The document provides information about Richard Cascarino and Jim Kaplan, who will be presenting on the topic of data analytics and internal auditing. It gives background on both presenters and their qualifications. It also provides an overview of the company AuditNet, which focuses on resources for auditors. The agenda for the upcoming presentation is outlined, including sections on analysis reporting, data visualization, and presentation.

1. Data Analytics - 6
Using the Analysis
based on Data Analytics for
Internal Auditors
by Richard Cascarino

2. About Jim Kaplan, CIA, CFE
 President and Founder of AuditNet®,
the global resource for auditors (now
available on iOS, Android and
Windows devices)
 Auditor, Web Site Guru,
 Internet for Auditors Pioneer
 Recipient of the IIA’s 2007 Bradford
Cadmus Memorial Award.
 Author of “The Auditor’s Guide to
Internet Resources” 2nd Edition
Page 2

3. About AuditNet® LLC
• AuditNet®, the global resource for auditors, is available on the
Web, iPad, iPhone, Windows and Android devices and features:
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Introductions
Page 3

4. The views expressed by the presenters do not necessarily represent
the views, positions, or opinions of AuditNet® LLC. These materials,
and the oral presentation accompanying them, are for educational
purposes only and do not constitute accounting or legal advice or
create an accountant-client relationship.
While AuditNet® makes every effort to ensure information is
accurate and complete, AuditNet® makes no representations,
guarantees, or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of the
information provided via this presentation. AuditNet® specifically
disclaims all liability for any claims or damages that may result from
the information contained in this presentation, including any
websites maintained by third parties and linked to the AuditNet®
website.
Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does
not imply recommendation or endorsement by AuditNet® LLC

5. About Richard Cascarino, MBA,
CIA, CISM, CFE, CRMA
• Principal of Richard Cascarino &
Associates based in Colorado USA
• Over 28 years experience in IT audit
training and consultancy
• Past President of the Institute of
Internal Auditors in South Africa
• Member of ISACA
• Member of Association of Certified
Fraud Examiners
• Author of Data Analytics for Internal
Auditors
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6. Today’s Agenda
 Analysis Reporting
 Data Visualization and Presentation
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7.  Major output - The Audit Report
 Results of the audit usually reported
 Orally
 Interim reports
 Closing conference
 In writing
 As minimum at end of audit
 Reports should be
 Objective
 Clear
 Concise
 Complete
 Constructive
 Timely
Internal Audit

8.  Direct
 Straightforward
 Factual
 Informative
 Structured
 Succinct
 Brief statements
 Limited detail
 Significant items
 Concise in style
Quality Audit Report (1)

9.  Appropriate
 In tone and strategy
 Selection of appropriate emphasis
 Relevance of information
 Persuasive
 Quantifiable effects of conditions
 Convincing support for conclusions
 Show positive benefits from recommendations
 Constructive
 Elicit co-operation
 Address causes, not symptoms
 Demonstrate positive areas
 Allow management credit
Quality Audit Report (2)

10.  Results-oriented
 Not problems, but solutions
 Quantifiable recommendations
 Practical solutions
 Acknowledgement of management action taken
 Readable
 Executive summaries
 Structured format
 Brief sections with clear labeling
 Use of graphics where appropriate
 Timely
 Use of interim reports
 Swift production
 Strict timekeeping discipline
Quality Audit Report (3)

11.  Audit reports normally follow a standard
structure
 Use the consistency to standardize ongoing
documentation
 Think in terms of
 Criteria
 Condition
 Cause
 Effect
 Recommendation
 Focus on Important information
 Use of Audit Comment Worksheets
Structuring your Thoughts

12. Recommendations
 Make no changes in control systems,
processes or procedures
 Improve internal control structures or
redesign processes or procedures
 Improve the risk/return ratio
 Transfer of risk
12

13. Distribution
 Executive management
gain insights into the performance of specific operations or the overall
status of internal controls within that area
business decision making in selecting between alternative courses of
action and assessment of the likely rate of return
 Operational management
determine the adequacy and effectiveness their operations in
achieving specific performance objectives
 Shareholders or investors
determine the attractiveness of investment in this particular
organization
13

14.  Structured worksheets allow for review prior to
the report stage
 Agreement reached on substance of the report
 Strategy of presentation agreed
 Focus on persuasive items
 Effects
 Recommendations
Checking for Substance and
Strategy

15.  Limited time
 Procrastination based on
 "I don't know where to start"
 "I don't know what the auditee wants"
 "There's too much data"
 "I'll just have to rewrite it anyway"
 Collation of Comment Worksheets is much easier
 Put related sheets together and prioritize them
 Summarize the major findings and recommendations
 Go back over it for style, conciseness, clarity etc.
 You have a draft report
Draft Quickly and Polish Later

16.  Fieldwork
 Write the Objectives and Scope
 Use Worksheets to gather information
 Complete Audit Comment Worksheets
 Review Substance
 Present outline to line management
 Decide overall organization
 Report Production
 Write report draft
 Edit for Style, conciseness and clarity
 Present final report to management
Summary Phases

17.  State your conclusion directly
 Write concretely and descriptively
 Avoid jargon
 Seek the audiences' interests
 Guide the reader
 Readers' thought processes
 What is the auditor's conclusion?
 What support is there?
 Why is it important?
 What should we do?
Attention-getting Openings

18. Persuasiveness
 Clarifying relevant audience perspectives
 Establishing the facts to support an argument
 Prioritizing, editing and sequencing facts in order to build an
argument
 Formulating and stating audit
 Identify potential emotional reactions both positive and
negative from the readers of the analytical report
 Maintaining the focus on logical arguments
 Address potential objections
 Ensure consistency

19.  Objectives of writing - to inform and influence
 Gather the necessary information
 Before starting
 Avoids reorganizations
 Avoids rewriting
 Use a conversational style
 Tends to be more retainable
 Requires anticipation of feedback
 Builds mental images
 Avoid personal references when deficiencies are reported
 Criticise practices, not people
Clear Writing Techniques - 1

20.  Keep sentences short and simple
 Try to average 15 to 20 words
 One idea per sentence
 Long sentences tend to be
 Foggy
 Awkward
 Dull
 Boring
Clear Writing Techniques - 2

21. Clear Writing Techniques - 3
 Use active voice verbs
 Active voice usually
 Shorter
 More lively
 More conversational
 "The manager asked for ... " instead of ".... were asked
for by the manager"
 Passive tends to be
 Dull
 Formal
 Unclear
 Less emphatic
 Vague

22.  Use clear, familiar words
 Be specific and precise
 Never sacrifice clarity for brevity
 Avoid jargon where possible
 Explain it where it is essential
 The burden of communication is on the writer, not the
reader
 Use appropriate headings
 Break up the monotony of long sections
 Assist
 Location of specific information
 Speeding up the reading process
 Facilitate scanning
Clear Writing Techniques - 4

23.  Other techniques
 Use emphasis
 Use white space
 Keep paragraphs short
 Use graphics
 Use color
 But
 Do not make it over-fancy
 Do not pad for the sake of size
 Do not criticize just for something to say
Clear Writing Techniques - 5

24.  Starts at the beginning of the audit
 A mental picture of the report
 Free writing
 Loosens up the mental muscles
 Co-ordination of several writers efforts
 Read the report aloud
Preparing to Write

25. Basic Report Structure
 Executive summary
 Background, scope and objectives
 Summary of major analytical findings
 Audit opinion
 Detailed findings and recommendations
 Technical appendices if required
25

26.  How much to include?
 The analysis may have been complex
 The report should not be
 Not an opportunity to show off
 More is not always better
 Concise without being cryptic
Controlling Detail

27.  Consider the audience
 Purpose of the report
 Summarize the supporting data
 Select convincing and useful information
 Assess the value of that information
 Present the data in readable form
Establishing the Detail
Required

28. Data Visualization and
Presentation
 Communication modes
Verbal
Visual
Kinetic or non-verbal
 Most human beings have one primary
communication mode
 Most effective form of communication has a
large visual component
28

29. Communication Provisions
 Appeal
the degree to which the communication engages
its audience
 Comprehension
the understandability of the information to the
targeted audience
 Retention
the degree to which the audience will remember
the data presented in a visualization
29

30. Audit Presentation
 Comprehension, then retention then appeal
 Normally
Appeal, then retention the comprehension
30

31. Visualization
 To convey a variety of insights
 Into a given process
by creating images involving the manipulation of
data produced by that process
by decomposing the process into a pipeline with
each stage in the process having its own specific
and elements
31

32. Visualization
 Presentation in a graphical format of abstract
information in order to discover and
understand the information which resides in
complex data
Data acquisition of the initial data set
Data enriching, transformation and sampling to enrich the
dataset
Mapping the data to visual representations in 2D or 3D
shapes
Rendering the final visual representation or image
32

33. Presenting Numerical Data
 No physical form but can be represented by:
Length
Size
Shape
Color
 Using visualization techniques to highlight:
Patterns
Trends
33

34. Visualization assists
 Interpret trends and relationships and
facilitates interpretation of underlying causes
Identify operational areas where improvements could be
made
Identify revenue or expenses areas requiring
management attention
Focus on areas of high risk or impact
Identify and those factors which are likely to have the
highest impact on the achievement of corporate
objectives
34

35. Using Visuals for Impact
 Understanding the audience
 Use a technique that conveys the information
in the simplest form
 Decide the kind of information the auditor
wishes to convey and what he / she wishes
the audience to comprehend
 Understand the data to be visualized
including is cardinality and size
35

36. Using Visuals for Impact
 Choosing:
Data granularity
Level of depth
 Management typically require a lower level of
granularity
Summary view of data
 Visualization requires understanding the user
acceptance and context
36

37. Before you Start
 Raw data behind a visualization must be
relied upon
Effective data governance process must be in
place, tested and proven effective
 Once the data has been sanitized, and
summarized
Choose the method of presentation
Tendency to seek that over-complicated graphs
37

38. Top 20 States by Population
 Bubble Chart
38

39. Top 20 States by Population
 Line Chart
39

40. Top 20 States by Population
 Radar Graph
40

41. Form Selected Must
 Representing quantities accurately
 Indicate clearly the nature of the relationship
 Make it easy to see the ranking of values
 Make it easy to compare quantities
 Make it easy for viewers to understand how
the information should be used
41

42. Non-quantitative Visualization
42
 EG node-link relationships may be used
as a type of visualization of data
 entities captured as nodes and are
represented by a circle
 Links indicating relationships may be
used to depict 2D or 3D
representations of networks, human-
based or computer-based.

43. Big Data Visualization
 Infographics represent data with fewer
assumptions about the viewer’s knowledge
base and other types of visualization
 Statistical distributions – these are intended
to reveal trends by illustrating how numbers
are distributed
 Time series – graphics of this type show sets
of values over a time period in order to
illustrate trends over time
43

44. Big Data Visualization
 Networking – are used to indicate
relationships among data elements
 Hierarchies – can be illustrated as natural
hierarchies or assembled as artificial
hierarchies using a variety of techniques
 Mapping – is an obvious way to represent
geographical data but can also be used to
depict space over a period of time using flow
maps
44

45. Visualization Tools
 Such as:
IBM Cognos Insight
Microsoft Power View
SAS Visual Intelligence etc
 Critical for selection
Ease of use by employees who are not required
to be IT gurus
Functional capability in terms of graphical
capability is of less importance
45

46. Advanced Visualization
 Dynamic Data Animation
 Use of Actionable Alerts
 User tailoring triggering parameters based
on:
Criticality
Volumes
Values etc
Visualization now moved into the realm of
continuous monitoring
46

47. IBM Smarter City Example
 Citizen Demands
Convenience
Security
Disparity
Opportunity
 Civic Leaders deliver
Roads and buildings
Infrastructure including water and power
Health Care and lifestyle choices
Education and employment
47

48. IBM Smarter City Example
 Required
 Data integrated from a variety of sources including such areas as health care
providers, universities, civic groups and businesses
 Response moving from:
Contingency theory based
solutions based on the skills of the available responders
Fusion center based
representatives of different response silos are centrally located
and word-of-mouth communication can easily take place
Intelligent operations center (IOC)
information from different domains are integrated so the event
response can be coordinated centrally , information is readily
available to all participants in a visualization form appropriate to
their needs
48

49. Resulting in
 Entity-wide dashboards
 Data modeling and integration
 Geospatial mapping
 Model simulation and visualization
 Domain-level analytics
 Incident alerts and directives
49

50. Internal Audit Usage
 Classic waterfall
demonstrate how an initial value may be increased or
decreased by a series of intermediate steps
 Geospatial
provide comparisons overlaid on a map backdrop
facilitating techniques such as heat map alerts for areas
reaching trigger points
 Strategy trees
dramatically indicating the overall objective and sub-
objectives as well as key performance indicators on a
hierarchical basis
50

51. Internal Audit Usage
 Pareto analysis
can indicate how a specific group of the specific population, normally
the top percentage, contributes to profitability, risk or other criteria
 Box plots
box plots facilitate the comparison of the spread of related data point
values within a given operational dimension
 Bubble charts
commonly used in scatter scenarios where multiple variables are in
use. These are commonly used to show correlations among value
types.
 Scatter graphs
most common form of graphical representation of data points where
points themselves indicate individual values.
51

52. Questions?
Any Questions?
Don’t be Shy!

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54. Thank You!
Jim Kaplan
AuditNet® LLC
1-800-385-1625
Email:info@auditnet.org
www.auditnet.org
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Richard Cascarino & Associates
Cell: +1 970 819 7963
Tel +1 303 747 6087 (Skype Worldwide)
Tel: +1 970 367 5429
eMail: rcasc@rcascarino.com
Web: http://www.rcascarino.com
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