation.
Determine when to use correlation and time series analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To empower Internal Audit functions to identify how data and analytics can be used throughout the audit lifecycle, and recognise the steps
that need to be taken to move the function forward.
WHO SHOUD ATTEND
Any member of an Internal Audit function who is keen to embed data analytics within the audit. Those who are already on the data
journey will be able to identify more opportunities to use data techniques.
Members of Audit Committees, Finance and the business whom are fascinated how data can transform audit / compliance functions.
Internal Audit Professionals, Chief Audit Executives
IT Management Professionals
Risk Officers & strategic management members
Internal control professionals
TOP 5 REASONS TO ATTEND
1. Understand
the foundations
of the AI methodology
2. Identify
the sources of
non-value added
waste within your
organization
3. Minimize
process variation
and maximize
strategic
opportunities
HR
4. Utilize
a variety of
tools to address
performance
issues
5. Build
and sustain high
performance cross
functional teams with
a six sigma mindset

3. BUSINESS ANALYTICS FOR DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING
COURSE OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION TO DATA ANALYSIS
Defining Data Analysis
Data Analysis and Audit Planning
Population
Random Sample
Variables
Explain the concepts of big data
Provide examples of how data analytics has transformed businesses
Recognise how the IA function has evolved through the use of data
and analytics
BUSINESS ANALYTICS 101
Understand the difference between business analytics and business
intelligence
Recognize where big data fits in
Identify the ongoing analytics needs of your organization
Understand how business analytics is a part of business intelligence (BI)
and completes the sequence known as the BI value chain
The 3 criteria business analytics must meet
How business analytics can give your organization a competitive edge
Understand the business analytics life cycle
8 organizational capabilities of the intelligent business
Recognize how current business trends impact the way business
analytics are practiced and applied
Overcome common challenges in ensuring data quality
ANALYSIS: SHAPES OF FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS
Descriptive Statistics
Graphical Presentation
 Uniform Distribution
 Skewed Distribution
 Bimodal Distribution
 Normal Distribution
ANALYSIS: MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY AND
VARIATION
Measures of Central Tendency
 Mode
 Median
 Mean
Shape of Distribution and Central Tendency
Measures of Variability
 Range
 Quartile Deviation
 Standard Deviation
ANALYSIS: COMPARISON TO BENCHMARKS
IPPF Standard 2320 – Practice Advisory 2320-1Benchmarking
Recalculations
Non-Random Selection
Case Study Using Frequency Distributions
ANALYSIS: TIME SERIES AND CORRELATIONAL ANALYSIS
Time Series Analysis
Case Study Using Time Series Analysis
Correlational Analysis
Case Study Using Correlations
USE OF DATA THROUGH THE AUDIT LIFECYCLE
Identify how data analytics can transform all parts of the audit
lifecycle, from planning, risk assessment, execution, reporting, and
through to monitoring
Recognise the data analytics maturity continuum
DATA MINING FOR INFORMATION
Apply logic and mental processes to find meaning in data
Data analysis: How to use visualization and dimension
reduction
Learn how to conduct a business performance evaluation
using predictive performance techniques
How to use prediction and classification methods when
analyzing data
Learn to analyze data and extract commercially relevant and
actionable information
Apply logic and thinking skills to find meaning in data
Understand the BI chain and how it leads to value
Prediction and classification methods that yield business
insight and lead to better decisions
How to develop and identify business case models to gather
qualitative and accurate historical and business case
requirements, data and information
How and when to use decision, descriptive, predictive and
prescriptive analytics
Overcome statistical blindness: Tools and models for making
sense of basic business statistics
How to use data mining to sift through and understand what
data is relevant … use the information to project outcomes
… and make informed decisions faster
PLANNING & RISK ASSESSMENT
Identify how both collecting and enriching data can be
used for analysis, to understand your audit universe and
risks better
Recognise the use of process intelligence to identify risks
during planning
FIELDWORK
Recognise the different types of analytics that can be
used including descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive
analytics; Relate these analytical techniques to auditing a
business process
Recognise the use of advanced analytics, such as machine
learning, within audit testing
DATA STRATEGY
Recognise how to build the strategy around a data enabled
IA function, considering people, process and technology
Recognise the landscape of tools applicable to data
auditing
Recognise methods to create impact and the business case
for data analytics
TRANSFORMATION
Identify areas within your existing IA function that can
be improved via data analytics
MAKE MORE EFFECTIVE BUSINESS DECISIONS
How to communicate information to stakeholders in a way
that promotes more effective understanding of the
requirements
Apply data analytics such as social network and text analytics
that yield greater business performance data
Creative thinking skills that engage stakeholders, identify
needs and lead to new process approaches and ideas
How to use multiple linear and logic regression strategies to
make business decisions
Create business case models that accurately reflect your
organization’s needs and practices
Get stakeholder agreement on data results and implications
… and next steps
Create crystal-clear requirements that are easily understood
by stakeholders and project execution teams
Forecasting models that provide more valid predictive data
How to graphically present the data results in a way that is
easily understood and provide a clear interpretation of what
action is recommended

4. Having more than 40 years of experience in management accounting, financial accounting, spreadsheet modelling and cost management, Duncan
Williamson has managed to combine his strong financial analysis, problem solving and decision making skills to leave an exceptional mark on his training.
Having set up his own consultancy firm known as Duncan Williamson Ltd, he has presented seminars on topics that include Financial Reporting under
International Financial Reporting Standards; both UK and US Financial Reporting Standards. He has led seminars on Oil and Gas financial reporting in
the Middle East, Management Accounting, Financial Controllership and Financial Reporting, Budgeting and Forecasting in Europe, Southeast Asia and
Australia. Given his spreadsheet modeling background, Duncan has also lead seminars with an emphasis on the use of spreadsheet software in accounting
and management.
Duncan combines his extensive academic and training experience with significant manufacturing and commercial work. In addition to working as a
teacher and trainer, he has experience working in a wide variety of settings, ranging from working as a management accountant in process industries
in the UK to product cost consulting in several industries in Eastern Europe and the oil and gas industry in the Middle East.
Duncan Williamson is addicted to lifelong learning and uses the opportunity of writing books for Bookboon as an excuse to study new ideas and
materials in his chosen areas of interest. Duncan holds an MBA from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, a Certificate of Education from Sunderland
Polytechnic and an HND in Business Studies from Teesside Polytechnic. In addition, Duncan has successfully completed the Diploma of the Chartered
Institute of Marketing and recently received a Certificate in Data Analysis from the University of Texas at Austin.
Duncan has studied, worked with and taught many aspects of management accounting, financial accounting and bookkeeping, financial reporting under
IFRS, corporate finance, financial analysis, financial and spreadsheet modelling. He has worked on the financial and economic appraisal of projects in
several countries over many years. He has published books and articles, case studies and so on. Over the last four years or so, Duncan has written
four books for Bookboon in his series, Excel Solutions for Accountants, as well as two books on Finance for the Non Financial Manager and a book on
Report Writing for Finance Professionals.
He also wrote the book The Accounting and Bookkeeping Coach, published in April 2014 by Hodder and Stoughton, Prentice Hall published his Cost
and Management Accounting in 1995 and he has self published a number of books including his 2012 major spreadsheet book The Excel Project …
available on amazon.co.uk. Duncan has also written and published a wide number of books aimed at pre University and first year undergraduate level
students.
Duncan has always loved travelling and over the last three decades or so he has lived and worked (from as little as a week to as long as five years) in
such countries as Malawi, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Romania, United Kingdom, Denmark, Afghanistan, Dubai, Abu
Dhabi, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Hungary, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bahrain, Pakistan, Holland, Sudan, Albania, Qatar,
Mexico, Angola, Ghana, Tanzania, Angola and Mozambique.
In terms of hobbies and interests, Duncan clearly loves travelling: in addition to the countries he has worked in, he has visited another 35 – 40 countries.
Cultural and ethnic differences and similarities are a fascination for him too. Duncan loves taking photographs and reckons that for every hundred of
his serious attempts at photography, one might be good! Duncan loves writing and creating training and learning materials; both for his work and as
part of his lifelong learning crusade: keeping his brain cells fully engaged. More than that, you will find Duncan on discussion lists, in various online
forums in which he fully engages with others in putting the world to rights and to helping people solve their Excel, modelling and accounting problems.
Another travel connection comes from Duncan's modelling and spreadsheeting skills with which he has recently started to model data from commercial
aircraft: altitude, speed, latitudes and longitudes; mapping the history of a particular aircraft over a one year period, that can involve as many as 1,000,
1,500 and even more flights. This aspect of his interests involves using Excel and Power BI.
MAWA EVENTS ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT & TRAINER
DUNCAN WILLIAMSON

5. BUSINESS ANALYTICS FOR DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING
2 – 6 OCTOBER, 2023
VOCO HOTEL – DUBAI. UAE
10 AUG 2023
10 AUG 2023 USD 3195.00
USD 2995.00