eNews - October 2009

Next Meeting - Thursday, October 1, 2009
Renaissance Richardson Hotel

Supply Chain Management

Meeting 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Registration begins at 11:30pm

Six Sigma and Supply Chain Management
Kennan Ramanathan, PhD, University of Texas at Dallas

Objectives:  “Lean” and “Six Sigma” are frequently heard buzzwords in our modern business environment.  These concepts are being applied to an increasing number of functions in managing an organization.  What exactly do these terms mean?  How are they relevant to Supply Chain Management?  In this presentation, Kennan will discuss:

• The evolution of Lean and Six Sigma concepts
• The increasing focus on Supply Chain Management
• How the audit function can leverage Lean and Six Sigma concepts to contribute to organizational efficiency and effectiveness

Kennan Ramanathan studied Economics and Management in India.  After receiving his MBA, he worked for airlines in India, East Africa, and the Middle East.

He left the airline industry after 12 years to come to the United States and receive a Ph.D. in Business Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.  He then joined General Electric, where he focused on applying and teaching Six Sigma at various GE businesses.

As of last year, he is with the University of Texas at Dallas as Associate Director for the Center for Intelligent Supply Networks.  At the University of Texas at Dallas School of Management, he teaches Lean Six Sigma, Operations Management, and Spreadsheet Modeling.

1 Hour Continuing Education

CAST Meeting 10:30am - 11:30am
Registration begins at 10:00am

Root Cause Analysis
Priya Sarjoo, Grant Thornton LP

Objectives:  Root cause analysis (RCA) is a class of problem solving methods aimed at identifying the root causes of problems or events.  The practice of RCA is predicated on the belief that problems are best solved by attempting to correct or eliminate root causes, as opposed to merely addressing the immediately obvious symptoms.   By directing corrective measures at root causes, the likelihood of problem recurrence is minimized. In this CAST session, participants will learn more about the process of root cause analysis and the techniques and tools to identify root causes of events or problems.

Priya Sarjoo is a Director in the Advisory Services practice at Grant Thornton. She joined Grant Thornton in 2001, having previously worked in the private sector in the wholesale assembly and distribution and hospitality industries.  With more than 15 years of experience in accounting, internal controls, and business process improvement, Priya has assisted companies with operational improvements and developing appropriate internal controls to manage their risks.  Priya has an MBA (with distinction) from the Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, and a BA from Fordham University, New York.

1 Hour Continuing Education

Pre-Meeting 10:30am - 11:30am
Registration begins at 10:00am

Auditing for Value in the Procure to Pay Cycle
Clint McPherson and Terry Hartzog, Protiviti Inc.

Objectives:  During this session, the presenters will provide an overview of the primary processes within the procure to pay cycle and discuss key areas of focus, including various tactics and usage of CAAT’s/data analytics, as part of the internal audit process.  The objective of these tools is to provide greater assurance on the effectiveness of management controls while also enhancing the potential for internal audit to identify cost savings and/or process improvements within the organization.

Clint McPherson is a founding Managing Director in the Protiviti Dallas/Ft. Worth office with over 19 years experience in internal audit, business operations, and information technology.  Clint serves as the Southwest Regional Leader for Protiviti’s Sarbanes-Oxley practice and as co-leader of Protiviti’s Internal Audit practice for the Dallas office.  Clint has extensive experience in the areas of internal audit, IT audit, corporate governance, operational assessments, and process improvement.

Clint received his BBA in Finance from the University of Oklahoma.  He is also a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Project Management Professional (PMP), and is accredited in Quality Assessment by the IIA.

Terry Hartzog is an Associate Director with Protiviti with over 10 years of experience providing internal audit assurance and consultative services to a variety of companies across many industries.  Terry's experience includes audit shop formation and risk assessment as well as oversight and execution of audit projects.

Terry earned his BBA in Accounting and Information Systems from Texas A&M University.  He is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Accredited in Quality Assessment/Validation and is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  Terry currently serves as the President of the Fort Worth chapter of the IIA.

1 Hour Continuing Education

Post-Meeting 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Supply Chain Risks
Jason Carter and Tim Gaylord, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP

Objectives:  Supply Chains, with pressures such as product recalls, are now under severe economic stress and more vulnerable to disruptions.  Supply chain disruptions cause serious damage to profitability, shareholder value, and reputation.  A few suppliers make the biggest difference to the bottom line and brand.  These critical relationships must be recognized and nurtured.  Companies should analyze critical suppliers’ financial and operational metrics to develop leading risk indicators and identify/prevent potential disruptions. Participants will learn how to develop relationships with suppliers and monitor the relationships that companies have with suppliers.

Jason Carter has over 3 years experience with PwC LLP, where he has assisted companies improve their supply chain and manage their risk.  His work has spanned many industries including publishing, telecom, pharma, and energy.  Through his efforts, he has helped clients identify supply chain strategies that are aligned to corporate goals and facilitated the development of roadmaps and business cases to empower supply chain management to achieve their objectives.  Additionally, he has assisted clients with their outsourcing decisions by providing benefit analysis during the negotiations of contract terms.  Jason has also helped distribution teams identify and quantify efficiency improvement and cost reduction initiatives.  Throughout these efforts, Jason has guided companies to recognize the potential pitfalls involved in their supply chain decision and has helped them understand and mitigate their risk exposure.

Tim Gaylord is a Manager in PwC's Advisory practice in North Texas.  In his five years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tim has focused on merger integration and operations effectiveness in the industrial products, consumer products, and retail industries.  He has experience assessing and applying best practices in supply chain and supply chain risk management, manufacturing, management reporting, information technology, and lean principles.

1 Hour Continuing Education

New Online Registration Requirements

A few months ago, the Dallas Chapter made a change to the CPE process.  After attending an IIA meeting, an online evaluation is distributed via email.  When you click the link to the online evaluation, you can immediately prepare and print your CE certificate for that specific meeting.  We had an overwhelming positive response to this process improvement, and want to keep making improvements such as this to streamline our processes.

New this year, beginning with the August meeting, the Dallas Chapter will require payment prior to confirming your registration.  Almost 90% of our attendees already pay through PayPal, so this is not a change for them.  If you need to pay by check, your check must be received prior to the meeting (see details below).  Our goal is to reduce the wait time at the check in tables, improve controls, and ease the reconciliation process on the back end.

As a friendly reminder and to provide clarification for our new members:

• Registration cutoff is 5:00 pm CST on the Friday before the meeting (unless otherwise noted).
• Payment must be received by the Friday before the meeting (unless otherwise noted).  Your registration is not confirmed until paid.  We strongly encourage you to pay via PayPal to confirm your registration.  If you are mailing a check, the envelope must be post marked 8 days prior to the meeting (i.e., on Wednesday the week prior to the Thursday meeting) to ensure we receive your payment on time.  If the envelope is not post marked within the required timeframe and is received late, you will be notified by email that a) the meeting is sold out or b) an additional $10 late fee per person will be assessed.  Only registrations paid by PayPal will be accepted on Thursday and Friday prior to the meeting.
• If you miss the deadline to register and space is available, you can attend the meeting as a walk-in.  Before coming to the meeting, please check the website to see if we are accepting walk-ins since our meetings tend to sell out.
• The deadline to cancel your registration is 5:00 pm CST on the Friday before the meeting (unless otherwise noted) to receive a refund.  If you do not cancel by the deadline, you may send a substitute in your place after notifying reservations@dallasiia.org.  The substitute will be required to pay an additional $10 if they are not a member of the Dallas Chapter.
• All walk-ins will need to register at a separate table before the start of the meeting.  The walk-ins will be required to complete an on-site registration form which will include name, company name, address, and email address and can pay with cash or check made payable to the Dallas Chapter of The IIA for the applicable amount.

Registration: Place and confirm your reservation via the web site at http://www.dallasiia.org/Reserve_1009.htm.

The following are the current rates for our monthly meetings:

We will keep you posted as we continue to make improvements.  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact any of the officers of the Dallas Chapter.  Thanks for your cooperation!

This meeting is being held at Renaissance Richardson Hotel,
900 East Lookout Drive, Richardson, Texas 75082

Preferred Method:

Place and confirm your reservation via the web site at http://www.dallasiia.org/Reserve_1009.htm.

Reservations & Payment must be received by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 25, 2009.

Registration Cancellation Policy

Current Cancellation date: 5:00p Friday, May 8, 2015

• You can cancel online until the current cancellation date and receive 100% refund. If you do not cancel by the deadline, you may send a substitute in your place after notifying reservations@dallasiia.org.
• The substitute may be required to pay an additional fee which would depend on their membership status (Member, Student Member or Non-Member). To cancel your registration after the cancellation date, please send an email to CANCEL@dallasiia.org .

We Now Accept Credit Cards - Online Only

The IIA Dallas Chapter, in conjunction with PayPal, will now accept payment online for the monthly luncheons.  There is no change in the cost to you for the lunch.  We accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or eCheck.  Note that some corporate-issued cards are not accepted by PayPal.  This service is only available online at the time the reservation is made.  This can be used to pay for individual or group reservations.  Follow the instructions on our web site.  If you properly cancel a reservation before the meeting, the Chapter will either return the funds to you or reserve you for the next meeting.  Any questions, contact the Registration Chair at reservations@dallasiia.org.

After you place your reservation online, you will see the link to pay via PayPal if desired.

Chapter News

CIA Programs

Congratulations to our New CIA’s and CCSA’s

The Dallas Chapter is pleased to congratulate the following new CIA’s and CCSA’s for passing the exams and completing their requirements:

The Dallas Chapter will be honoring and handing out certificates to the new CIA’s and CCSA’s at the October 1st meeting. Instructions on how to register for the meeting will be sent to the awardees via email. If you are receiving a certificate but are unable to attend, please contact Toni Messer at tmesser@utdallas.edu.

Register Now!

The next CIA review course will be held September 25-28, 2009 and taught by Dr. Glen Sumners of LSU.  Courses will be held at The University of Texas at Dallas.  Registration details can be found at http://dallasiia.org/CIA_Review_F09.htm.

Check Out Our New CIA Web Page

For information about the CIA exam and review courses, see our new website at http://dallasiia.org/CIA.htm

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:      I haven’t received my certificate yet – where is it?

A:       The IIA will send out certificates to the Dallas Chapter each quarter.  The certificates for those taking and passing the exam and satisfying all requirements between April and June 2009 should be received by the Chapter in August 2009.  If you do not receive your certificate by September 2009, contact the IIA’s certification department:  certification@theiia.org, or call (407)937-1100.

Q:      How do I register for the exam?

A:       Exam registration can be completed via the following link: http://www.theiia.org/certification/certified-internal-auditor/certification-candidate-management-systems/

Key Events to Plan For!

We are proud to announce that at the September Dallas IIA Chapter meeting, we awarded 58 certificates to recent graduates and current students with the Internal Auditing Education Partnership (IAEP) Program at UTD. The recipients successfully completed the required courses in the program for the past academic year. The first group of students to complete the IAEP program totaled 6 students in 2004. The program is continuously growing and it could not be done without the support the Dallas IIA Chapter and the professionals continuing to advocate the profession.

We are also honored to host the IAEP National Conference in October at the UTD School of Management. The event brings students from around the world that are participating in the IAEP program at their respective school.

The Dallas IIA Chapter and UTD will be offering various Fraud workshops on March 25, 2010, including three different session options. The following day, March 26, 2010, UTD will host the 5th Annual Fraud Conference. Although the events are approximately 6 months away, the Fraud Conference has sold out weeks prior to the event and is planned to sell out a few months in advance. Registration opens this month, so do not hesitate to sign up.

If you are interested in recruiting on campus or assisting the program in any way, please contact Mark Salamasick at 972-883-4729 or mark.salamasick@utdallas.edu. We are always looking for additional site tours and always welcome sponsors for our Wednesday receptions. If you are looking to recruit, the resume book for the fall 2009 semester will be available by the end of September. A website is available with student resumes at www.utdallas.edu/orgs/iia. Contact Mark Salamasick for password access to the resumes.

Pictured Above: Of the 59 UTD IAEP certificate recipients, the following were in attendance:
Top Row: Mark Salamasick (Director), Emily Ray, Lenelle Noble, Samaneh Azimipour,
Christopher Hes, Adam Bush, Walter Lowe, Scott Perdue, Matthew Fulgham,
Michael Buckley, Thomas Rowley, Chris Linsteadt (Asst. Director)
Middle Row: Kiran Sawani, Renee Rasmussen, Parastoo Mojahed,
Adrienne Adame, Khalil Hasham, Rick Lam,
Bottom Row: Mustafa Shah, Riaz Dharani, Matthew Paske

The IIA Research Foundation

The IIA Research Foundation has issued a 2009 report available for free download entitled “Using Expert Knowledge Structures to Design Fraud Risk Assessment Decision Aids.” The purposes for this research study were to design a decision aid based upon the knowledge structures of experienced auditors and to test the ability of the decision aid to train users to “think like experts” and “make judgments like experts.”

Results suggest that individuals who use decision aids organized to represent an expert’s knowledge structure develop knowledge structures that are similar to those of experts. These findings suggest significant potential for future design and use of decision aids. Organizations will be able to take advantage of the efficiency and effectiveness gains that decision aids provide, while also promoting the development of expertise.

IIA members can download the report free of charge from The IIA Web site at http://www.theiia.org/bookstore/product/using-expert-knowledge-structures-to-design-fraud-risk-assessment-decision-aids-1416.cfm.

Dallas Chapter Leadership Roles

In the near future, the Nominating Committee will begin the process of identifying candidates to serve as Officers and Board of Governors for the Dallas Chapter.

Most Officers have previous volunteer experience serving as Officers and/or Committee Chairs/Members. The Board of Governors include past Chapter Presidents and CAE’s/Audit Directors/Senior Managers. Some of the attributes of a successful leader are:

• Passion for the profession
• Enthusiastic
• Team builder with determination, vision, and strategic thinking
• Available, willing, and committed to serve
• Competent and professional experience in internal auditing
• Committed to The IIA and Dallas Chapter’s objectives
• Have integrity and lack of conflicts of interest
• Have support of the employer
• Reliable
• Proven record of attendance and volunteering in The IIA or Dallas Chapter

If you have any questions or would like to discuss serving as an Officer or member of the Board of Governors, please contact Jay Blanchard at Jayblanchard@ti.com or 214-567-2544.

New Ways to Network

During the month of September, the Dallas IIA will be launching a Facebook and LinkedIn group. Brought to you by the membership committee, these tools will allow you another avenue to grow your online network, communicate with other Dallas IIA members, and stay on top of current chapter events. LinkedIn is geared to professional networking; Facebook is used for both professional and social networking.

• If you already have a profile at either one of these websites, you can join the Dallas IIA group by searching for it.
• If you don’t have a profile but would like to set one up, visit www.linkedin.com and / or www.facebook.com and follow the instructions.
• If you have questions contact membership@dallasiia.org

Membership Updates

The Dallas IIA Chapter would like to extend a warm welcome to our new members who joined the Chapter last month:

Please look for the monthly eNews (electronic newsletters) as a source of information for future events within the Dallas Chapter and other internal audit related news. If you have any questions regarding your membership or need additional information about the Dallas Chapter, please feel free to contact the Membership Chair (membership@dallasiia.org). If you are looking to become more involved in the Dallas Chapter and help give back to the internal audit profession, please contact Jay Blanchard at jayblanchard@ti.com.

Seminars

2009 - 2010 Seminars
Updated 9/9/09

Dallas Chapter Seminars

The Dallas Chapter of The IIA is pleased to announce SMART Training Courses for the upcoming year and beyond.  Our goal is to provide high quality training at a low cost for our members (starting at $150 for 1 day courses).

We have been busy these past couple of months planning and organizing to bring you the following hot topics and outstanding speakers.  We are still working hard to finalize the schedule but we wanted to get this to you as soon as possible so that you could plan your training.

		SMART Training Courses (Seminars on Mastering Audit Real-world Techniques)
COURSE NAME	INSTRUCTOR(S)	CONFIRMED DATES OR EST. TIMEFRAME	DFW LOCATION
ACL Intermediate (201)	ACL	October 1-2, 2009	Texas Instruments
Fraud in the Workplace: Techniques & Skills for the Internal Auditor	Deloitte	October 15-16, 2009	Idearc
High Impact Audit Consulting	Mark Salamasick, David Williams & Shawn Irving	November 13, 2009	7-Eleven
Windows and Active Directory Security Briefings and Training	Tanya Baccam, Baccam Consulting	December 1-3, 2009	JCPenney
Risk Based Auditing: A Value Add Proposition	Glyn Smith, CooperGroup, Principal	January 26-27, 2010	Brinker
Oracle Security Briefings and Training	Tanya Baccam, Baccam Consulting	February 9-11, 2010	Southwest Airlines
Advanced Operational Auditing	Glyn Smith, CooperGroup, Principal	April (2 days)	7-Eleven
SQL Server Security Briefings and Training	Tanya Baccam, Baccam Consulting	May (2 days)	Sabre
We are able to bring these seminars to you for a low cost because IIA-member companies are providing their offices for the training sites.  If your company is interested in hosting a course and receive free registrations, please contact Pamela Krakosky at pkrakosky@verizon.net to find out more details.  And if you would like to recommend a course topic and/or instructor, please contact Pamela.

ACL 201 Data Analysis Techniques:
An ACL Workshop

Class size was limited to the first 50 paid registrants!

Location:

Texas Instruments
13900 North Central Expressway
Dallas, TX 75234

Fraud in the Workplace
Techniques and Skills for the Internal Auditor

Class size was limited to the first 60 paid registrants!

Location:

Idearc Media
2200 W. Airfield Dr.
DFW Airport, TX 75261-9810

Employment Opportunities

AmerisourceBergen  (9/15/09)

Financial Auditor

Position Summary

Under general direction of the Internal Audit Director, responsible for performing audits at the distribution centers and various other audits within specific functional areas in order to ensure compliance with company and regulatory requirements and standards.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

1. Performs reviews, evaluations, and makes recommendations for the correction and/or improvement of internal, operational, and management control systems and organizational performance.
2. Interacts with all levels of company associates and outside contact with client representatives, vendors, and other business-related representatives.
3. Performs financial balance sheet reviews and application audits utilizing audit software tools such as ACL.
4. Assists in planning work on assigned segments of the audit.
5. Assists in determining records or activities to analyze, the extent of tests to apply and appropriate paperwork to prepare.
6. Recommends the means of obtaining, analyzing and evaluating the evidentiary data.
7. Reviews transactions, documents, records, reports, and methods for accuracy and effectiveness.
8. Prepares acceptable working papers that record and summarize data on the assigned audit segment.
9. Audits business applications; reviews disaster recovery plans.
10. Holds preliminary discussions of apparent deficiencies with function/business unit management to verify and to obtain explanations of and reasons for each apparent deficiency.
11. Reports audit findings on the results of the review of the assigned segment of the audit and makes recommendations for the correction of unsatisfactory conditions, improvements in operations, and reductions in cost; conducts closing conferences with management.
12. Prepares reports integrating business data files using ACL software.
13. Must be willing to travel extensively; overnight travel up to 25%.
14. Performs related duties as assigned.

Experience and Education Requirements

Requires broad training in fields such as business administration, accountancy, sales, marketing, computer sciences or similar vocations generally obtained through completion of a four year Bachelor's Degree program, technical vocational training, or equivalent combination of experience and education. Normally requires a minimum of four (4) to six (6) years directly related and progressively responsible experience. CPA, CIA, CISA or MBA with industry experience in public accounting.

Minimum Skills, Knowledge and Ability Requirements

1. Knowledge of operational auditing, process flow reviews and trial balance audits
2. Working knowledge of audit software packages such as ACL
3. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing
4. Strong interpersonal skills
5. Ability to work independently; self-starter
6. Strong organizational skills; attention to detail
7. Ability to implement processes resulting in satisfactory audit practices
8. Strong computer skills in order to operate effectively with company systems and programs

Please apply online at: https://amerisourcebergen.tms.hrdepartment.com/cgi-bin/a/highlightjob.cgi?jobid=7231&lcid=en-US

Zions Bancorporation  (8/18/09)

Senior Auditor

Zions Bancorporation, parent company for Amegy Bank, has an immediate opening for a Senior Auditor. We are looking for an experienced Auditor to join a successful team where innovativeness is embraced and encouraged. Successful candidate will enjoy working in an environment with promotional opportunities, project ownership, and limited travel. You will have the chance to expand your data analysis skills, flowcharting and automated workpaper skills while having access to subject matter experts and excellent leadership.

Responsibilities:

The Senior Auditor is responsible for performing a variety of risk based auditing assignments to assure compliance with established policies and procedures relating to operational, financial, and regulatory controls as well as detecting any fraudulent or wasteful activity. Responsible for developing the audit approach and audit program, completing field work tests and audit reports, and making recommendations for corrective actions when necessary. Follow up to determine that approved recommendations in audit reports are instituted and complied with by departments. Assist outside auditors as assigned. May lead or assists lower level auditors as assigned. Other duties as assigned.

Bachelor's degree and 2+ years of directly related audit experience. Banking experience strongly preferred. Frequently contributes to the development of new theories and methods. Critical thinker, effective oral and written communicator. Employs advanced knowledge as a generalist or specialist of auditing procedures, accounting, statistical analysis, legal requirements and government regulations. Good communication and PR skills. Working knowledge of Microsoft Software.

Please apply on line to: https://zionsbancorp.taleo.net/careersection/amgexternal/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=11313&media_id={board_instance_id}&src={pipeline_id} 

or contact:

Trina Eyring at (801) 844-7572 or trina.eyring@zionsbancorp.com

This page was last updated on Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 03:21 AM PST.

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P. O. Box 261747, Plano, TX 75026-1747