WorldWideScience

Sample records for meaningful audit tool

  1. The electronic patient record as a meaningful audit tool - Accountability and autonomy in general practitioner work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Winthereik, Brit Ross; van der Ploeg, I.; Berg, Marc

    2007-01-01

    Health authorities increasingly request that general practitioners (GPs) use information and communication technologies such as electronic patient records (EPR) for accountability purposes. This article deals with the use of EPRs among general practitioners in Britain. It examines two ways in which...... makes them active in finding ways that turn the EPR into a meaningful tool for them, that is, a tool that helps them provide what they see as good care. The article's main contribution is to show how accountability and autonomy are coproduced; less professional autonomy does not follow from more...... GPs use the EPR for accountability purposes. One way is to generate audit reports on the basis of the information that has been entered into the record. The other is to let the computer intervene in the clinical process through prompts. The article argues that GPs' ambivalence toward using the EPR...

  2. HS.Register - An Audit-Trail Tool to Respond to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonçalves-Ferreira, Duarte; Leite, Mariana; Santos-Pereira, Cátia; Correia, Manuel E; Antunes, Luis; Cruz-Correia, Ricardo

    2018-01-01

    Introduction The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compels health care institutions and their software providers to properly document all personal data processing and provide clear evidence that their systems are inline with the GDPR. All applications involved in personal data processing should therefore produce meaningful event logs that can later be used for the effective auditing of complex processes. Aim This paper aims to describe and evaluate HS.Register, a system created to collect and securely manage at scale audit logs and data produced by a large number of systems. Methods HS.Register creates a single audit log by collecting and aggregating all kinds of meaningful event logs and data (e.g. ActiveDirectory, syslog, log4j, web server logs, REST, SOAP and HL7 messages). It also includes specially built dashboards for easy auditing and monitoring of complex processes, crossing different systems in an integrated way, as well as providing tools for helping on the auditing and on the diagnostics of difficult problems, using a simple web application. HS.Register is currently installed at five large Portuguese Hospitals and is composed of the following open-source components: HAproxy, RabbitMQ, Elasticsearch, Logstash and Kibana. Results HS.Register currently collects and analyses an average of 93 million events per week and it is being used to document and audit HL7 communications. Discussion Auditing tools like HS.Register are likely to become mandatory in the near future to allow for traceability and detailed auditing for GDPR compliance.

  3. Experiences of using the GMP audit preparation tool in pharmaceutical contract manufacturer audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linna, Anu; Korhonen, Mirka; Airaksinen, Marja; Juppo, Anne Mari

    2010-06-01

    Use of external contractors is nowadays inevitable in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore the amount of current good manufacturing practice audits has been increasing. During the audit, a large amount of items should be covered in a limited amount of time. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies should have systematic and effective ways to manage and prepare for the audits. This study is a continuation to the earlier study, where a tool for the preparation of cGMP audit was developed and its content was validated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the developed tool in audit preparation and during the actual cGMP audit. Three qualitative research methods were used in this study (observation, interviews, and opinion survey). First, the validity of the information given through the tool was examined by comparing the responses to the actual conditions observed during the contract manufacturer audits (n = 15). Additionally the opinions of the contract manufacturers of the tool were gathered (n = 10) and the auditors were interviewed (n = 2). The developed tool was proven to be useful in audit preparation phase from both the auditor's and the contract manufacturers' point of view. Furthermore, using the tool can also save some time when performing the audit. The results show that using the tool can give significant support in audit preparation phase and also during the actual audit.

  4. The Neighborhood Auditing Tool: A Hybrid Interface for Auditing the UMLS

    OpenAIRE

    Morrey, C. Paul; Geller, James; Halper, Michael; Perl, Yehoshua

    2009-01-01

    The UMLS’s integration of more than 100 source vocabularies, not necessarily consistent with one another, causes some inconsistencies. The purpose of auditing the UMLS is to detect such inconsistencies and to suggest how to resolve them while observing the requirement of fully representing the content of each source in the UMLS. A software tool, called the Neighborhood Auditing Tool (NAT), that facilitates UMLS auditing is presented. The NAT supports “neighborhood-based” auditing, where, at a...

  5. Field Audit Checklist Tool (FACT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Download EPA's The Field Audit Checklist Tool (FACT). FACT is intended to help auditors perform field audits, to easily view monitoring plan, quality assurance and emissions data and provides access to data collected under MATS.

  6. Occupational health management: an audit tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelmerdine, L; Williams, N

    2003-03-01

    Organizations must manage occupational health risks in the workplace and the UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has published guidance on successful health and safety management. This paper describes a method of using the published guidance to audit the management of occupational health and safety, first at an organizational level and, secondly, to audit an occupational health service provider's role in the management of health risks. The paper outlines the legal framework in the UK for health risk management and describes the development and use of a tool for qualitative auditing of the efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of occupational health service provision within an organization. The audit tool is presented as a question set and the paper concludes with discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of using this tool, and recommendations on its use.

  7. Qlikview Audit Tool (QLIKVIEW) -

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Transportation — This tool supports the cyclical financial audit process. Qlikview supports large volumes of financial transaction data that can be mined, summarized and presented to...

  8. The Neighborhood Auditing Tool: a hybrid interface for auditing the UMLS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrey, C Paul; Geller, James; Halper, Michael; Perl, Yehoshua

    2009-06-01

    The UMLS's integration of more than 100 source vocabularies, not necessarily consistent with one another, causes some inconsistencies. The purpose of auditing the UMLS is to detect such inconsistencies and to suggest how to resolve them while observing the requirement of fully representing the content of each source in the UMLS. A software tool, called the Neighborhood Auditing Tool (NAT), that facilitates UMLS auditing is presented. The NAT supports "neighborhood-based" auditing, where, at any given time, an auditor concentrates on a single-focus concept and one of a variety of neighborhoods of its closely related concepts. Typical diagrammatic displays of concept networks have a number of shortcomings, so the NAT utilizes a hybrid diagram/text interface that features stylized neighborhood views which retain some of the best features of both the diagrammatic layouts and text windows while avoiding the shortcomings. The NAT allows an auditor to display knowledge from both the Metathesaurus (concept) level and the Semantic Network (semantic type) level. Various additional features of the NAT that support the auditing process are described. The usefulness of the NAT is demonstrated through a group of case studies. Its impact is tested with a study involving a select group of auditors.

  9. Auditing as a Tool for Improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fazila Said; Nurhanisah Adnan

    2016-01-01

    Quality audit in Nuclear Malaysia is monitored by Research Management Centre (RIMC) that manages and monitors the internal and external audit are performed effectively. Therefore auditing for Quality Management System (QMS) is a tool that helps Nuclear Malaysia to enhance the quality performance beside to sustain the certificate. QMS is a platform for processes and laboratories to make continual improvement such as the need to close the Audit Findings to tackle nonconformance (nc) clauses and opportunity for improvement (ofi) that focus on customers and suppliers. This study will discuss the percentage of non-conforming and conforming of processes and laboratories and to identify the trend for the year 2012, 2013 and 2014. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data by using SPSS version 20 and excel software. The finding of this study found that there are some trends of total numbers of non-conforming items for internal and external audit for the year 2012 to 2014. The improvement plans from RMC are also have been discussed according to four factors; internal audit quality, organizational setting, management support and auditee attributes. (author)

  10. Concept Mapping Using Cmap Tools to Enhance Meaningful Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cañas, Alberto J.; Novak, Joseph D.

    Concept maps are graphical tools that have been used in all facets of education and training for organizing and representing knowledge. When learners build concept maps, meaningful learning is facilitated. Computer-based concept mapping software such as CmapTools have further extended the use of concept mapping and greatly enhanced the potential of the tool, facilitating the implementation of a concept map-centered learning environment. In this chapter, we briefly present concept mapping and its theoretical foundation, and illustrate how it can lead to an improved learning environment when it is combined with CmapTools and the Internet. We present the nationwide “Proyecto Conéctate al Conocimiento” in Panama as an example of how concept mapping, together with technology, can be adopted by hundreds of schools as a means to enhance meaningful learning.

  11. Implementing iRound: A Computer-Based Auditing Tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Darcie

    Many hospitals use rounding or auditing as a tool to help identify gaps and needs in quality and process performance. Some hospitals are also using rounding to help improve patient experience. It is known that purposeful rounding helps improve Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores by helping manage patient expectations, provide service recovery, and recognize quality caregivers. Rounding works when a standard method is used across the facility, where data are comparable and trustworthy. This facility had a pen-and-paper process in place that made data reporting difficult, created a silo culture between departments, and most audits and rounds were completed differently on each unit. It was recognized that this facility needed to standardize the rounding and auditing process. The tool created by the Advisory Board called iRound was chosen as the tool this facility would use for patient experience rounds as well as process and quality rounding. The success of the iRound tool in this facility depended on several factors that started many months before implementation to current everyday usage.

  12. Designing a clinical audit tool to measure processes of pregnancy care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wallace EM

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Suzanne V Sinni1, Wendy M Cross2, Euan M Wallace1,31Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University and Southern Health, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria, 2School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3The Ritchie Centre, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, AustraliaAbstract: This paper reports the development of a clinical audit tool as part of a larger project to evaluate a new maternity service, underpinned by a patient safety framework.Aim: The aim of this work is to describe the development of a clinical audit tool that measures the process of pregnancy care, and its application.Background: There are many reports about outcomes of healthcare provision, however there are limited studies examining the process of care. There is also limited evidence linking clinical audit with improvements in care delivery. Pregnancy care was chosen because there are well defined and agreed clinical standards against which to measure the delivery of pregnancy care. A clinical audit using these standards addresses both gaps in the literature.Methods: Standard methodological processes were used to develop the audit tool. Literature informed the processes. Data were collected in 2009–2010 using the tool described in the paper. Reliability testing was completed in September 2011.Results: An audit tool to measure pregnancy care was developed and applied to 354 health records to enable analysis of adherence to organizational expectations of care. Reliability testing of the tool achieved an overall kappa of 0.896.Conclusion: Developing an audit tool based on processes described in the literature is labor intensive and resource dependent, however it results in a robust, reliable, valid tool that can be used in diverse maternity services. Stakeholder participation from the outset ensures ongoing engagement for the duration of a clinically based project spanning several years

  13. National Energy Audit Tool for Multifamily Buildings Development Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malhotra, Mini [ORNL; MacDonald, Michael [Sentech, Inc.; Accawi, Gina K [ORNL; New, Joshua Ryan [ORNL; Im, Piljae [ORNL

    2012-03-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to reduce their energy costs by providing funds to make their homes more energy efficient. In addition, the program funds Weatherization Training and Technical Assistance (T and TA) activities to support a range of program operations. These activities include measuring and documenting performance, monitoring programs, promoting advanced techniques and collaborations to further improve program effectiveness, and training, including developing tools and information resources. The T and TA plan outlines the tasks, activities, and milestones to support the weatherization network with the program implementation ramp up efforts. Weatherization of multifamily buildings has been recognized as an effective way to ramp up weatherization efforts. To support this effort, the 2009 National Weatherization T and TA plan includes the task of expanding the functionality of the Weatherization Assistant, a DOE-sponsored family of energy audit computer programs, to perform audits for large and small multifamily buildings This report describes the planning effort for a new multifamily energy audit tool for DOE's WAP. The functionality of the Weatherization Assistant is being expanded to also perform energy audits of small multifamily and large multifamily buildings. The process covers an assessment of needs that includes input from national experts during two national Web conferences. The assessment of needs is then translated into capability and performance descriptions for the proposed new multifamily energy audit, with some description of what might or should be provided in the new tool. The assessment of needs is combined with our best judgment to lay out a strategy for development of the multifamily tool that proceeds in stages, with features of an initial tool (version 1) and a more capable version 2 handled with currently available resources. Additional

  14. Allied health clinicians using translational research in action to develop a reliable stroke audit tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abery, Philip; Kuys, Suzanne; Lynch, Mary; Low Choy, Nancy

    2018-05-23

    To design and establish reliability of a local stroke audit tool by engaging allied health clinicians within a privately funded hospital. Design: Two-stage study involving a modified Delphi process to inform stroke audit tool development and inter-tester reliability. Allied health clinicians. A modified Delphi process to select stroke guideline recommendations for inclusion in the audit tool. Reliability study: 1 allied health representative from each discipline audited 10 clinical records with sequential admissions to acute and rehabilitation services. Recommendations were admitted to the audit tool when 70% agreement was reached, with 50% set as the reserve agreement. Inter-tester reliability was determined using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) across 10 clinical records. Twenty-two participants (92% female, 50% physiotherapists, 17% occupational therapists) completed the modified Delphi process. Across 6 voting rounds, 8 recommendations reached 70% agreement and 2 reached 50% agreement. Two recommendations (nutrition/hydration; goal setting) were added to ensure representation for all disciplines. Substantial consistency across raters was established for the audit tool applied in acute stroke (ICC .71; range .48 to .90) and rehabilitation (ICC.78; range .60 to .93) services. Allied health clinicians within a privately funded hospital generally agreed in an audit process to develop a reliable stroke audit tool. Allied health clinicians agreed on stroke guideline recommendations to inform a stroke audit tool. The stroke audit tool demonstrated substantial consistency supporting future use for service development. This process, which engages local clinicians, could be adopted by other facilities to design reliable audit tools to identify local service gaps to inform changes to clinical practice. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Computer assisted audit tools and techniques in real world: CAATT's applications and approaches in context

    OpenAIRE

    Pedrosa, I.; Costa, C. J.

    2012-01-01

    Nowadays, Computer Aided Audit Tools (and Techniques’) support almost all audit processes concerning data extraction and analysis. These tools were firstly aimed to support financial auditing processes. However, their scope is beyond this, therefore, we present case studies and good practices in an academic context. Although in large auditing companies Audit Tools to do data extraction and analysis are very common and applied in several contexts, we realized that is not easy to find practical...

  16. An effective materials control and accountability audit program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnival, G.; Jewell, D.L.; Roberts, N.J.

    1988-01-01

    An audit can be an extremely useful tool to assist both the DOE auditors and the contractor in performing their respective jobs. All too often audits are viewed as an adversarial meeting where one side tries to hide what it is doing and/or the other side attempts to ''nail'' someone. This adversarial relationship is often caused by misunderstandings of the purpose and uses of the audit. The authors have presented a scheme that will lead to a more productive audit from the perspective of both sides. If a procedure similar to the one outlined in this paper is in place and observed by all parties to the audit, it will produce both a useful product and a meaningful evaluation of the degree to which the contractor is adhering to established and generally accepted policies and practices

  17. Auditing Albaha University Network Security using in-house Developed Penetration Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alzahrani, M. E.

    2018-03-01

    Network security becomes very important aspect in any enterprise/organization computer network. If important information of the organization can be accessed by anyone it may be used against the organization for further own interest. Thus, network security comes into it roles. One of important aspect of security management is security audit. Security performance of Albaha university network is relatively low (in term of the total controls outlined in the ISO 27002 security control framework). This paper proposes network security audit tool to address issues in Albaha University network. The proposed penetration tool uses Nessus and Metasploit tool to find out the vulnerability of a site. A regular self-audit using inhouse developed tool will increase the overall security and performance of Albaha university network. Important results of the penetration test are discussed.

  18. Developing a tool for the preparation of GMP audit of pharmaceutical contract manufacturer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linna, Anu; Korhonen, Mirka; Mannermaa, Jukka-Pekka; Airaksinen, Marja; Juppo, Anne Mari

    2008-06-01

    Outsourcing is rapidly growing in the pharmaceutical industry. When the manufacturing activities are outsourced, control of the product's quality has to be maintained. One way to confirm contract manufacturer's GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliance is auditing. Audits can be supported for instance by using GMP questionnaires. The objective of this study was to develop a tool for the audit preparation of pharmaceutical contract manufacturers and to validate its contents by using Delphi method. At this phase of the study the tool was developed for non-sterile finished product contract manufacturers. A modified Delphi method was used with expert panel consisting of 14 experts from pharmaceutical industry, authorities and university. The content validity of the developed tool was assessed by a Delphi questionnaire round. The response rate in Delphi questionnaire round was 86%. The tool consisted of 103 quality items, from which 90 (87%) achieved the pre-defined agreement rate level (75%). Thirteen quality items which did not achieve the pre-defined agreement rate were excluded from the tool. The expert panel suggested only minor changes to the tool. The results show that the content validity of the developed audit preparation tool was good.

  19. EISA 432 Energy Audits Best Practices: Software Tools

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maryl Fisher

    2014-11-01

    Five whole building analysis software tools that can aid an energy manager with fulfilling energy audit and commissioning/retro-commissioning requirements were selected for review in this best practices study. A description of each software tool is provided as well as a discussion of the user interface and level of expertise required for each tool, a review of how to use the tool for analyzing energy conservation opportunities, the format and content of reports generated by the tool, and a discussion on the applicability of the tool for commissioning.

  20. Use of Electronic Health Record Tools to Facilitate and Audit Infliximab Prescribing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharpless, Bethany R; Del Rosario, Fernando; Molle-Rios, Zarela; Hilmas, Elora

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this project was to assess a pediatric institution's use of infliximab and develop and evaluate electronic health record tools to improve safety and efficiency of infliximab ordering through auditing and improved communication. Best use of infliximab was defined through a literature review, analysis of baseline use of infliximab at our institution, and distribution and analysis of a national survey. Auditing and order communication were optimized through implementation of mandatory indications in the infliximab orderable and creation of an interactive flowsheet that collects discrete and free-text data. The value of the implemented electronic health record tools was assessed at the conclusion of the project. Baseline analysis determined that 93.8% of orders were dosed appropriately according to the findings of a literature review. After implementation of the flowsheet and indications, the time to perform an audit of use was reduced from 60 minutes to 5 minutes per month. Four months post implementation, data were entered by 60% of the pediatric gastroenterologists at our institution on 15.3% of all encounters for infliximab. Users were surveyed on the value of the tools, with 100% planning to continue using the workflow, and 82% stating the tools frequently improve the efficiency and safety of infliximab prescribing. Creation of a standard workflow by using an interactive flowsheet has improved auditing ability and facilitated the communication of important order information surrounding infliximab. Providers and pharmacists feel these tools improve the safety and efficiency of infliximab ordering, and auditing data reveal that the tools are being used.

  1. Initial development of a practical safety audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Rebecca; Friswell, Rena; Mooren, Lori

    2012-07-01

    Work-related vehicle crashes are a common cause of occupational injury. Yet, there are few studies that investigate management practices used for light vehicle fleets (i.e. vehicles less than 4.5 tonnes). One of the impediments to obtaining and sharing information on effective fleet safety management is the lack of an evidence-based, standardised measurement tool. This article describes the initial development of an audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices in light vehicle fleets. The audit tool was developed by triangulating information from a review of the literature on fleet safety management practices and from semi-structured interviews with 15 fleet managers and 21 fleet drivers. A preliminary useability assessment was conducted with 5 organisations. The audit tool assesses the management of fleet safety against five core categories: (1) management, systems and processes; (2) monitoring and assessment; (3) employee recruitment, training and education; (4) vehicle technology, selection and maintenance; and (5) vehicle journeys. Each of these core categories has between 1 and 3 sub-categories. Organisations are rated at one of 4 levels on each sub-category. The fleet safety management audit tool is designed to identify the extent to which fleet safety is managed in an organisation against best practice. It is intended that the audit tool be used to conduct audits within an organisation to provide an indicator of progress in managing fleet safety and to consistently benchmark performance against other organisations. Application of the tool by fleet safety researchers is now needed to inform its further development and refinement and to permit psychometric evaluation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Annex 2: performance audit tool PAT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaldorf, S.; Gruber, P.

    2000-10-15

    This annex to the report takes a look at experience gained with one of two expert systems used for error-detection and diagnosis in existing buildings. The Performance Audit Tool PAT is based on an expert system for the detection and diagnosis of under-performance. Its aim is to assist the system's operator. It was developed as a stand-alone system which periodically runs a remote detection and diagnosis check. The various types of under-performance that the system can detect are discussed. The first objective of this study was to present the structure of the tool and describe its application to two types of system: a central air-handling unit and individual zones. The second objective was to discuss experience gained with this type of tool.

  3. An Exploration of the Effectiveness of an Audit Simulation Tool in a Classroom Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zelin, Robert C., II

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of using an audit simulation product in a classroom setting. Many students and professionals feel that a disconnect exists between learning auditing in the classroom and practicing auditing in the workplace. It was hoped that the introduction of an audit simulation tool would help to…

  4. Brand new eyes: Thematic audits as a QA-tool for learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Silleborg, Ellen; Bendixen, Carsten; Jacobsen, Jens Christian

    2014-01-01

    What set of eyes do you put forward when you array a thematic audit trail – e.g. the eyes of a judge, a listener or a negotiator? A preliminary answer to this could be: “What we learn from an audit depends on our methodology”. Yes – so let’s work with it! The workshop is dedicated to questions li...... to programme theory. Afterwards we invite you to share your experiences and points of views about audits. The goal is to strengthen our use of audits as a tool for learning and QA in higher education.......What set of eyes do you put forward when you array a thematic audit trail – e.g. the eyes of a judge, a listener or a negotiator? A preliminary answer to this could be: “What we learn from an audit depends on our methodology”. Yes – so let’s work with it! The workshop is dedicated to questions like...

  5. A NEW TOOL FOR OFFICIAL CONTROL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF AN AUDIT PROGRAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Vestrini

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The new EU regulation on feed and food confirm audit like the most important tool for valuating GMP and HACCP procedures on food premises. Authors describe planning and results of 2007 audit activities.

  6. Resident participation in neighbourhood audit tools - a scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofland, Aafke C L; Devilee, Jeroen; van Kempen, Elise; den Broeder, Lea

    2018-02-01

    Healthy urban environments require careful planning and a testing of environmental quality that goes beyond statutory requirements. Moreover, it requires the inclusion of resident views, perceptions and experiences that help deepen the understanding of local (public health) problems. To facilitate this, neighbourhoods should be mapped in a way that is relevant to them. One way to do this is participative neighbourhood auditing. This paper provides an insight into availability and characteristics of participatory neighbourhood audit instruments. A scoping review in scientific and grey literature, consisting of the following steps: literature search, identification and selection of relevant audit instruments, data extraction and data charting (including a work meeting to discuss outputs), reporting. In total, 13 participatory instruments were identified. The role of residents in most instruments was as 'data collectors'; only few instruments included residents in other audit activities like problem definition or analysis of data. The instruments identified focus mainly on physical, not social, neighbourhood characteristics. Paper forms containing closed-ended questions or scales were the most often applied registration method. The results show that neighbourhood auditing could be improved by including social aspects in the audit tools. They also show that the role of residents in neighbourhood auditing is limited; however, little is known about how their engagement takes place in practice. Developers of new instruments need to balance not only social and physical aspects, but also resident engagement and scientific robustness. Technologies like mobile applications pose new opportunities for participative approaches in neighbourhood auditing. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  7. Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship: An Evaluation of the Validity of the STAUNCH Auditing Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glover, Alison; Peters, Carl; Haslett, Simon K.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the validity of the curriculum auditing tool Sustainability Tool for Auditing University Curricula in Higher Education (STAUNCH[C]), which was designed to audit the education for sustainability and global citizenship content of higher education curricula. The Welsh Assembly Government aspires to…

  8. Resident participation in neighbourhood audit tools — a scoping review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofland, Aafke C L; Devilee, Jeroen; van Kempen, Elise; den Broeder, Lea

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background Healthy urban environments require careful planning and a testing of environmental quality that goes beyond statutory requirements. Moreover, it requires the inclusion of resident views, perceptions and experiences that help deepen the understanding of local (public health) problems. To facilitate this, neighbourhoods should be mapped in a way that is relevant to them. One way to do this is participative neighbourhood auditing. This paper provides an insight into availability and characteristics of participatory neighbourhood audit instruments. Methods A scoping review in scientific and grey literature, consisting of the following steps: literature search, identification and selection of relevant audit instruments, data extraction and data charting (including a work meeting to discuss outputs), reporting. Results In total, 13 participatory instruments were identified. The role of residents in most instruments was as ‘data collectors’; only few instruments included residents in other audit activities like problem definition or analysis of data. The instruments identified focus mainly on physical, not social, neighbourhood characteristics. Paper forms containing closed-ended questions or scales were the most often applied registration method. Conclusions The results show that neighbourhood auditing could be improved by including social aspects in the audit tools. They also show that the role of residents in neighbourhood auditing is limited; however, little is known about how their engagement takes place in practice. Developers of new instruments need to balance not only social and physical aspects, but also resident engagement and scientific robustness. Technologies like mobile applications pose new opportunities for participative approaches in neighbourhood auditing. PMID:29346663

  9. Psychometric properties of a Mental Health Team Development Audit Tool.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Roncalli, Silvia

    2013-02-01

    To assist in improving team working in Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs), the Mental Health Commission formulated a user-friendly but yet-to-be validated 25-item Mental Health Team Development Audit Tool (MHDAT).

  10. 'Screening audit' as a quality assurance tool in good clinical practice compliant research environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sinyoung; Nam, Chung Mo; Park, Sejung; Noh, Yang Hee; Ahn, Cho Rong; Yu, Wan Sun; Kim, Bo Kyung; Kim, Seung Min; Kim, Jin Seok; Rha, Sun Young

    2018-04-25

    With the growing amount of clinical research, regulations and research ethics are becoming more stringent. This trend introduces a need for quality assurance measures for ensuring adherence to research ethics and human research protection beyond Institutional Review Board approval. Audits, one of the most effective tools for assessing quality assurance, are measures used to evaluate Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and protocol compliance in clinical research. However, they are laborious, time consuming, and require expertise. Therefore, we developed a simple auditing process (a screening audit) and evaluated its feasibility and effectiveness. The screening audit was developed using a routine audit checklist based on the Severance Hospital's Human Research Protection Program policies and procedures. The measure includes 20 questions, and results are summarized in five categories of audit findings. We analyzed 462 studies that were reviewed by the Severance Hospital Human Research Protection Center between 2013 and 2017. We retrospectively analyzed research characteristics, reply rate, audit findings, associated factors and post-screening audit compliance, etc. RESULTS: Investigator reply rates gradually increased, except for the first year (73% → 26% → 53% → 49% → 55%). The studies were graded as "critical," "major," "minor," and "not a finding" (11.9, 39.0, 42.9, and 6.3%, respectively), based on findings and number of deficiencies. The auditors' decisions showed fair agreement with weighted kappa values of 0.316, 0.339, and 0.373. Low-risk level studies, single center studies, and non-phase clinical research showed more prevalent frequencies of being "major" or "critical" (p = 0.002, audit grade (p audit results of post-screening audit compliance checks in "non-responding" and "critical" studies upon applying the screening audit. Our screening audit is a simple and effective way to assess overall GCP compliance by institutions and to

  11. The Culture Audit: A Leadership Tool for Assessment and Strategic Planning in Diverse Schools and Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bustamante, Rebecca M.

    2006-01-01

    This module is designed to introduce educational leaders to an organizational assessment tool called a "culture audit." Literature on organizational cultural competence suggests that culture audits are a valuable tool for determining how well school policies, programs, and practices respond to the needs of diverse groups and prepare…

  12. Data audit as a management tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, J K; Hoover, B K

    1989-09-01

    Management faces the three basic challenges of achieving cost efficiency, successfully applying new technology, and minimizing risk. This paper examines the ways in which data audits can help managers come to terms with each of these challenges. It emphasizes the role of data audits in providing reliable information on which to base decisions and stresses the importance of auditing data in process rather than retrospectively. The paper examines frequently encountered sources of error and discusses the ways audits benefit management by assuring the integrity of experimental design, by preventing misassignment of observations, and by preventing the loss of data.

  13. The use of generalised audit software by internal audit functions in a developing country: The purpose of the use of generalised audit software as a data analytics tool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D.P. van der Nest

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the purpose of the use of generalised audit software as a data analytics tool by internal audit functions in the locally controlled banking industry of South Africa. The evolution of the traditional internal audit methodology of collecting audit evidence through the conduct of interviews, the completion of questionnaires, and by testing controls on a sample basis, is long overdue, and such practice in the present technological, data-driven era will soon render such an internal audit function obsolete. The research results indicate that respondents are utilising GAS for a variety of purposes but that its frequency of use is not yet optimal and that there is still much room for improvement for tests of controls purposes. The top five purposes for which the respondents make use of GAS often to always during separate internal audit engagements are: (1 to identify transactions with specific characteristics or control criteria for tests of control purposes; (2 for conducting full population analysis; (3 to identify account balances over a certain amount; (4 to identify and report on the frequency of occurrence of risks or frequency of occurrence of specific events; and (5 to obtain audit evidence about control effectiveness

  14. Equity Audit: A Teacher Leadership Tool for Nurturing Teacher Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    View, Jenice L.; DeMulder, Elizabeth; Stribling, Stacia; Dodman, Stephanie; Ra, Sophia; Hall, Beth; Swalwell, Katy

    2016-01-01

    This is a three-part essay featuring six teacher educators and one classroom teacher researcher. Part one describes faculty efforts to build curriculum for teacher research, scaffold the research process, and analyze outcomes. Part two shares one teacher researcher's experience using an equity audit tool in several contexts: her teaching practice,…

  15. Auditors’ Usage of Computer Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

    OpenAIRE

    Appah Ebimobowei; G.N. Ogbonna; Zuokemefa P. Enebraye

    2013-01-01

    This study examines use of computer assisted audit tool and techniques in audit practice in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. To achieve this objective, data was collected from primary and secondary sources. The secondary sources were from scholarly books and journals while the primary source involved a well structured questionnaire of three sections of thirty seven items with an average reliability of 0.838. The data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed using relevant descriptive statist...

  16. Mixed methods evaluation of a quality improvement and audit tool for nurse-to-nurse bedside clinical handover in ward settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redley, Bernice; Waugh, Rachael

    2018-04-01

    Nurse bedside handover quality is influenced by complex interactions related to the content, processes used and the work environment. Audit tools are seldom tested in 'real' settings. Examine the reliability, validity and usability of a quality improvement tool for audit of nurse bedside handover. Naturalistic, descriptive, mixed-methods. Six inpatient wards at a single large not-for-profit private health service in Victoria, Australia. Five nurse experts and 104 nurses involved in 199 change-of-shift bedside handovers. A focus group with experts and pilot test were used to examine content and face validity, and usability of the handover audit tool. The tool was examined for inter-rater reliability and usability using observation audits of handovers across six wards. Data were collected in 2013-2014. Two independent observers for 72 audits demonstrated acceptable inter-observer agreement for 27 (77%) items. Reliability was weak for items examining the handover environment. Seventeen items were not observed reflecting gaps in practices. Across 199 observation audits, gaps in nurse bedside handover practice most often related to process and environment, rather than content items. Usability was impacted by high observer burden, familiarity and non-specific illustrative behaviours. The reliability and validity of most items to audit handover content was acceptable. Gaps in practices for process and environment items were identified. Context specific exemplars and reducing the items used at each handover audit can enhance usability. Further research is needed to develop context specific exemplars and undertake additional reliability testing using a wide range of handover settings. CONTRIBUTION OF THE PAPER. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. An audit of local government planning tools for their potential use in addressing community food and nutrition issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Good, Elizabeth; Hammond, Melinda; Martin, Caroline; Burns, Catherine; Groos, Anita

    2010-04-01

    This project aimed to identify how local government planning tools could be used to influence physical and policy environments to support healthy eating behaviours in communities. An audit of Queensland's legislative and non-legislative local government planning tools was conducted by a public health nutritionist to assess their potential use in addressing strategies to achieve positive nutrition outcomes. Ten strategies were identified and covered the following themes: improving access to healthy foods and drinks; increasing access to breastfeeding facilities; decreasing fast food outlet density; and unhealthy food advertising. The audit found that all of the 10 strategies to achieve positive nutrition outcomes could be considered through three or more of the planning tools. Based on the findings of this audit, local government planning tools provide opportunities to address food and nutrition issues and contribute toward creating physical and policy environments that support healthy eating behaviours.

  18. EINSTEIN - Expert system for an Intelligent Supply of Thermal Energy in Industry. Audit methodology and software tool

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schweiger, Hans; Danov, Stoyan (energyXperts.NET (Spain)); Vannoni, Claudia; Facci, Enrico (Sapienza Univ. of Rome, Dept. of Mechanics and Aeronautics, Rome (Italy)); Brunner, Christoph; Slawitsch, Bettina (Joanneum Research, Inst. of Sustainable Techniques and Systems - JOINTS, Graz (Austria))

    2009-07-01

    For optimising thermal energy supply in industry, a holistic integral approach is required that includes possibilities of demand reduction by heat recovery and process integration, and by an intelligent combination of efficient heat and cold supply technologies. EINSTEIN is a tool-kit for fast and high quality thermal energy audits in industry, composed by an audit guide describing the methodology and by a software tool that guides the auditor through all the audit steps. The main features of EINSTEIN are: (1) a basic questionnaire helps for systematic collection of the necessary information with the possibility to acquire data by distance; (2) special tools allow for fast consistency checking and estimation of missing data, so that already with very few data some first predictions can be made; (3) the data processing is based on standardised models for industrial processes and industrial heat supply systems; (4) semi-automatization: the software tool gives support to decision making for the generation of alternative heat and cold supply proposals, carries out automatically all the necessary calculations, including dynamic simulation of the heat supply system, and creates a standard audit report. The software tool includes modules for benchmarking, automatic design of heat exchanger networks, and design assistants for the heat and cold supply system. The core of the expert system software tool is available for free, as an open source software project. This type of software development has shown to be very efficient for dissemination of knowledge and for the continuous maintenance and improvement thanks to user contributions.

  19. Development of National Technology Audit Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Subiyanto Subiyanto

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The Laws have mandated implementation of technology audit, nevertheless such implementation needs an additional policy that is more technical. The concept of national audit technology policy shall make technology audit as a tool to ensure the benefit of technology application for society and technology advance for nation independency. This article discusses on technology audit policy concept especially infrastructure requirement, with emphasis on regulation, implementation tools, and related institution. The development of technology audit policy for national interest requires provision of mandatory audit implementation, accompanied by tools for developing technology auditor’s competence and technology audit institutional’s mechanism. To guide technology auditor’s competence, concept of national audit technology policy shall classify object of technology audit into product technology, production technology, and management of technology, accompanied by related parameters of technology performance evaluation.

  20. Monitoring Compliance to Promote Quality Assurance: Development of a Mental Health Clinical Chart Audit Tool in Belize, 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winer, Rachel A; Bennett, Eleanor; Murillo, Illouise; Schuetz-Mueller, Jan; Katz, Craig L

    2015-09-01

    Belize trained psychiatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) in the early 1990s to provide mental health services throughout the country. Despite overwhelming success, the program is limited by lack of monitoring, evaluation, and surveillance. To promote quality assurance, we developed a chart audit tool to monitor mental healthcare delivery compliance for initial psychiatric assessment notes completed by PNPs. After reviewing the Belize Health Information System electronic medical record system, we developed a clinical audit tool to capture 20 essential components for initial assessment clinical notes. The audit tool was then piloted for initial assessment notes completed during July through September of 2013. One hundred and thirty-four initial psychiatric interviews were audited. The average chart score among all PNPs was 9.57, ranging from 3 to 15. Twenty-three charts-or 17.2%-had a score of 14 or higher and met a 70% compliance benchmark goal. Among indicators most frequently omitted included labs ordered and named (15.7%) and psychiatric diagnosis (21.6%). Explicit statement of medications initiated with dose and frequency occurred in 47.0% of charts. Our findings provide direction for training and improvement, such as emphasizing the importance of naming labs ordered, medications and doses prescribed, and psychiatric diagnoses in initial assessment clinical notes. We hope this initial assessment helps enhance mental health delivery compliance by prompting creation of BHIS templates, development of audits tools for revisit follow-up visits, and establishment of corrective actions for low-scoring practitioners. These efforts may serve as a model for implementing quality assurance programming in other low resource settings.

  1. Audit of the referred patients to a tertiary centre: a tool for need ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Audit of the referred patients to a tertiary centre: a tool for need assessment. ... Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ... There was no statistical significance between fetal and maternal outcome and the source of referral (P> 0.05). The reason ...

  2. Clinical Audit for Referral Guidelines: A Problem Solving Tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Remedios, D.

    2011-01-01

    In the United Kingdom, the Health Act of 1999 places the responsibility of monitoring and improving the quality of health care with hospital and primary care trusts. All National Health Service employees must perform audits, and in some cases pay progression is limited if there is no evidence that a clinical audit has been carried out. An audit cycle or spiral facilitates a continuing system for quality improvement. About 40 local internal clinical audits are contained in the Royal College of Radiologists' AuditLive, which encourages participation in clinical audits. (author)

  3. [UNE-EN-ISO-9001 internal audit program performed by our own personnel: a knowledge management tool].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieiro, C Rodríguez; Lucerón, M C Olmedo; Gijón, L Flavia Rodríguez; Mestre, R Plá; Membrilla, I Izquierdo; Ramirez, C Seriña; Pérez, P Rodríguez

    2010-01-01

    The need to maintain a Quality Management System based on the UNE-EN-ISO 9001:2000 standards in 12 Departments of the "Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón" (HGUGM), led us to make the decision to establish an internal audit program using our own personnel as a useful tool for knowledge management and continuous improvement. The Department of "Medicina Preventiva y Gestión de Calidad" developed an Audit Program, which has been implemented in our Hospital during the last three years. We conducted a training program for internal auditors, who then became part of the hospital audit staff. Quality Managers of the accredited departments were consolidated as a group. A procedure for scheduling and coordination of audits was developed. The auditors and those audited were surveyed on the difficulties in conducting audits, including a section for suggestions, and an annual report was drafted with the results of internal and external audits, as well as the improvement areas identified in the whole process. A total of 40 internal audits have been performed in HGUGM since 2007, and 38 people were trained. The Quality Management System improved in terms of the decreasing number of non-conformances (NC) in external audits, and all services have maintained the certification. The perception of auditors and those audited regarding the performing of internal audits by our own personnel is very positive. There were identified improvement areas and common solutions.

  4. An audit cycle of consent form completion: A useful tool to improve junior doctor training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leng, Catherine; Sharma, Kavita

    2016-01-01

    Consent for surgical procedures is an essential part of the patient's pathway. Junior doctors are often expected to do this, especially in the emergency setting. As a result, the aim of our audit was to assess our practice in consenting and institute changes within our department to maintain best medical practice. An audit of consent form completion was conducted in March 2013. Standards were taken from Good Surgical Practice (2008) and General Medical Council guidelines. Inclusion of consent teaching at a formal consultant delivered orientation programme was then instituted. A re-audit was completed to reassess compliance. Thirty-seven consent forms were analysed. The re-audit demonstrated an improvement in documentation of benefits (91-100%) and additional procedures (0-7.5%). Additional areas for improvement such as offering a copy of the consent form to the patient and confirmation of consent if a delay occurred between consenting and the procedure were identified. The re-audit demonstrated an improvement in the consent process. It also identified new areas of emphasis that were addressed in formal teaching sessions. The audit cycle can be a useful tool in monitoring, assessing and improving clinical practice to ensure the provision of best patient care.

  5. Audits for advanced treatment dosimetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibbott, G. S.; Thwaites, D. I.

    2015-01-01

    Radiation therapy has advanced rapidly over the last few decades, progressing from 3D conformal treatment to image-guided intensity modulated therapy of several different flavors, both 3D and 4D and to adaptive radiotherapy. The use of intensity modulation has increased the complexity of quality assurance and essentially eliminated the physicist's ability to judge the validity of a treatment plan, even approximately, on the basis of appearance and experience. Instead, complex QA devices and procedures are required at the institutional level. Similarly, the assessment of treatment quality through remote and on-site audits also requires greater sophistication. The introduction of 3D and 4D dosimetry into external audit systems must follow, to enable quality assurance systems to perform meaningful and thorough audits.

  6. Audits for advanced treatment dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibbott, G S; Thwaites, D I

    2015-01-01

    Radiation therapy has advanced rapidly over the last few decades, progressing from 3D conformal treatment to image-guided intensity modulated therapy of several different flavors, both 3D and 4D and to adaptive radiotherapy. The use of intensity modulation has increased the complexity of quality assurance and essentially eliminated the physicist's ability to judge the validity of a treatment plan, even approximately, on the basis of appearance and experience. Instead, complex QA devices and procedures are required at the institutional level. Similarly, the assessment of treatment quality through remote and on-site audits also requires greater sophistication. The introduction of 3D and 4D dosimetry into external audit systems must follow, to enable quality assurance systems to perform meaningful and thorough audits

  7. Clinical audit, a valuable tool to improve quality of care: General methodology and applications in nephrology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esposito, Pasquale; Dal Canton, Antonio

    2014-01-01

    Evaluation and improvement of quality of care provided to the patients are of crucial importance in the daily clinical practice and in the health policy planning and financing. Different tools have been developed, including incident analysis, health technology assessment and clinical audit. The clinical audit consist of measuring a clinical outcome or a process, against well-defined standards set on the principles of evidence-based medicine in order to identify the changes needed to improve the quality of care. In particular, patients suffering from chronic renal diseases, present many problems that have been set as topics for clinical audit projects, such as hypertension, anaemia and mineral metabolism management. Although the results of these studies have been encouraging, demonstrating the effectiveness of audit, overall the present evidence is not clearly in favour of clinical audit. These findings call attention to the need to further studies to validate this methodology in different operating scenarios. This review examines the principle of clinical audit, focusing on experiences performed in nephrology settings. PMID:25374819

  8. Development of National Technology Audit Policy

    OpenAIRE

    Subiyanto Subiyanto

    2017-01-01

    The Laws have mandated implementation of technology audit, nevertheless such implementation needs an additional policy that is more technical. The concept of national audit technology policy shall make technology audit as a tool to ensure the benefit of technology application for society and technology advance for nation independency. This article discusses on technology audit policy concept especially infrastructure requirement, with emphasis on regulation, implementation tools, and related ...

  9. Measuring use of electronic health record functionality using system audit information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowes, Watson A

    2010-01-01

    Meaningful and efficient methods for measuring Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption and functional usage patterns have recently become important for hospitals, clinics, and health care networks in the United State due to recent government initiatives to increase EHR use. To date, surveys have been the method of choice to measure EHR adoption. This paper describes another method for measuring EHR adoption which capitalizes on audit logs, which are often common components of modern EHRs. An Audit Data Mart is described which identified EHR functionality within 836 Departments, within 22 Hospitals and 170 clinics at Intermountain Healthcare, a large integrated delivery system. The Audit Data Mart successfully identified important and differing EHR functional usage patterns. These patterns were useful in strategic planning, tracking EHR implementations, and will likely be utilized to assist in documentation of "Meaningful Use" of EHR functionality.

  10. Development and Testing of the Church Environment Audit Tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaczynski, Andrew T; Jake-Schoffman, Danielle E; Peters, Nathan A; Dunn, Caroline G; Wilcox, Sara; Forthofer, Melinda

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we describe development and reliability testing of a novel tool to evaluate the physical environment of faith-based settings pertaining to opportunities for physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE). Tool development was a multistage process including a review of similar tools, stakeholder review, expert feedback, and pilot testing. Final tool sections included indoor opportunities for PA, outdoor opportunities for PA, food preparation equipment, kitchen type, food for purchase, beverages for purchase, and media. Two independent audits were completed at 54 churches. Interrater reliability (IRR) was determined with Kappa and percent agreement. Of 218 items, 102 were assessed for IRR and 116 could not be assessed because they were not present at enough churches. Percent agreement for all 102 items was over 80%. For 42 items, the sample was too homogeneous to assess Kappa. Forty-six of the remaining items had Kappas greater than 0.60 (25 items 0.80-1.00; 21 items 0.60-0.79), indicating substantial to almost perfect agreement. The tool proved reliable and efficient for assessing church environments and identifying potential intervention points. Future work can focus on applications within faith-based partnerships to understand how church environments influence diverse health outcomes.

  11. SLIPTA e-Tool improves laboratory audit process in Vietnam and Cambodia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thuong T. Nguyen

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: The Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA checklist is used worldwide to drive quality improvement in laboratories in developing countries and to assess the effectiveness of interventions such as the Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA programme. However, the paperbased format of the checklist makes administration cumbersome and limits timely analysis and communication of results. Development of e-Tool: In early 2012, the SLMTA team in Vietnam developed an electronic SLIPTA checklist tool. The e-Tool was pilot tested in Vietnam in mid-2012 and revised. It was used during SLMTA implementation in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2012 and 2013 and further revised based on auditors’ feedback about usability. Outcomes: The SLIPTA e-Tool enabled rapid turn-around of audit results, reduced workload and language barriers and facilitated analysis of national results. Benefits of the e-Tool will be magnified with in-country scale-up of laboratory quality improvement efforts and potential expansion to other countries.

  12. Implementation of surgical quality improvement: auditing tool for surgical site infection prevention practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hechenbleikner, Elizabeth M; Hobson, Deborah B; Bennett, Jennifer L; Wick, Elizabeth C

    2015-01-01

    Surgical site infections are a potentially preventable patient harm. Emerging evidence suggests that the implementation of evidence-based process measures for infection reduction is highly variable. The purpose of this work was to develop an auditing tool to assess compliance with infection-related process measures and establish a system for identifying and addressing defects in measure implementation. This was a retrospective cohort study using electronic medical records. We used the auditing tool to assess compliance with 10 process measures in a sample of colorectal surgery patients with and without postoperative infections at an academic medical center (January 2012 to March 2013). We investigated 59 patients with surgical site infections and 49 patients without surgical site infections. First, overall compliance rates for the 10 process measures were compared between patients with infection vs patients without infection to assess if compliance was lower among patients with surgical site infections. Then, because of the burden of data collection, the tool was used exclusively to evaluate quarterly compliance rates among patients with infection. The results were reviewed, and the key factors contributing to noncompliance were identified and addressed. Ninety percent of process measures had lower compliance rates among patients with infection. Detailed review of infection cases identified many defects that improved following the implementation of system-level changes: correct cefotetan redosing (education of anesthesia personnel), temperature at surgical incision >36.0°C (flags used to identify patients for preoperative warming), and the use of preoperative mechanical bowel preparation with oral antibiotics (laxative solutions and antibiotics distributed in clinic before surgery). Quarterly compliance improved for 80% of process measures by the end of the study period. This study was conducted on a small surgical cohort within a select subspecialty. The

  13. Development of a national audit tool for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a BSPAR project funded by the Health Care Quality Improvement Partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McErlane, Flora; Foster, Helen E; Armitt, Gillian; Bailey, Kathryn; Cobb, Joanna; Davidson, Joyce E; Douglas, Sharon; Fell, Andrew; Friswell, Mark; Pilkington, Clarissa; Strike, Helen; Smith, Nicola; Thomson, Wendy; Cleary, Gavin

    2018-01-01

    Timely access to holistic multidisciplinary care is the core principle underpinning management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Data collected in national clinical audit programmes fundamentally aim to improve health outcomes of disease, ensuring clinical care is equitable, safe and patient-centred. The aim of this study was to develop a tool for national audit of JIA in the UK. A staged and consultative methodology was used across a broad group of relevant stakeholders to develop a national audit tool, with reference to pre-existing standards of care for JIA. The tool comprises key service delivery quality measures assessed against two aspects of impact, namely disease-related outcome measures and patient/carer reported outcome and experience measures. Eleven service-related quality measures were identified, including those that map to current standards for commissioning of JIA clinical services in the UK. The three-variable Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score and presence/absence of sacro-iliitis in patients with enthesitis-related arthritis were identified as the primary disease-related outcome measures, with presence/absence of uveitis a secondary outcome. Novel patient/carer reported outcomes and patient/carer reported experience measures were developed and face validity confirmed by relevant patient/carer groups. A tool for national audit of JIA has been developed with the aim of benchmarking current clinical practice and setting future standards and targets for improvement. Staged implementation of this national audit tool should facilitate investigation of variability in levels of care and drive quality improvement. This will require engagement from patients and carers, clinical teams and commissioners of JIA services. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology.

  14. Development of a national audit tool for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a BSPAR project funded by the Health Care Quality Improvement Partnership

    Science.gov (United States)

    McErlane, Flora; Foster, Helen E; Armitt, Gillian; Bailey, Kathryn; Cobb, Joanna; Davidson, Joyce E; Douglas, Sharon; Fell, Andrew; Friswell, Mark; Pilkington, Clarissa; Strike, Helen; Smith, Nicola; Thomson, Wendy; Cleary, Gavin

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Objective Timely access to holistic multidisciplinary care is the core principle underpinning management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Data collected in national clinical audit programmes fundamentally aim to improve health outcomes of disease, ensuring clinical care is equitable, safe and patient-centred. The aim of this study was to develop a tool for national audit of JIA in the UK. Methods A staged and consultative methodology was used across a broad group of relevant stakeholders to develop a national audit tool, with reference to pre-existing standards of care for JIA. The tool comprises key service delivery quality measures assessed against two aspects of impact, namely disease-related outcome measures and patient/carer reported outcome and experience measures. Results Eleven service-related quality measures were identified, including those that map to current standards for commissioning of JIA clinical services in the UK. The three-variable Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score and presence/absence of sacro-iliitis in patients with enthesitis-related arthritis were identified as the primary disease-related outcome measures, with presence/absence of uveitis a secondary outcome. Novel patient/carer reported outcomes and patient/carer reported experience measures were developed and face validity confirmed by relevant patient/carer groups. Conclusion A tool for national audit of JIA has been developed with the aim of benchmarking current clinical practice and setting future standards and targets for improvement. Staged implementation of this national audit tool should facilitate investigation of variability in levels of care and drive quality improvement. This will require engagement from patients and carers, clinical teams and commissioners of JIA services. PMID:29069424

  15. SLIPTA e-Tool improves laboratory audit process in Vietnam and Cambodia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Thuong T; McKinney, Barbara; Pierson, Antoine; Luong, Khue N; Hoang, Quynh T; Meharwal, Sandeep; Carvalho, Humberto M; Nguyen, Cuong Q; Nguyen, Kim T; Bond, Kyle B

    2014-01-01

    The Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) checklist is used worldwide to drive quality improvement in laboratories in developing countries and to assess the effectiveness of interventions such as the Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) programme. However, the paper-based format of the checklist makes administration cumbersome and limits timely analysis and communication of results. In early 2012, the SLMTA team in Vietnam developed an electronic SLIPTA checklist tool. The e-Tool was pilot tested in Vietnam in mid-2012 and revised. It was used during SLMTA implementation in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2012 and 2013 and further revised based on auditors' feedback about usability. The SLIPTA e-Tool enabled rapid turn-around of audit results, reduced workload and language barriers and facilitated analysis of national results. Benefits of the e-Tool will be magnified with in-country scale-up of laboratory quality improvement efforts and potential expansion to other countries.

  16. Conducting One's Own Communication Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Donald P.; Goldhaber, Gerald M.

    1978-01-01

    Guidelines are offered to a college or university for conducting a communication audit. These include steps in planning the audit, use of the variety of tools available for administering the audit, the development and feedback to the institution, and development of recommendations to improve institutional communication. (JMF)

  17. The Communication Audit as a Library Management Tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortez, Edwin M.; Bunge, Charles A.

    1987-01-01

    Discusses the relationship between effective organizational communication and specific library contexts and reviews the historical development of communication audits as a means of studying communication effectiveness. The generic structure of such audits is described and two models are presented in detail, including techniques for gathering and…

  18. Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap®) used as an audit tool with a built-in database.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kragelund, Signe H; Kjærsgaard, Mona; Jensen-Fangel, Søren; Leth, Rita A; Ank, Nina

    2018-05-01

    The aim of this study was to develop an audit tool with a built-in database using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap®) as part of an antimicrobial stewardship program at a regional hospital in the Central Denmark Region, and to analyse the need, if any, to involve more than one expert in the evaluation of cases of antimicrobial treatment, and the level of agreement among the experts. Patients treated with systemic antimicrobials in the period from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016 were included, in total 722 cases. Data were collected retrospectively and entered manually. The audit was based on seven flow charts regarding: (1) initiation of antimicrobial treatment (2) infection (3) prescription and administration of antimicrobials (4) discontinuation of antimicrobials (5) reassessment within 48 h after the first prescription of antimicrobials (6) microbiological sampling in the period between suspicion of infection and the first administration of antimicrobials (7) microbiological results. The audit was based on automatic calculations drawing on the entered data and on expert assessments. Initially, two experts completed the audit, and in the cases in which they disagreed, a third expert was consulted. In 31.9% of the cases, the two experts agreed on all elements of the audit. In 66.2%, the two experts reached agreement by discussing the cases. Finally, 1.9% of the cases were completed in cooperation with a third expert. The experts assessed 3406 flow charts of which they agreed on 75.8%. We succeeded in creating an audit tool with a built-in database that facilitates independent expert evaluation using REDCap. We found a large inter-observer difference that needs to be considered when constructing a project based on expert judgements. Our two experts agreed on most of the flow charts after discussion, whereas the third expert's intervention did not have any influence on the overall assessment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Community Audit of Social, Civil, and Activity Domains in Diverse Environments (CASCADDE).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knapp, Emily A; Nau, Claudia; Brandau, Sy; DeWalle, Joseph; Hirsch, Annemarie G; Bailey-Davis, Lisa; Schwartz, Brian S; Glass, Thomas A

    2017-04-01

    There are currently no direct observation environmental audit tools that measure diverse aspects of the obesity-related environment efficiently and reliably in a variety of geographic settings. The goal was to develop a new instrument to reliably characterize the overall properties and features of rural, suburban, and urban settings along multiple dimensions. The Community Audit of Social, Civil, and Activity Domains in Diverse Environments (CASCADDE) is an iPad-based instrument that incorporates GPS coordinates and photography and comprises 214 items yielding seven summary indices. A comprehensive spatial sampling strategy, training manual, and supporting data analysis code were also developed. Random geospatial sampling using GIS was used to capture features of the community as a whole. A single auditor collected 510 observation points in 30 communities (2013-2015). This analysis was done in 2015-2016. Correlation coefficients were used to compare items and indices to each other and to standard measures. Multilevel unconditional means models were used to calculate intraclass correlation coefficients to determine if there was significant variation between communities. Results suggest that CASCADDE measures aspects of communities not previously captured by secondary data sources. Additionally, seven summary indices capture meaningful differences between communities based on 15 observations per community. Community audit tools such as CASCADDE complement secondary data sources and have the potential to offer new insights about the mechanisms through which communities affect obesity and other health outcomes. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Environmental Audit: 'A tool used to evaluate and improve the institutional environmental performance'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goulart, Helga

    2009-01-01

    The Environmental Audits emerged in the late 70 's in order to verify compliance with industrial activities with environmental standards. The same was done internally by the organizations to avoid late fines and penalties imposed by enforcement authorities. At present, environmental audits are used not only to identify environmental problems that must be corrected, but which now forms part of a procedure for identifying opportunities for continual improvement of the activities of a particular organization. Environmental audits undertaken by Management in the CNEA Environmental Activities meet this proactive role detailed above, whose main objective is also to verify compliance with environmental regulatory framework applicable to each site, to identify environmental improvements that must be applied activities to achieve better performance from them. This paper aims to present the results in the recognition phase of the CNEA 's environmental situation through conducting preliminary environmental analysis and comparison with results at the current stage of implementation of the Institutional Environmental Management System through environmental audits, showing the procedures, issues and standards considered and the evolution of each site's environmental performance in implementing the proposed corrections. The central idea of Management Environmental Activities is to show the different sectors and areas of the institution that the environmental audit, applied in the context of environmental management is an essential tool that enables to encourage staff in environmental issues, making that they are directly participating in management activities and is the most concrete to demonstrate both internally and externally achievements in a certain period of time and activities to achieve the policy of continuous improvement in environmental performance of the CNEA. (author)

  1. The Role of NMAC Audits in Euratom Safeguards - Development of an audit framework

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alique Moya, O.; Hill, C.; Kahnmeyer, W.; Koutsoyannopoulos, C.; Boella, M. [European Commission, DG ENERGY, Unit DDG2.E.1, Design, Planning and Evaluation of inspections, Logistical support, Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

    2011-12-15

    The use of audits of nuclear facility operators' nuclear material accountancy and control (NMAC) systems has evolved since the idea was launched some years ago. The European Commission has developed a framework that enables the use of NMAC system audits as an effective and efficient tool in nuclear safeguards. The framework includes elements like audit definition and concept, a procedure, audit criteria and the approach for using audits. The main elements of this framework have been built upon ESARDA working group recommendations and were widely consulted with Member States and nuclear operators. The framework and experience from its application are presented.

  2. AUDIT, AUDIT-C, and AUDIT-3: Drinking Patterns and Screening for Harmful, Hazardous and Dependent Drinking in Katutura, Namibia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seth, Puja; Glenshaw, Mary; Sabatier, Jennifer H. F.; Adams, René; Du Preez, Verona; DeLuca, Nickolas; Bock, Naomi

    2015-01-01

    Objectives To describe alcohol drinking patterns among participants in Katutura, Namibia, and to evaluate brief versions of the AUDIT against the full AUDIT to determine their effectiveness in detecting harmful drinking. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four constituencies and 639 participants, 18 years or older, completed a sociodemographic survey and the AUDIT. The effectiveness of the AUDIT-C (first three questions) and the AUDIT-3 (third question) was compared to the full AUDIT. Results Approximately 40% were identified as harmful, hazardous or likely dependent drinkers, with men having a higher likelihood than women (57.2% vs. 31.0%, pAUDIT-C performed best at a cutoff ≥ 3, better in men (sensitivity: 99.3%, specificity: 77.8%) than women (sensitivity: 91.7%, specificity: 77.4%). The AUDIT-3 performed poorly (maximum sensitivity: AUDIT-C performed better than the AUDIT-3. Conclusions A large proportion of participants met criteria for alcohol misuse, indicating a need for screening and referral for further evaluation and intervention. The AUDIT-C was almost as effective as the full AUDIT and may be easier to implement in clinical settings as a routine screening tool in resource-limited settings because of its brevity. PMID:25799590

  3. Complex logistics audit system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuzana Marková

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Complex logistics audit system is a tool for realization of logistical audit in the company. The current methods for logistics auditare based on “ad hok” analysis of logisticsl system. This paper describes system for complex logistics audit. It is a global diagnosticsof logistics processes and functions of enterprise. The goal of logistics audit is to provide comparative documentation for managementabout state of logistics in company and to show the potential of logistics changes in order to achieve more effective companyperformance.

  4. Development and implementation of an audit tool for quality control of parenteral nutrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Rodicio, Sonsoles; Abajo, Celia; Godoy, Mercedes; Catalá, Miguel Angel

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this article is to describe the development of a quality control methodology applied to patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) and to present the results obtained over the past 10 years. Development of the audit tool: In 1995, a total of 13 PN quality criteria and their standards were defined based on literature and past experiences. They were applied during 5 different 6-month audits carried out in subsequent years. According to the results of each audit, the criteria with lower validity were eliminated, while others were optimized and new criteria were introduced to complete the monitoring of other areas not previously examined. Currently, the quality control process includes 22 quality criteria and their standards that examine the following 4 different areas: (1) indication and duration of PN; (2) nutrition assessment, adequacy of the nutrition support, and monitoring; (3) metabolic and infectious complications; and (4) global efficacy of the nutrition support regimen. The authors describe the current definition of each criterion and present the results obtained in the 5 audits performed. In the past year, 9 of the 22 criteria reached the predefined standards. The areas detected for further improvements were: indication for PN, nutrition assessment, and management of catheter infections. The definition of quality criteria and their standards is an efficient method of providing a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the clinical care of patients receiving PN. It detects areas for improvement and assists in developing a methodology to work efficiently.

  5. Measuring the quality of clinical audit projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millard, A D

    2000-11-01

    The aim of the study was to develop and pilot a scale measuring the quality of audit projects through audit project reports. Statements about clinical audit projects were selected from existing instruments assessing the quality of clinical audit projects to form a Likert scale. Audit facilitators based in Scottish health boards and trusts piloted the scale. The participants were known to have over 2 years of experience of supporting clinical audit. The response at first test was 11 of 14 and at the second test 27 of 46. Audit facilitators tested the draft scale by expressing their strength of agreement or disagreement with each statement for three reports. Validity and reliability were assessed by test - re-test, item - total, and total - global indicator correlation. Of the 20 statements, 15 had satisfactory correlation with scale totals. Scale totals had good correlation with global indicators. Test re-test correlation was modest. The wide range of responses means further research is needed to measure the consistency of audit facilitators' interpretations, perhaps comparing a trained group with an untrained group. There may be a need for a separate scale for reaudits. Educational impact is distinct from project impact generally. It may be more meaningful to treat the selection of projects and aims, methodology and impact separately as subscales and take a project profiling approach rather than attempting to produce a global quality index.

  6. ICT in Auditing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kacanski, Slobodan

    2016-01-01

    Productivity incentives have lately been driving auditors to introduce and utilize various computer-based tools to assist their work. The aim of this study is to understand how and why productivity incentives may disturb interpersonal interaction and relations between auditors at different ranks......, in the context of assurance service. A case study was carried out with auditors affiliated with Danish subsidiaries of Big 4 audit firms to inspect the implementation and utilization of global audit methodology (GAM), which is the ICT-based platform that guides subordinate auditors through the audit process....... The results highlight that superior auditors tend to experience prevalent trust in ICT tool over subordinate auditors, where such conditions reduce the opportunity for experiencing comfort by subordinates, while superiors still perceive comfort due to being comfortable with procedures that are administered...

  7. A formula for continued improvement: Audit follow-up

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maday, J.H. Jr.

    1989-10-01

    In his book Management Audits, Allan J. Sayle states, ''QA standards stipulate that corrective action, required as a result of performing an audit, be followed up and closed out. There would, indeed, be little point in performing audits, requiring corrective action, or having a QA system at all if the auditee knows that the auditor will never verify that the corrective action has been efficaciously implemented.'' The QA auditor has an obligation to include follow-up in the overall audit planning. All too often the auditor will go to great lengths to plan and perform an audit only to have a recurring finding in the next audit. The proposed corrective action was only promissory and was not designed to stop the problem from recurring or to identify its root cause. Auditors do a disservice to the overall QA program and particularly to the customer when they fail to follow up and verify that an audit corrective action has been effectively implemented. In this paper, the techniques used by the quality assurance auditors at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) will be presented. Although PNL is a research and development laboratory, the techniques outlined in this paper could be applied to any industry conducting quality assurance audits. Most important, they provide a formula for continued improvement by assuring that audit follow-up is timely, meaningful, and permanent

  8. AUDIT, AUDIT-C, and AUDIT-3: drinking patterns and screening for harmful, hazardous and dependent drinking in Katutura, Namibia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Puja Seth

    Full Text Available To describe alcohol drinking patterns among participants in Katutura, Namibia, and to evaluate brief versions of the AUDIT against the full AUDIT to determine their effectiveness in detecting harmful drinking.A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four constituencies and 639 participants, 18 years or older, completed a sociodemographic survey and the AUDIT. The effectiveness of the AUDIT-C (first three questions and the AUDIT-3 (third question was compared to the full AUDIT.Approximately 40% were identified as harmful, hazardous or likely dependent drinkers, with men having a higher likelihood than women (57.2% vs. 31.0%, p<.0001. Approximately 32% reported making and/or selling alcohol from home. The AUDIT-C performed best at a cutoff ≥ 3, better in men (sensitivity: 99.3%, specificity: 77.8% than women (sensitivity: 91.7%, specificity: 77.4%. The AUDIT-3 performed poorly (maximum sensitivity: < 90%, maximum specificity: <51%. According to AUROC, the AUDIT-C performed better than the AUDIT-3.A large proportion of participants met criteria for alcohol misuse, indicating a need for screening and referral for further evaluation and intervention. The AUDIT-C was almost as effective as the full AUDIT and may be easier to implement in clinical settings as a routine screening tool in resource-limited settings because of its brevity.

  9. ['Clinical auditing', a novel tool for quality assessment in surgical oncology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Leersum, Nicoline J; Kolfschoten, Nikki E; Klinkenbijl, Jean H G; Tollenaar, Rob A E M; Wouters, Michel W J M

    2011-01-01

    To determine whether systematic audit and feedback of information about the process and outcomes improve the quality of surgical care. Systematic literature review. Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were searched for publications on 'quality assessment' and 'surgery'. The references of the publications found were examined as well. Publications were included in the review if the effect of auditing on the quality of surgical care had been investigated. In the databases 2415 publications were found. After selection, 28 publications describing the effect of auditing, whether or not combined with a quality improvement project, on guideline adherence or indications of outcomes of care were included. In 21 studies, a statistically significant positive effect of auditing was reported. In 5 studies a positive effect was found, but this was either not significant or statistical significance was not determined. In 2 studies no effect was observed. 5 studies compared the combination of auditing with a quality improvement project with auditing alone; 4 of these reported an additional effect of the quality improvement project. Audit and feedback of quality information seem to have a positive effect on the quality of surgical care. The use of quality information from audits for the purpose of a quality improvement project can enhance the positive effect of the audit.

  10. A National Framework for Energy Audit Ordinances

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, Cody; Costa, Marc; Long, Nicholas; Antonoff, Jayson

    2016-08-26

    A handful of U.S. cities have begun to incorporate energy audits into their building energy performance policies. Cities are beginning to recognize an opportunity to use several information tools to bring to real estate markets both motivation to improve efficiency and actionable pointers on how to improve. Care is necessary to combine such tools as operational ratings, energy audits, asset ratings, and building retro-commissioning in an effective policy regime that maximizes market impact. In this paper, the authors focus on energy audits and consider both the needs of the policies' implementers in local governments and the emerging standards and federal tools to improve data collection and practitioner engagement. Over the past two years, we have compared several related data formats such as New York City's existing audit reporting spreadsheet, ASHRAE guidance on building energy auditing, and the DOE Building Energy Asset Score, to identify a possible set of required and optional fields for energy audit reporting programs. Doing so revealed tensions between the ease of data collection and the value of more detailed information, which had implications for the effort and qualifications needed to complete the energy audit. The resulting list of data fields is now feeding back into the regulatory process in several cities currently working on implementing or developing audit policies. Using complementary policies and standardized tools for data transmission, the next generation of policies and programs will be tailored to local building stock and can more effectively target improvement opportunities through each building's life.

  11. Man-rem audit - a tool for exposure ALARA at Madras Atomic Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shivaramakrishnan, N.R.; Eswaran, G.; Gangamohan, M.; Sathish, A.V.; Ramasubramanian, K.V.; Gandhimathinathan, S.; Selvam, S.; Moolya, L.L.

    2012-01-01

    ALARA - acronym for As Low As Reasonably Achievable, which means making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to radiation as far below the dose limits as is practical. ICRP has recommended ALARA to be implemented as a formal practice into the System of Dose Limitation, which contains three parts, 1) Justification of practice 2) Optimization 3) Dose Limits. As with the human endeavor, there is always room for improvement. Keeping this in mind, ALARA program is being practiced in our Nuclear Power Plants over the years. There has been a gradual reduction of collective dose in our Nuclear Power Plants due to successful implementation of the ALARA programs. This was possible due to the rigorous application of O and M experience, feedback and active participation of workforce towards ALARA. Furthermore, ALARA is an ongoing continual improvement programme towards collective dose reduction and has enough scope for improvement at any point of time. In order to substantiate the gains of ALARA programme and to improve it further, first time Mam-rem Audit was conducted at MAPS during the month of Sep-Oct 2010. This paper gives the brief outline about the method man-rem audit, its findings, corrective action implementation and the benefits derived from it. Man-rem audit similar to financial audit, serves as a tool for finding out grey areas where improvements is required so that station collective dose can be further optimized. It is one of the identified missions to achieve excellence in area of reducing station collective dose, unplanned exposures and RPP deviation. The scope of this audit is to bring further improvements in the reduction in station collective dose, create more awareness among the employees about ALARA principles and seek valuable suggestions for improvements. Audit team consisting of senior HP persons had one to one interaction with the individuals of the respective section in the field and tried to gather the information from the individual and

  12. Schools of Excellence AND Equity? Using Equity Audits as a Tool to Expose a Flawed System of Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen M Brown

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how equity audits can be used as a tool to expose disparate achievement in schools that, on the surface and to the public, appear quite similar. To that end, the researcher probed beyond surface-level performance composite scores into deeper, more hidden data associated with state-recognized "Honor Schools of Excellence." How is "excellence" defined and operationalized in these schools? Are these schools "excellent" for all students? Can a school really be classified by the state as "excellent" and yet still have significant "gaps" and disparities? If so, is the state's formula used to identify exemplary schools too simple, dogmatic, and institutionally flawed? Through the use of equity audits, quantitative data was collected to scan for systemic patterns of equity and inequity across multiple domains of student learning and activities within 24 elementary schools. The intent was to document and distinguish between schools that are promoting and supporting both academic excellence (small gap schools; SGS and systemic equity and schools that are not (large gap schools; LGS. Results reveal that although demographic, teacher quality, and programmatic audits all indicated a fair amount of equity between SGS and LGS, the achievement audit between both types of schools indicated great disparities. By controlling for or eliminating some of the external variables and internal factors often cited for the achievement gaps between white middle-class children and children of color or children from low-income families, the findings from this study raise more questions than answers. Results do indicate that equity audits are a practical, easy-to-apply tool that educators can use to identify inequalities objectively.

  13. Auditors’ Perceptions of Reasonable Assurance the Effectiveness of the Audit Risk Model. Case from Iran

    OpenAIRE

    Hashem Valipour; Javad Moradi; Hajar Moazaminezhad

    2012-01-01

    Despite the definition of the concept of logical confidence in auditing standards, the results from some studies conducted indicate a meaningful difference between perceptions this basic concept, by different auditors (Law, 2008, 180). The results from some researches also indicate that auditors’ perceptions about the effectiveness of the audit risk model vary (which is based on auditing general principles on the basis of risk) (Arense, 2006, 148). In so doing, aiming at studying the proof fo...

  14. A study on relationship between audit quality and earnings management in Iranian banking industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Masihi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the relationship between audit quality and earnings management in Iranian banking industry. The proposed study gathers the necessary information from 18 different Iranian banks over the period 2005-2012. The study considers the effects of three independent variables including type of auditing, tenure of auditing and size of bank on earning managements. The result of our survey has indicated that there was a meaningful and reverse relationship between type of accounting and earnings management. In addition, the longer an auditing firm perform auditing program, the better the firm reports earnings management. Finally, as the size of firm increases, there is a better earnings management.

  15. Building thermography as a tool in energy audits and building commissioning procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauppinen, Timo

    2007-04-01

    A Building Commissioning-project (ToVa) was launched in Finland in the year 2003. A comprehensive commissioning procedure, including the building process and operation stage was developed in the project. This procedure will confirm the precise documentation of client's goals, definition of planning goals and the performance of the building. It is rather usual, that within 1-2 years after introduction the users complain about the defects or performance malfunctions of the building. Thermography is one important manual tool in verifying the thermal performance of the building envelope. In this paper the results of one pilot building (a school) will be presented. In surveying the condition and energy efficiency of buildings, various auxiliary means are needed. We can compare the consumption data of the target building with other, same type of buildings by benchmarking. Energy audit helps to localize and determine the energy saving potential. The most general and also most effective auxiliary means in monitoring the thermal performance of building envelopes is an infrared camera. In this presentation some examples of the use of thermography in energy audits are presented.

  16. Benefits of joint audits of service company and operator personnel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ritchie, R.D.

    1991-01-01

    Companies operating in the petroleum industry are showing an increasing collective awareness of safety and environmental issues. The objective of management in any organization is to identify potential hazards and develop and implement an action plant to eliminate these hazards. Joint audits between operating companies and service companies have proved an effective means of developing an objective and realistic safety awareness program. Joint audits, unlike external audits, enable both companies to develop, implement and monitor a meaningful safety policy based on factual information. The paper describes the planning, execution and follow up of an in-depth joint audit. Analysis of the audit results generated action plans to correct areas in need of improvement for both the operating and service companies. Of these areas, most could be corrected and resolved within three months while the remainder were targeted for remedial action to be completed within one year. The paper provides a thorough set of guidelines for all stages of a successful joint audit and illustrates, with examples, the operational improvements to be gained from such operator/service-company cooperation

  17. Linking audit and clinical effectiveness in the lung tumour service

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Gorman, Sharon

    2009-05-28

    Clinical Audit plays an important role in the evaluation of care and clinical outcomes for all patients. In conjunction with the respiratory nurse specialist a retrospective chart audit of the regional lung cancer service was undertaken at the Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar (MRHM). The lung cancer service has been established for four years and has set its standards in line with NICE guidelines and Irish guidelines for the clinical management of lung cancer. An audit tool was developed by the audit facilitator in conjunction with the respiratory nurse specialist and key department personnel. The tool aimed to measure length of time taken for key steps in the patients care pathway. A pilot audit was carried out and the tool was evaluated. The audit tool provided accurate recording of information at key points in the patient’s care which allows for a thorough service evaluation. The data collected and analysed gives vital information on the quality of service, and showed where there are deficits in service provision that need to be addressed.

  18. Scaling the quality of clinical audit projects: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millard, A D

    1999-06-01

    To pilot the development of a scale measuring the quality of audit projects through audit project reports. Statements about clinical audit projects were selected from existing instruments, assessing the quality of clinical audit projects, to form a Likert scale. The audit facilitators were based in Scottish health boards and trusts. The participants were audit facilitators known to have over 2 years experience of supporting clinical audit. The response at first test was 11 out of 14 and at the second test it was 27 out of 46. The draft scale was tested by 27 audit facilitators who expressed their strength of agreement or disagreement with each statement for three reports. Validity was assessed by test-re-test, item-total, and total-global indicator correlations. Of the 20 statements, 15 had satisfactory correlations with scale totals. Scale totals had good correlations with global indicators. Test-re-test correlation was modest. The wide range of responses means further research is needed to measure the consistency of audit facilitators' interpretations, perhaps comparing a trained group with an untrained group. There may be a need for a separate scale for reaudits. Educational impact is distinct from project impact generally. It may be more meaningful to treat the selection of projects and aims, methodology and impact separately as subscales and take a project profiling approach rather than attempting to produce a global quality index.

  19. Methodology to Assess No Touch Audit Software Using Simulated Building Utility Data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheung, Howard [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Braun, James E. [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Langner, M. Rois [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-10-01

    This report describes a methodology developed for assessing the performance of no touch building audit tools and presents results for an available tool. Building audits are conducted in many commercial buildings to reduce building energy costs and improve building operation. Because the audits typically require significant input obtained by building engineers, they are usually only affordable for larger commercial building owners. In an effort to help small building and business owners gain the benefits of an audit at a lower cost, no touch building audit tools have been developed to remotely analyze a building's energy consumption.

  20. THE SECURITY AUDIT WITHIN INFORMATION SYSTEMS

    OpenAIRE

    Dan Constantin TOFAN

    2011-01-01

    The information security audit is definitely a tool for determining, achieving, and maintaining a proper level of security in an organization. This article offers a comprehensive review of the world's most popular standards related to information systems security audit.

  1. Nationwide prospective audit of pancreatic surgery: design, accuracy, and outcomes of the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Audit

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Rijssen, L. Bengt; Koerkamp, Bas G.; Zwart, Maurice J.; Bonsing, Bert A.; Bosscha, Koop; van Dam, Ronald M.; van Eijck, Casper H.; Gerhards, Michael F.; van der Harst, Erwin; de Hingh, Ignace H.; de Jong, Koert P.; Kazemier, Geert; Klaase, Joost; van Laarhoven, Cornelis J.; Molenaar, I. Quintus; Patijn, Gijs A.; Rupert, Coen G.; van Santvoort, Hjalmar C.; Scheepers, Joris J.; van der Schelling, George P.; Busch, Olivier R.; Besselink, Marc G.; Bollen, Thomas L.; Bruno, Marco J.; van Tienhoven, Geert-Jan; Norduyn, Arnold; Berry, David P.; Tingstedt, Bobby; Tseng, Jennifer F.; Wolfgang, Christopher L.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Auditing is an important tool to identify practice variation and 'best practices'. The Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Audit is mandatory in all 18 Dutch centers for pancreatic surgery. Methods: Performance indicators and case-mix factors were identified by a PubMed search for randomized

  2. Joint Tax Audits : Which Countries May Benefit Most?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Burgers, Irene J.J.; Criclivaia, Diana

    2016-01-01

    In their joint fight against tax avoidance and tax evasion, international governance organizations have developed different tools. One of these tools is the joint tax audit, in which two or more countries join together to form a single audit team to examine an issue(s)/transaction(s) of one or more

  3. Radiation safety audit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kadadunna, K.P.I.K.; Mod Ali, Noriah

    2008-01-01

    Audit has been seen as one of the effective methods to ensure harmonization in radiation protection. A radiation safety audit is a formal safety performance examination of existing or future work activities by an independent team. Regular audit will assist the management in its mission to maintain the facilities environment that is inherently safe for its employees. The audits review the adequacy of facilities for the type of use, training, and competency of workers, supervision by authorized users, availability of survey instruments, security of radioactive materials, minimization of personnel exposure to radiation, safety equipment, and the required record keeping. All approved areas of use are included in these periodic audits. Any deficiency found in the audit shall be corrected as soon as possible after they are reported. Radiation safety audit is a proactive approach to improve radiation safety practices and identify and prevent any potential radiation accident. It is an excellent tool to identify potential problem to radiation users and to assure that safety measures to eliminate or reduce the problems are fully considered. Radiation safety audit will help to develop safety culture of the facility. It is intended to be the cornerstone of a safety program designed to aid the facility, staff and management in maintaining a safe environment in which activities are carried out. The initiative of this work is to evaluate the need of having a proper audit as one of the mechanism to manage the safety using ionizing radiation. This study is focused on the need of having a proper radiation safety audit to identify deviations and deficiencies of radiation protection programmes. It will be based on studies conducted on several institutes/radiation facilities in Malaysia in 2006. Steps will then be formulated towards strengthening radiation safety through proper audit. This will result in a better working situation and confidence in the radiation protection community

  4. Fuzzy audit risk modeling algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zohreh Hajihaa

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Fuzzy logic has created suitable mathematics for making decisions in uncertain environments including professional judgments. One of the situations is to assess auditee risks. During recent years, risk based audit (RBA has been regarded as one of the main tools to fight against fraud. The main issue in RBA is to determine the overall audit risk an auditor accepts, which impact the efficiency of an audit. The primary objective of this research is to redesign the audit risk model (ARM proposed by auditing standards. The proposed model of this paper uses fuzzy inference systems (FIS based on the judgments of audit experts. The implementation of proposed fuzzy technique uses triangular fuzzy numbers to express the inputs and Mamdani method along with center of gravity are incorporated for defuzzification. The proposed model uses three FISs for audit, inherent and control risks, and there are five levels of linguistic variables for outputs. FISs include 25, 25 and 81 rules of if-then respectively and officials of Iranian audit experts confirm all the rules.

  5. Hospital Audit as a Useful Tool in the Process of Introducing Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD into Hospital Pharmacy Settings—A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urszula Religioni

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Recently, the European Union has introduced the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD. Additionally, in early 2016, a Delegated Act (DA related to the FMD was published. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of external audits in the context of implementing new regulations provided by the FMD in the secondary care environment. Methods: The external, in-person workflow audits were performed by an authentication company in three Polish hospital pharmacies. Each audit consisted of a combination of supervision (non-participant observation, secondary data analysis, and expert interviews with the use of an independently designed authorial Diagnostic Questionnaire. The questionnaire included information about hospital drug distribution procedures, data concerning drug usage, IT systems, medication order systems, the processes of medication dispensing, and the preparation and administration of hazardous drugs. Data analysis included a thorough examination of hospital documentation in regard to drug management. All data were subjected to qualitative analysis, with the aim of generating meaningful information through inductive inference. Results: Only one dispensing location in the Polish hospitals studied has the potential to be a primary authentication area. In the audited hospitals, an Automated Drug Dispensing System and unit dose were not identified during the study. Hospital wards contained an enclosed place within the department dedicated to drug storage under the direct supervision of senior nursing staff. An electronic order system was not available. In the largest center, unused medications are re-dispensed to different hospital departments, or may be sold to various institutions. Additionally, in one hospital pharmacy, pharmacists prepared parenteral nutrition and chemotherapeutic drugs for patients admitted to the hospital. Conclusions: External audits might prove beneficial in the course of introducing new

  6. Features of Internal Audit in Pharmaceutical Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Tsvetanova, Yulia

    2014-01-01

    The review highlights the main features of internal audit by focus on distribution of medicinal products. Recent data suggest internal audit as an antidote to effects of economic recession. The present review reveals internal audit as a tool for competitiveness through implementation of good practices. The purpose of the review is to describe the advantages of internal audit in new institutional frame. The object of analysis is the distribution practice, and more concrete, the wholesale di...

  7. Using Mobile Tools to Support Meaningful Work-based Learning in Vocational Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanna Vuojärvi

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This case study focused on meaningful work-based learning (WBL and the pedagogical use of mobile information and communication technologies (ICTs in vocational tourism education. The aim was to reveal how teaching/tutoring and learning are realized and how the use of smartphones supports the realization of meaningful learning characteristics during WBL periods in highly versatile environments. Within a design-based research framework, the data was collected through learning journals written by students and qualitative interviews. The results of thematic analysis were used to develop a practice-oriented pedagogical model for meaningful WBL. The model visualizes the roles of students, teachers, and companies involved in WBL, the meaningful learning characteristics that can be amplified through the use of mobile ICTs, and the outcomes for each stakeholder. The model suggests structuring WBL through four negotiations involving a student, a teacher, and a company to assure that each student has clearly formulated learning goals and possibilities to pursue those goals regardless of the mobility of their work or facilities during their WBL period.

  8. Regulatory Audit Activities on Nuclear Design of Reactor Cores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Chae-Yong; Lee, Gil Soo; Lee, Jaejun; Kim, Gwan-Young; Bae, Moo-Hun

    2016-01-01

    Regulatory audit analyses are initiated on the purpose of deep knowledge, solving safety issues, being applied in the review of licensee's results. The current most important safety issue on nuclear design is to verify bias and uncertainty on reactor physics codes to examine the behaviors of high burnup fuel during rod ejection accident (REA) and LOCA, and now regulatory audits are concentrated on solving this issue. KINS develops regulatory audit tools on its own, and accepts ones verified from foreign countries. The independent audit tools are sometimes standardized through participating the international programs. New safety issues on nuclear design, reactor physics tests, advanced reactor core design are steadily raised, which are mainly drawn from the independent examination tools. It is some facing subjects for the regulators to find out the unidentified uncertainties in high burnup fuels and to systematically solve them. The safety margin on nuclear design might be clarified by precisely having independent tools and doing audit calculations by using them. SCALE-PARCS/COREDAX and the coupling with T-H code or fuel performance code would be certainly necessary for achieving these purposes

  9. Regulatory Audit Activities on Nuclear Design of Reactor Cores

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Chae-Yong; Lee, Gil Soo; Lee, Jaejun; Kim, Gwan-Young; Bae, Moo-Hun [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Regulatory audit analyses are initiated on the purpose of deep knowledge, solving safety issues, being applied in the review of licensee's results. The current most important safety issue on nuclear design is to verify bias and uncertainty on reactor physics codes to examine the behaviors of high burnup fuel during rod ejection accident (REA) and LOCA, and now regulatory audits are concentrated on solving this issue. KINS develops regulatory audit tools on its own, and accepts ones verified from foreign countries. The independent audit tools are sometimes standardized through participating the international programs. New safety issues on nuclear design, reactor physics tests, advanced reactor core design are steadily raised, which are mainly drawn from the independent examination tools. It is some facing subjects for the regulators to find out the unidentified uncertainties in high burnup fuels and to systematically solve them. The safety margin on nuclear design might be clarified by precisely having independent tools and doing audit calculations by using them. SCALE-PARCS/COREDAX and the coupling with T-H code or fuel performance code would be certainly necessary for achieving these purposes.

  10. Audit: Automated Disk Investigation Toolkit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umit Karabiyik

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Software tools designed for disk analysis play a critical role today in forensics investigations. However, these digital forensics tools are often difficult to use, usually task specific, and generally require professionally trained users with IT backgrounds. The relevant tools are also often open source requiring additional technical knowledge and proper configuration. This makes it difficult for investigators without some computer science background to easily conduct the needed disk analysis. In this paper, we present AUDIT, a novel automated disk investigation toolkit that supports investigations conducted by non-expert (in IT and disk technology and expert investigators. Our proof of concept design and implementation of AUDIT intelligently integrates open source tools and guides non-IT professionals while requiring minimal technical knowledge about the disk structures and file systems of the target disk image.

  11. AIRMaster: Compressed air system audit software

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wheeler, G.M.; Bessey, E.G.; McGill, R.D.; Vischer, K.

    1997-01-01

    The project goal was to develop a software tool, AIRMaster, and a methodology for performing compressed air system audits. AIRMaster and supporting manuals are designed for general auditors or plant personnel to evaluate compressed air system operation with simple instrumentation during a short-term audit. AIRMaster provides a systematic approach to compressed air system audits, analyzing collected data, and reporting results. AIRMaster focuses on inexpensive Operation and Maintenance (O and M) measures, such as fixing air leaks and improving controls that can significantly improve performance and reliability of the compressed air system, without significant risk to production. An experienced auditor can perform an audit, analyze collected data, and produce results in 2--3 days. AIRMaster reduces the cost of an audit, thus freeing funds to implement recommendations. The AIRMaster package includes an Audit Manual, Software and User's manual, Analysis Methodology Manual, and a Case Studies summary report. It also includes a Self-Guided Tour booklet to help users quickly screen a plant for efficiency improvement potentials, and an Industrial Compressed Air Systems Energy Efficiency Guidebook. AIRMaster proved to be a fast and effective audit tool. In sever audits AIRMaster identified energy savings of 4,056,000 kWh, or 49.2% of annual compressor energy use, for a cost savings of $152,000. Total implementation costs were $94,700 for a project payback period of 0.6 years. Available airflow increased between 11% and 51% of plant compressor capacity, leading to potential capital benefits from 40% to 230% of first year energy savings

  12. Early wound infection identification using the WIRE tool in community health care settings: An audit report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siaw-Sakyi, Vincent

    2017-12-01

    Wound infection is proving to be a challenge for health care professionals. The associated complications and cost of wound infection is immense and can lead to death in extreme cases. Current management of wound infection is largely subjective and relies on the knowledge of the health care professional to identify and initiate treatment. In response, we have developed an infection prediction and assessment tool. The Wound Infection Risk-Assessment and Evaluation tool (WIRE) and its management strategy is a tool with the aim to bring objectivity to infection prediction, assessment and management. A local audit carried out indicated a high infection prediction rate. More work is being done to improve its effectiveness.

  13. Cyber Security Audit and Attack Detection Toolkit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peterson, Dale

    2012-05-31

    This goal of this project was to develop cyber security audit and attack detection tools for industrial control systems (ICS). Digital Bond developed and released a tool named Bandolier that audits ICS components commonly used in the energy sector against an optimal security configuration. The Portaledge Project developed a capability for the PI Historian, the most widely used Historian in the energy sector, to aggregate security events and detect cyber attacks.

  14. Audit committee effectiveness: A synthesis of the audit committee literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Wu

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to add a meaningful critique to the existing audit committee (AC literature by providing (i a critical analysis of the AC literature grounded on agency theory; (ii a discussion of the emerging new theories of AC, which investigate the people serving on and working with ACs, and (iii a description of the relationship between these two groups of literature. A number of qualitative AC studies have provided new insights by investigating the actual people serving on and working with audit committees. This review paper summarizes these findings and provides a comparative evaluation with the agency theory-based AC research. This review documents, among others, that the attributes of ACs, as measured by the quantitative literature, have hardly been reflected by qualitative investigation, whereas qualitative analysis of the data contributed by people who have actual experience of ACs questions the fundamental propositions, not only of why ACs exist, but also how they function. This paper provides a cross-examination of the afore-mentioned two paradigms of literature on AC effectiveness and invites corporate scholars to reflect on the differences between the two groups of AC studies.

  15. Behavioral Perspectives on Home Energy Audits: The Role of Auditors, Labels, Reports, and Audit Tools on Homeowner Decision Making

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ingle, Aaron [Portland State Univ., Portland, OR (United States); Moezzi, Mithra [Portland State Univ., Portland, OR (United States); Lutzhenhiser, Loren [Portland State Univ., Portland, OR (United States); Hathaway, Zac [Portland State Univ., Portland, OR (United States); Lutzenhiser, Susan [Research Into Action, Portland, OR (United States); Clock, Joe Van [Research Into Action, Portland, OR (United States); Peters, Jane [Research Into Action, Portland, OR (United States); Smith, Rebecca [Earth Advantage Inst., Portland, OR (United States); Heslam, David [Earth Advantage Inst., Portland, OR (United States); Diamond, Richard C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2012-07-31

    Our study focused on the perspective of homeowner decision-­making in response to home energy audits, combined with attention to the quality of the recommendations that homeowners receive, as well as the perspectives of some key industry actors on auditing and home energy labels. Unlike a program evaluation, the research was not designed to answer detailed questions about program effectiveness in terms of costs, savings, or process, nor was it designed to provide direct answers to questions of how to get people to do more audits or more retrofits. Rather it “steps back” toward a better understanding of more basic questions about what audits provide and what homeowners seem to want, for the case of one particular program that we expect has parallels to many others.

  16. Technical risk audit method (tram): development and application to the auditing of major hazard sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maddison, T.; Kirk, P.; Stansfield, R.

    1998-01-01

    The Technical Risk Audit Method (TRAM) has been developed by the UK Health and Safety Executive (UK HSE) as a risk-based auditing and inspection tool for application to Major Hazard process plant covered by the Seveso-I/Seveso-II directives. The objective of TRAM is to provide a framework in which plant inspection or audit can be undertaken and results collated. TRAM comprises a paper audit procedure and a software tool which is used to analyse the results. TRAM includes a semi-quantitative risk model, which may be used to rank risks both within and between similar facilities, using qualitative data collected during the inspection. The results of this qualitative analysis may be used to identify where inspector resources would be best deployed. To date, TRAM has been applied to a number of LPG storage and processing facilities in the UK, and the lessons learnt are being used to develop a robust version suitable for use by inspectors. The methodology will be made consistent with the risk model included in IEC 61508 'Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related systems' to permit its application to a wide range of process plant and other hazardous facilities. (authors)

  17. Schools of Excellence and Equity? Using Equity Audits as a Tool to Expose a Flawed System of Recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Kathleen M.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how equity audits can be used as a tool to expose disparate achievement in schools that, on the surface and to the public, appear quite similar. To that end, the researcher probed beyond surface-level performance composite scores into deeper, more hidden data associated with state-recognized…

  18. Quality audit--a review of the literature concerning delivery of continence care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swaffield, J

    1995-09-01

    This paper outlines the role of quality audit within the framework of quality assurance, presenting the concurrent and retrospective approaches available. The literature survey provides a review of the limited audit tools available and their application to continence services and care delivery, as well as attempts to produce tools from national and local standard setting. Audit is part of a process; it can involve staff, patients and their relatives and the team of professionals providing care, as well as focusing on organizational and management levels. In an era of market delivery of services there is a need to justify why audit is important to continence advisors and managers. Effectiveness, efficiency and economics may drive the National Health Service, but quality assurance, which includes standards and audit tools, offers the means to ensure the quality of continence services and care to patients and auditing is also required in the purchaser/provider contracts for patient services. An overview and progress to date of published and other a projects in auditing continence care and service is presented. By outlining and highlighting the audit of continence service delivery and care as a basis on which to build quality assurance programmes, it is hoped that this knowledge will be shared through the setting up of a central auditing clearing project.

  19. Health Services Approach to the Communication Audit

    OpenAIRE

    Tereza Balcarová

    2014-01-01

    This paper deals with the use of a communication audit as a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of public relations within health services. The research was conducted within healthcare institutions operating in the Czech Republic. Areas of research questions were focused on these aspects of health services: The approach to the implementation of a communication audit: Is the communication audit tied to the level of public relations effectiveness evaluation? Is the approach influenced by publ...

  20. Environmental auditing: Theory and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Dixon; Wilson, Melvin J.

    1994-07-01

    The environmental audit has become a regular part of corporate environmental management in Canada and is also gaining recognition in the public sector. A 1991 survey of 75 private sector companies across Canada revealed that 76% (57/75) had established environmental auditing programs. A similar survey of 19 federal, provincial, and municipal government departments revealed that 11% (2/19) had established such programs. The information gained from environmental audits can be used to facilitate and enhance environmental management from the single facility level to the national and international levels. This paper is divided into two sections: section one examines environmental audits at the facility/company level and discusses environmental audit characteristics, trends, and driving forces not commonly found in the available literature. Important conclusions are: that wherever possible, an action plan to correct the identified problems should be an integral part of an audit, and therefore there should be a close working relationship between auditors, managers, and employees, and that the first audits will generally be more difficult, time consuming, and expensive than subsequent audits. Section two looks at environmental audits in the broader context and discusses the relationship between environmental audits and three other environmental information gathering/analysis tools: environmental impact assessments, state of the environment reports, and new systems of national accounts. The argument is made that the information collected by environmental audits and environmental impact assessments at the facility/company level can be used as the bases for regional and national state of the environment reports and new systems of national accounts.

  1. XBRL How It Implies The Audit Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sepky Mardian

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This article aimed to know what is XBRL how it works and it implies to audit process. XBRL as a new tool was expected to produce a timelines reliable and credible financial reporting. With its real-time and interactive data XBRL will help the investor and other stakeholder in receiving storing analyzing the information quickly. While in audit profession XBRL will speed up the audit process save the audit cost and increase the revenue. However in fact XBRL will make it happen if it was implemented and integrated to an information system owned by datainformation provider.

  2. A study on relationship between internal auditing and quality of financial statement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Abulghasemi Komeleh

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The primary objective of most financial statements is to provide a concentrated as well as categorized reports on financial performance and flexibility to help decision makers reach suitable financial decisions. This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the relationship between internal auditing and quality of financial statements on selected firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange. The proposed study selects 140 firms over the period 2008-2012. Using some regression technique, the study has determined that there was a positive and meaningful relationship between firms with internal auditing in their activities and quality of financial statements.

  3. Ethnographic Auditing: A New Approach to Evaluating Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetterman, David M.

    1990-01-01

    Ethnographic auditing combines concepts of ethnography, evaluation, and traditional auditing to evaluate university management. It is another tool in the institutional researcher's repertoire that enables the researcher to interpret cultural aspects of the organization to facilitate its academic mission. (MSE)

  4. Making the audit work for you

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilczynski, E.J.

    1991-10-01

    These slides presented at an Environmental Auditing Conference, focus on one aspect of environmental auditing: its important role in the even broader practice of Environmental Management. The use of audits by the Department of Energy will be examined within the context of sound environmental management to illustrate the delicate practice of ''Making the Audit Work for You.'' A summary of the main points to be covered follows. (1) Brief description of DOE Environmental Audit process; disciplines covered, DOE Orders reviewed, management/operations evaluated. (2) Brief discussion of DOE/Secretary Watkin's Tiger Team initiative as the cornerstone of his plan to strengthen the Department's Environment, Safety, and Health (ESH) programs. (3) Examples given of the types of findings presented in each of these areas, along with brief examples of root causes, lessons learned, trends, and noteworthy practices. (4) Discussion of the relationships between environmental audits, safety and health assessments, and management and organization assessments. (5) Discussion of Environmental Auditing/Assessment and its recurring role in the Environmental Management continuum. (6) DOE is cited as an example of an organization that uses audits as a powerful environmental management tool to help achieve its objectives and multiple goals

  5. Piloting a Structured Practice Audit to Assess ACGME Milestones in Written Handoff Communication in Internal Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Shannon K; Farnan, Jeanne M; McConville, John F; Arora, Vineet M

    2015-06-01

    Written communication skills are integral to patient care handoffs. Residency programs require feasible assessment tools that provide timely formative and summative feedback, ideally linked to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestones. We describe the use of 1 such tool-UPDATED-to assess written handoff communication skills in internal medicine interns. During 2012-2013, the authors piloted a structured practice audit at 1 academic institution to audit written sign-outs completed by 45 interns, using the UPDATED tool, which scores 7 aspects of sign-out communication linked to milestones. Intern sign-outs were audited by trained faculty members throughout the year. Results were incorporated into intern performance reviews and Clinical Competency Committees. A total of 136 sign-outs were audited (averaging 3.1 audits per intern). In the first trimester, 14 interns (31%) had satisfactory audit results. Five interns (11%) had critical deficiencies and received immediate feedback, and the remaining 26 (58%) were assigned future audits due to missing audits or unsatisfactory scores. In the second trimester, 21 interns (68%) had satisfactory results, 1 had critical deficiencies, and 9 (29%) required future audits. Nine of the 10 remaining interns in the final trimester had satisfactory audits. Faculty time was estimated at 10 to 15 minutes per sign-out audited. The UPDATED audit is a milestone-based tool that can be used to assess written sign-out communication skills in internal medicine residency programs. Future work is planned to adapt the tool for use by senior supervisory residents to appraise sign-outs in real time.

  6. Evolution of an audit and monitoring tool into an infection prevention and control process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denton, A; Topping, A; Humphreys, P

    2016-09-01

    In 2010, an infection prevention and control team in an acute hospital trust integrated an audit and monitoring tool (AMT) into the management regime for patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). To examine the mechanisms through which the implementation of an AMT influenced the care and management of patients with CDI. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used, employing semi-structured interviews with ward staff (N=8), infection prevention and control practitioners (IPCPs) (N=7) and matrons (N=8), and subsequently a theoretical sample of senior managers (N=4). All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a constant comparison approach until explanatory categories emerged. The AMT evolved into a daily review process (DRP) that became an essential aspect of the management of all patients with CDI. Participants recognized that the DRP had positively influenced the care received by patients with CDI. Two main explanatory themes emerged to offer a framework for understanding the influence of the DRP on care management: education and learning, and the development and maintenance of relationships. The use of auditing and monitoring tools as part of a daily review process may enable ward staff, matrons, and IPCPs to improve patient outcomes and achieve the required levels of environmental hygiene if they act as a focal point for interaction, education, and collaboration. The findings offer insights into the behavioural changes and improved patient outcomes that ensue from the implementation of a DRP. Copyright © 2016 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. A Guide to Energy Audits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baechler, Michael C.

    2011-09-01

    Energy audits are a powerful tool for uncovering operational and equipment improvements that will save energy, reduce energy costs, and lead to higher performance. Energy audits can be done as a stand-alone effort or as part of a larger analysis across a group of facilities, or across an owner's portfolio. The purpose of an energy audit (sometimes called an 'energy assessment' or 'energy study') is to determine where, when, why and how energy is used in a facility, and to identify opportunities to improve efficiency. Energy auditing services are offered by energy services companies (ESCOs), energy consultants and engineering firms. The energy auditor leads the audit process but works closely with building owners, staff and other key participants throughout to ensure accuracy of data collection and appropriateness of energy efficiency recommendation. The audit typically begins with a review of historical and current utility data and benchmarking of your building's energy use against similar buildings. This sets the stage for an onsite inspection of the physical building. The main outcome of an energy audit is a list of recommended energy efficiency measures (EEMs), their associated energy savings potential, and an assessment of whether EEM installation costs are a good financial investment.

  8. LongLine: Visual Analytics System for Large-scale Audit Logs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seunghoon Yoo

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Audit logs are different from other software logs in that they record the most primitive events (i.e., system calls in modern operating systems. Audit logs contain a detailed trace of an operating system, and thus have received great attention from security experts and system administrators. However, the complexity and size of audit logs, which increase in real time, have hindered analysts from understanding and analyzing them. In this paper, we present a novel visual analytics system, LongLine, which enables interactive visual analyses of large-scale audit logs. LongLine lowers the interpretation barrier of audit logs by employing human-understandable representations (e.g., file paths and commands instead of abstract indicators of operating systems (e.g., file descriptors as well as revealing the temporal patterns of the logs in a multi-scale fashion with meaningful granularity of time in mind (e.g., hourly, daily, and weekly. LongLine also streamlines comparative analysis between interesting subsets of logs, which is essential in detecting anomalous behaviors of systems. In addition, LongLine allows analysts to monitor the system state in a streaming fashion, keeping the latency between log creation and visualization less than one minute. Finally, we evaluate our system through a case study and a scenario analysis with security experts.

  9. The STAR score: a method for auditing clinical records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuffaha, H

    2012-01-01

    INTRODUCTION Adequate medical note keeping is critical in delivering high quality healthcare. However, there are few robust tools available for the auditing of notes. The aim of this paper was to describe the design, validation and implementation of a novel scoring tool to objectively assess surgical notes. METHODS An initial ‘path finding’ study was performed to evaluate the quality of note keeping using the CRABEL scoring tool. The findings prompted the development of the Surgical Tool for Auditing Records (STAR) as an alternative. STAR was validated using inter-rater reliability analysis. An audit cycle of surgical notes using STAR was performed. The results were analysed and a structured form for the completion of surgical notes was introduced to see if the quality improved in the next audit cycle using STAR. An education exercise was conducted and all participants said the exercise would change their practice, with 25% implementing major changes. RESULTS Statistical analysis of STAR showed that it is reliable (Cronbach’s a = 0.959). On completing the audit cycle, there was an overall increase in the STAR score from 83.344% to 97.675% (p<0.001) with significant improvements in the documentation of the initial clerking from 59.0% to 96.5% (p<0.001) and subsequent entries from 78.4% to 96.1% (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The authors believe in the value of STAR as an effective, reliable and reproducible tool. Coupled with the application of structured forms to note keeping, it can significantly improve the quality of surgical documentation and can be implemented universally. PMID:22613300

  10. The STAR score: a method for auditing clinical records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuffaha, H; Amer, T; Jayia, P; Bicknell, C; Rajaretnam, N; Ziprin, P

    2012-05-01

    Adequate medical note keeping is critical in delivering high quality healthcare. However, there are few robust tools available for the auditing of notes. The aim of this paper was to describe the design, validation and implementation of a novel scoring tool to objectively assess surgical notes. An initial 'path finding' study was performed to evaluate the quality of note keeping using the CRABEL scoring tool. The findings prompted the development of the Surgical Tool for Auditing Records (STAR) as an alternative. STAR was validated using inter-rater reliability analysis. An audit cycle of surgical notes using STAR was performed. The results were analysed and a structured form for the completion of surgical notes was introduced to see if the quality improved in the next audit cycle using STAR. An education exercise was conducted and all participants said the exercise would change their practice, with 25% implementing major changes. Statistical analysis of STAR showed that it is reliable (Cronbach's α = 0.959). On completing the audit cycle, there was an overall increase in the STAR score from 83.344% to 97.675% (p < 0.001) with significant improvements in the documentation of the initial clerking from 59.0% to 96.5% (p < 0.001) and subsequent entries from 78.4% to 96.1% (p < 0.001). The authors believe in the value of STAR as an effective, reliable and reproducible tool. Coupled with the application of structured forms to note keeping, it can significantly improve the quality of surgical documentation and can be implemented universally.

  11. Audit unto others{hor_ellipsis}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maday, J.H. Jr.

    1992-05-01

    My first encounter with a quality assurance auditor is reminiscent of an old Dodge commercial. You remember? The old sheriff, masked in mirrored sunglasses, paunch hanging over his gun belt, prophesying, ``You`re in a heap o` trouble boy!`` Well, my auditor could have been kin to the sheriff; they had the same posture, attitude, and mirrored sunglasses. Plus, my auditor wore a black leather vest and sported a ``Buffalo Bill`` goatee. While certainly memorable, both gentlemen were far from pleasant. I`m fairly certain that the compliance auditor of old deserved this perceived association with his law enforcement counterpart. Both believed in enforcing the letter of the law, or their interpretations of it. Neither seemed capable of exercising interpretive powers, but instead relied on winning through intimidation, possibly with an eye toward claiming some version of a monthly Quota Award. Is the auditor of today any better perceived? Because this ``first encounter of the worst kind`` made a lasting impression on me, I have dedicated considerable time and effort trying to avoid being perceived as another sheriff when I conduct audits. In my auditing career, I am determined to capitalize on each opportunity to turn negative situations, as experienced by the auditee, into meaningful opportunities for improved performance. I want to treat the auditee the way I want to be treated when I am being audited. (author)

  12. Health and Safety Audit Design Manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ternes, Mark P. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Langley, Brandon R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Accawi, Gina K. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Malhotra, Mini [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2017-10-01

    The Health and Safety Audit is an electronic audit tool developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to assist in the identification and selection of health and safety measures when a home is being weatherized (i.e., receiving home energy upgrades), especially as part of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program, or during home energy-efficiency retrofit or remodeling jobs. The audit is specifically applicable to existing single-family homes (including mobile homes), and is generally applicable to individual dwelling units in low-rise multifamily buildings. The health and safety issues covered in the audit are grouped in nine categories: mold and moisture, lead, radon, asbestos, formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), combustion, pest infestation, safety, and ventilation. Development of the audit was supported by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control and the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program.

  13. Pembangunan Tools Audit Sistem Informasi Berdasarkan COBIT 5 pada Domain Align, Plan, And Organize (APO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mukhammad Ilham Nur Faizin

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Fast growth of information technology (IT encourages the implementation of IT governance processes to achieve its purposes. To determine its achievement, several tools in a checklist form is required to ease the measurement of purpose achievement and process capability level. This study aims to develop capability level measurement tools which can help in information system audit process based on COBIT 5 in domain of Align, Plan, and Organize (APO. The development of capability level measurement tools was done in four stages. The first stage was the analysis about variables or indicators needed in the making of the measurement checklist based on COBIT 5 and Panduan Tata Kelola TIK Nasional (National ITC Governance Guide. The second stage was the content and the tools design. The third stage was building the tools using a spreadsheet software. The fourth stage was the tools evaluation by giving a questionnaire to its users. Respondents involved were the staff of Directorate Information System of Airlangga University. The components of evaluated tools consisted of its contents, interfaces, as well as its functions and operations. The result was used as a base for tools improvements. This study produces tools that gives outcomes in the form of current process capability level and improvement advices to achieve the expected capability level. Evaluation result shows that 86% of users agree that the tools have understandable contents and good interface, and 81% of users agrees that the tools have good functions and operations.

  14. Clinical audit as a tool of continuous improvement of quality in radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horvathova, M.; Nikodemova, D.; Prikazska, M.

    2008-01-01

    Medical diagnosis and treatment including X -rays, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy , are the largest man-made sources of radiation exposure. The medical use of ionising radiation continues to expand, and is moving towards more complex procedures entailing higher exposures. Directive 97/43/EURATOM, on health protection of individuals against the dangers of ionizing radiation in relation to medical exposures acknowledged that medical practices using ionizing radiation are developing rapidly and that they are from a radiation protection point of view of regulatory concern. Our contribution summarizes the main recommendations of the Guidelines and the major problems of implementation of Clinical audits in Slovakia, which are: Incomplete national legislation for clinical audit; Methods of financing; Lack of formal framework of auditing; Poor understanding of the purpose and contents of clinical audits; Lack of criteria for the standards of good practices; Difficulty to employ sufficient number of auditors; Insufficient time available for auditors; Lack of specific training of auditors; Need of technological modernization of radiology equipment to meet quality standards. The need for harmonization of clinical audits has been recognized by all countries which replied to the questionnaire, including Slovakia and therefore it should be implemented in radiation protection regulations of Health ministry. (authors)

  15. Clinical audit as a tool of continuous improvement of quality in radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horvathova, M.; Nikodemova, D.; Prikazska, M.

    2009-01-01

    Medical diagnosis and treatment including X -rays, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy , are the largest man-made sources of radiation exposure. The medical use of ionising radiation continues to expand, and is moving towards more complex procedures entailing higher exposures. Directive 97/43/EURATOM, on health protection of individuals against the dangers of ionizing radiation in relation to medical exposures acknowledged that medical practices using ionizing radiation are developing rapidly and that they are from a radiation protection point of view of regulatory concern. Our contribution summarizes the main recommendations of the Guidelines and the major problems of implementation of Clinical audits in Slovakia, which are: Incomplete national legislation for clinical audit; Methods of financing; Lack of formal framework of auditing; Poor understanding of the purpose and contents of clinical audits; Lack of criteria for the standards of good practices; Difficulty to employ sufficient number of auditors; Insufficient time available for auditors; Lack of specific training of auditors; Need of technological modernization of radiology equipment to meet quality standards. The need for harmonization of clinical audits has been recognized by all countries which replied to the questionnaire, including Slovakia and therefore it should be implemented in radiation protection regulations of Health ministry. (authors)

  16. Auditing sex- and gender-based medicine (SGBM) content in medical school curriculum: a student scholar model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Michael M; Jones, Betsy G; Casanova, Robert A

    2016-01-01

    Sex- and gender-based medicine (SGBM) aims to (1) delineate and investigate sex- and gender-based differences in health, disease, and response to treatment and (2) apply that knowledge to clinical care to improve the health of both women and men. However, the integration of SGBM into medical school curricula is often haphazard and poorly defined; schools often do not know the current status of SGBM content in their curricula, even if they are committed to addressing gaps and improving SGBM delivery. Therefore, complete auditing and accounting of SGBM content in the existing medical school curriculum is necessary to determine the baseline status and prepare for successful integration of SGBM content into that curriculum. A review of course syllabi and lecture objectives as well as a targeted data analysis of the Curriculum Management and Information Tool (CurrMIT) were completed prior to a real-time curriculum audit. Subsequently, six "student scholars," three first-year and three second-year medical students, were recruited and trained to audit the first 2 years of the medical school curriculum for SGBM content, thus completing an audit for both of the pre-clinical years simultaneously. A qualitative analysis and a post-audit comparative analysis were completed to assess the level of SGBM instruction at our institution. The review of syllabi and the CurrMIT data analysis did not generate a meaningful catalogue of SGBM content in the curriculum; most of the content identified specifically targeted women's or men's health topics and not sex- or gender-based differences. The real-time student audit of the existing curriculum at Texas Tech revealed that most of the SGBM material was focused on the physiological/anatomical sex differences or gender differences in disease prevalence, with minimal coverage of sex- or gender-based differences in diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and outcomes. The real-time student scholar audit was effective in identifying SGBM content in

  17. Developing a Forensic Continuous Audit Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grover S. Kearns

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite increased attention to internal controls and risk assessment, traditional audit approaches do not seem to be highly effective in uncovering the majority of frauds. Less than 20 percent of all occupational frauds are uncovered by auditors. Forensic accounting has recognized the need for automated approaches to fraud analysis yet research has not examined the benefits of forensic continuous auditing as a method to detect and deter corporate fraud. The purpose of this paper is to show how such an approach is possible. A model is presented that supports the acceptance of forensic continuous auditing by auditors and management as an effective tool to support the audit function, meet management’s regulatory objectives, and to combat fraud. An approach to developing such a system is presented.

  18. Using Communication Audits To Teach Organizational Communication to Students and Employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Craig R.; Shaw, Sandra Pride; Timmerman, C. Erik; Frank, Volker; Quinn, Laura

    1999-01-01

    Discusses how communication audits serve well as educational tools for both student auditors and employees of organizations. Describes how teachers need to gain access to organizations, especially through internal audit departments; negotiate the exchange of essentially free audit findings for a learning experience and research data; and secure…

  19. Forensic accounting in the fraud auditing case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataša Simeunović

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a real case of digital forensic analysis in organizational fraud auditing process investigated using two different forensic tools, namely Tableau TD3 Touch Screen Forensic Imager and Access Data FTK Imager. Fraud auditing is more of a mindset than a methodology and has different approaches from financial auditing. Fraud auditors are mostly focused on exceptions, accounting irregularities, and patterns of their conduct. Financial auditors place special emphasis on the audit trail and material misstatements. A fraud case investigation of non-cash misappropriations committed by an employee, the warehouseman, will be presented herein in order to highlight the usefulness of fraud auditing, which can reveal many forms of financial crime and can be used in both private and public sector companies. Due to the computerized accounting environment, fraud investigation requires a combination of auditing, computer crime and digital forensic investigation skills, which can be achieved through joint efforts and cooperation of both digital investigator and fraud auditor as proposed herein.

  20. A Comparison of the Audit and Accreditation Tools Used By The Health Care Financing Administration, The Texas Department of Insurance, and The National Committee on Quality Assurance: The Cost of Multi-Agency Oversight on Medicare+Choice Plans in Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-04-12

    Comparison of Oversight Models in Managed Care 1 Running Head: Comparison of Oversight Models in Managed Care A Comparison of the Audit and...TITLE AND SUBTITLE A Comparison of the Audit and Accreditation Tools Used By The Health Care Financing Administration, The Texas Department of...Comparison of Oversight Models in Managed Care 5 A Comparison of the Audit and Accreditation Tools Used By The Health Care Financing

  1. Development of a pedestrian audit tool to assess rural neighborhood walkability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scanlin, Kathleen; Haardoerfer, Regine; Kegler, Michelle C; Glanz, Karen

    2014-08-01

    Recently, investigators have begun to refine audit instruments for use in rural areas. However, no studies have developed a walkability summary score or have correlated built environment characteristics with physical activity behavior. The Rural Pedestrian Environmental Audit Instrument was developed specifically for use in rural areas. Segments surrounding participant's homes were selected to represent neighborhood streets (N = 116). Interrater reliability was conducted on a subset of streets (N = 42). Rural-specific domain and walkability scores were developed and correlated with individual-level data on perceptions of the neighborhood and self-reported physical activity behavior. Interrater reliability for the instrument was substantial and all domains had high agreement. Walkability in the audited area was low with even the best segments demonstrating only moderate support for walking. There were no significant correlations between the neighborhood walkability score and self-reported neighborhood walkability, time spent walking, sedentary behavior, or BMI; however, a few correlations within the social/dynamic domain were significant. This study expands recent research refining audit instruments for rural areas. Findings suggest the usefulness of summarizing environmental data at the domain level and linking it to physical activity behavior to identify aspects of the neighborhood environment that are most strongly correlated with actual behavior.

  2. Pengaruh Komite Audit Terhadap Kualitas Pelaporan Keuangan Dengan Kualitas Audit Sebagai Variabel Moderating Pada Perusahaan Manufaktur Di Bursa Efek Indonesia (Bei)

    OpenAIRE

    Puspa, Wywyk

    2015-01-01

    Financial report is one of stakeholder’s tools for making decision, therefore financial report are expected to have qualitative characteristics, which are relevant and reliable. To reduce the delay in submitting financial report, companies create good corporate governance mechanism. One of them is audit committee. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of audit committee to financial report quality and audit quality as moderating variable. The population in this study are all m...

  3. Computerised energy audit: a tool for better management information system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sonavane, V.L.; Kulkarni, S.L.

    1995-01-01

    The demand for electricity is ever increasing. The cost of electrical generation is rising. The cost of new generating station is prohibitive to the electricity boards. Financial excellence is only possible by implementing energy audit. Because of energy audit programs the consumers' attitude is bound to change. The theft and pilferage will be detected and the quantum is bound to reduce. Financial energy management system (FEMS) will look into all operations with reference to the energy sell, energy input, finance, equipment failure, interruptions and also the individual performances of each engineer in charge of that area. 2 tabs

  4. Effective quality auditing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sivertsen, Terje

    2004-01-01

    The present report focuses on how to improve the effectiveness of quality audits and organization-wide quality management. It discusses several concepts related to internal quality auditing, includes guidelines on how to establish auditing as a key process of the organization, and exemplifies its application in the management of quality, strategy, and change. The report follows a line of research documented previously in the reports 'Continuous Improvement of Software Quality' (HWR-584) and 'ISO 9000 Quality Systems for Software Development' (HWR-629). In particular, the concepts of measurement programmes and process improvement cycles, discussed in HWR-584, form the basis for the approach advocated in the present report to the continual improvement of the internal quality audit process. Internal auditing is an important ingredient in ISO 9000 quality systems, and continual improvement of this process is consistent with the process-oriented view of the 2000 revision of the ISO 9000 family (HWR-629). The overall aim of the research is to provide utilities and their system vendors with better tools for quality management in digital I and C projects. The research results are expected to provide guidance to the choice of software engineering practices to obtain a system fulfilling safety requirements at an acceptable cost. For licensing authorities, the results are intended to make the review process more efficient through the use of appropriate measures (metrics), and to be of help in establishing requirements to software quality assurance in digital I and C projects. (Author)

  5. Development of a Monte Carlo multiple source model for inclusion in a dose calculation auditing tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faught, Austin M; Davidson, Scott E; Fontenot, Jonas; Kry, Stephen F; Etzel, Carol; Ibbott, Geoffrey S; Followill, David S

    2017-09-01

    The Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core Houston (IROC-H) (formerly the Radiological Physics Center) has reported varying levels of agreement in their anthropomorphic phantom audits. There is reason to believe one source of error in this observed disagreement is the accuracy of the dose calculation algorithms and heterogeneity corrections used. To audit this component of the radiotherapy treatment process, an independent dose calculation tool is needed. Monte Carlo multiple source models for Elekta 6 MV and 10 MV therapeutic x-ray beams were commissioned based on measurement of central axis depth dose data for a 10 × 10 cm 2 field size and dose profiles for a 40 × 40 cm 2 field size. The models were validated against open field measurements consisting of depth dose data and dose profiles for field sizes ranging from 3 × 3 cm 2 to 30 × 30 cm 2 . The models were then benchmarked against measurements in IROC-H's anthropomorphic head and neck and lung phantoms. Validation results showed 97.9% and 96.8% of depth dose data passed a ±2% Van Dyk criterion for 6 MV and 10 MV models respectively. Dose profile comparisons showed an average agreement using a ±2%/2 mm criterion of 98.0% and 99.0% for 6 MV and 10 MV models respectively. Phantom plan comparisons were evaluated using ±3%/2 mm gamma criterion, and averaged passing rates between Monte Carlo and measurements were 87.4% and 89.9% for 6 MV and 10 MV models respectively. Accurate multiple source models for Elekta 6 MV and 10 MV x-ray beams have been developed for inclusion in an independent dose calculation tool for use in clinical trial audits. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

  6. STATUTORY AUDIT AND PERFORMANCE AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suciu Gheorghe

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The financial audit has two components: the statutory audit (mandatory for certain companies made by financial auditors and the optional audit which can be done by other professionals (chartered accountants, evaluators, and tax matters members. The statutory audit represents the examination done by an authorized and independent professional of the financial statement of a company, in order to express a motivated opinion regarding the position, situation and financial performance. The statutory audit is established by law for those companies which have a significant public impact. The financial statement represents the management’s statement through which the firm communicates with the stakeholders: shareholders, creditors, investors, clients, debtors, contractors, employees, state institutions and thepopulation. The objective of the performance audit is the efficiency and effectiveness with which the audited company uses its resources in order to accomplish its responsibilities. The audit committees have a greater responsibility especially after the scandals in the US (Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, through the Sarbanes-Oxley act from 2002. The audit committee has the following attributions: it monitors the financial reports made by the executive management, helps internal investigations, monitors and evaluates the activity of the internal audit department, gives recommendations to the administration council regarding the problems encountered when communicating with the shareholders, replacing or extending the mandate of the external auditor and authorizes the approval of this person’s fees.

  7. Audit unto others hor ellipsis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maday, J.H. Jr.

    1992-05-01

    My first encounter with a quality assurance auditor is reminiscent of an old Dodge commercial. You remember The old sheriff, masked in mirrored sunglasses, paunch hanging over his gun belt, prophesying, You're in a heap o' trouble boy '' Well, my auditor could have been kin to the sheriff; they had the same posture, attitude, and mirrored sunglasses. Plus, my auditor wore a black leather vest and sported a Buffalo Bill'' goatee. While certainly memorable, both gentlemen were far from pleasant. I'm fairly certain that the compliance auditor of old deserved this perceived association with his law enforcement counterpart. Both believed in enforcing the letter of the law, or their interpretations of it. Neither seemed capable of exercising interpretive powers, but instead relied on winning through intimidation, possibly with an eye toward claiming some version of a monthly Quota Award. Is the auditor of today any better perceived Because this first encounter of the worst kind'' made a lasting impression on me, I have dedicated considerable time and effort trying to avoid being perceived as another sheriff when I conduct audits. In my auditing career, I am determined to capitalize on each opportunity to turn negative situations, as experienced by the auditee, into meaningful opportunities for improved performance. I want to treat the auditee the way I want to be treated when I am being audited. (author)

  8. Use of an audit in violence prevention research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erwin, Elizabeth Hite; Meyer, Aleta; McClain, Natalie

    2005-05-01

    Auditing is an effective tool for articulating the trustworthiness and credibility of qualitative research. However, little information exists on how to conduct an audit. In this article, the authors illustrate their use of an audit team to explore the methods and preliminary findings of a study aimed at identifying the relevant and challenging problems experienced by urban teenagers. This study was the first in a series of studies to improve the ecological validity of violence prevention programs for high-risk urban teenagers, titled Identifying Essential Skills for Violence Prevention. The five phases of this audit were engaging the auditor, becoming familiar with the study, discussing methods and determining strengths and limitations, articulating audit findings, and planning subsequent research. Positioning the audit before producing final results allows researchers to address many study limitations, uncover potential sources of bias in the thematic structure, and systematically plan subsequent steps in an emerging design.

  9. Development of an Assessment Tool to Measure Students' Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galloway, Kelli R.; Bretz, Stacey Lowery

    2015-01-01

    Research on learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory necessitates an understanding of students' perspectives of learning. Novak's Theory of Meaningful Learning states that the cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling), and psychomotor (doing) domains must be integrated for meaningful learning to occur. The psychomotor domain is the…

  10. Reduced-Item Food Audits Based on the Nutrition Environment Measures Surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partington, Susan N; Menzies, Tim J; Colburn, Trina A; Saelens, Brian E; Glanz, Karen

    2015-10-01

    The community food environment may contribute to obesity by influencing food choice. Store and restaurant audits are increasingly common methods for assessing food environments, but are time consuming and costly. A valid, reliable brief measurement tool is needed. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate reduced-item food environment audit tools for stores and restaurants. Nutrition Environment Measures Surveys for stores (NEMS-S) and restaurants (NEMS-R) were completed in 820 stores and 1,795 restaurants in West Virginia, San Diego, and Seattle. Data mining techniques (correlation-based feature selection and linear regression) were used to identify survey items highly correlated to total survey scores and produce reduced-item audit tools that were subsequently validated against full NEMS surveys. Regression coefficients were used as weights that were applied to reduced-item tool items to generate comparable scores to full NEMS surveys. Data were collected and analyzed in 2008-2013. The reduced-item tools included eight items for grocery, ten for convenience, seven for variety, and five for other stores; and 16 items for sit-down, 14 for fast casual, 19 for fast food, and 13 for specialty restaurants-10% of the full NEMS-S and 25% of the full NEMS-R. There were no significant differences in median scores for varying types of retail food outlets when compared to the full survey scores. Median in-store audit time was reduced 25%-50%. Reduced-item audit tools can reduce the burden and complexity of large-scale or repeated assessments of the retail food environment without compromising measurement quality. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Energy audit for energy conservation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanetkar, V.V.

    1996-01-01

    Energy audit is a very effective management tool for betterment of plant performance. The energy audit has a problem solving approach rather than a fault finding technique. The energy conservation is a rational use of energy. It has been the experience of the developed countries that energy is one issue which results into cost savings with relatively much less efforts/cost in comparison with other resources used in production, development and adoption of energy efficiency equipment and practices in most of production process has been the result of same technique. (author). 1 tab

  12. Development of best estimate auditing code for CANDU thermal hydraulic safety analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, B. D.; Lee, W. J.; Lim, H. S. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-04-15

    The main purpose of this study is to develop a thermal hydraulic auditing code for the CANDU reactor, modifying the model of existing PWR auditing tool, i.e. RELAP5/MOD3. This scope of project is first step of the whole project, thus focus to the establishment of improvement area. The study was performed by reconsideration of the previous code assessment works and investigation of AECL design analysis tools. In order to identify the thermal hydraulic phenomena for events, the whole system of CANDU plant was divided into main functional systems and subcomponents. Each phenomena was addressed to the each subcomponent. FinaIly improvement areas of model development for auditing tool were established based on the identified phenomena.

  13. National Energy Audit (NEAT) Users Manual Version 7

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gettings, M.

    2001-05-10

    Welcome to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) energy auditing tool, called ''NEAT.'' NEAT, an acronym for National Energy Audit Tool, a program for personal computers that was designed for use by local agencies in the Weatherization Assistance Program. It is an approved alternative audit that meets all auditing requirements set forth by the Program. NEAT is easy to use. It applies engineering and economic calculations to evaluate energy conservation measures for single-family, detached houses or small multifamily buildings. You can use it to rank measures for each individual house, or to establish a priority list of conservation measures for nearly identical housing types. NEAT was written for the Weatherization Assistance Program by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Many building energy consumption algorithms are taken from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's Computerized Instrumented Residential Audit (CIRA), published in 1982 for the Department of Energy. Equipment retrofit conservation measures are based on published reports on various heating retrofits. Heating and cooling system replacement conservation measures are based on the energy ratings of new heating and cooling equipment. The Weatherization Program anticipates that this computer-based energy audit will offer substantial performance improvements to many states who choose to incorporate it into their programs. When conservation measures are evaluated locally according to climate, fuel cost, measure cost, and existing house conditions, the Program will be closer to its goal of assuring the maximum return for every federal dollar spent.

  14. Clinical audit training improves undergraduates' performance in root canal therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, J Y M; Tan, V J H; Lee, J R; Tong, Z G M; Foong, Y K; Tan, J M E; Parolia, A; Pau, A

    2017-12-20

    To evaluate the effectiveness of clinical audit-feedback cycle as an educational tool in improving the technical quality of root canal therapy (RCT) and compliance with record keeping performed by dental undergraduates. Clinical audit learning was introduced in Year 3 of a 5-year curriculum for dental undergraduates. During classroom activities, students were briefed on clinical audit, selected their audit topics in groups of 5 or 6 students, and prepared and presented their audit protocols. One chosen topic was RCT, in which 3 different cohorts of Year 3 students conducted retrospective audits of patients' records in 2012, 2014 and 2015 for their compliance with recommended record keeping criteria and their performance in RCT. Students were trained by and calibrated against an endodontist (κ ≥ 0.8). After each audit, the findings were reported in class, and recommendations were made for improvement in performance of RCT and record keeping. Students' compliance with published guidelines was presented and their RCT performances in each year were compared using the chi-square test. Overall compliance with of record keeping guidelines was 44.1% in 2012, 79.6% in 2014 and 94.6% in 2015 (P = .001). In the 2012 audit, acceptable extension, condensation and the absence of mishap were observed in 72.4, 75.7% and 91.5%; in the 2014 audit, 95.1%, 64.8% and 51.4%; and in 2015 audit, 96.4%, 82.1% and 92.8% of cases, respectively. In 2015, 76.8% of root canal fillings met all 3 technical quality criteria when compared to 48.6% in 2014 and 44.7% in 2012 (P = .001). Clinical audit-feedback cycle is an effective educational tool for improving dental undergraduates' compliance with record keeping and performance in the technical quality of RCT. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Internal Audit Service | Internal Audit Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    their internal auditing function in the areas of professional excellence, quality of service and Students and teachers Media Internal Audit Service Navbar Toggle Home About the Staff Risk Assessment and Planning Internal Audit Process Search for Search Home The mission of the Fermilab Internal Audit Service

  16. The West Midlands breast cancer screening status algorithm - methodology and use as an audit tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, Gill; Kearins, Olive; O'Sullivan, Emma; Tappenden, Nancy; Wallis, Matthew; Walton, Jackie

    2005-01-01

    To illustrate the ability of the West Midlands breast screening status algorithm to assign a screening status to women with malignant breast cancer, and its uses as a quality assurance and audit tool. Breast cancers diagnosed between the introduction of the National Health Service [NHS] Breast Screening Programme and 31 March 2001 were obtained from the West Midlands Cancer Intelligence Unit (WMCIU). Screen-detected tumours were identified via breast screening units, and the remaining cancers were assigned to one of eight screening status categories. Multiple primaries and recurrences were excluded. A screening status was assigned to 14,680 women (96% of the cohort examined), 110 cancers were not registered at the WMCIU and the cohort included 120 screen-detected recurrences. The West Midlands breast screening status algorithm is a robust simple tool which can be used to derive data to evaluate the efficacy and impact of the NHS Breast Screening Programme.

  17. Assessing Assessment: In Pursuit of Meaningful Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rootman-le Grange, Ilse; Blackie, Margaret A. L.

    2018-01-01

    The challenge of supporting the development of meaningful learning is prevalent in chemistry education research. One of the core activities used in the learning process is assessments. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how the semantics dimension of Legitimation Code Theory can be a helpful tool to critique the quality of assessments and…

  18. Comprehensive Clinical Audits of Diagnostic Radiology Practices: A Tool for Quality Improvement. Quality Assurance Audit for Diagnostic Radiology Improvement and Learning (QUAADRIL)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    Interest in quality assurance processes and quality improvement in diagnostic radiology is being driven by a number of factors. These include the high cost and complexity of radiological equipment, acknowledgement of the possibility of increasing doses to patients, and the importance of radiological diagnosis to patient management within the health care environment. To acknowledge these interests, clinical audits have been introduced and, in Europe, mandated under a European Directive (Council Directive 97/47/EURATOM). Comprehensive clinical audits focus on clinical management and infrastructure, patient related and technical procedures, and education and research. This publication includes a structured set of standards appropriate for diagnostic radiology, an audit guide to their clinical review, and data collection sheets for the rapid production of reports in audit situations. It will be a useful guide for diagnostic radiology facilities wishing to improve their service to patients through timely diagnosis with minimal radiation dose.

  19. Comprehensive Clinical Audits of Diagnostic Radiology Practices: A Tool for Quality Improvement. Quality Assurance Audit for Diagnostic Radiology Improvement and Learning (QUAADRIL)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    Interest in quality assurance processes and quality improvement in diagnostic radiology is being driven by a number of factors. These include the high cost and complexity of radiological equipment, acknowledgement of the possibility of increasing doses to patients, and the importance of radiological diagnosis to patient management within the health care environment. To acknowledge these interests, clinical audits have been introduced and, in Europe, mandated under a European Directive (Council Directive 97/47/EURATOM). Comprehensive clinical audits focus on clinical management and infrastructure, patient related and technical procedures, and education and research. This publication includes a structured set of standards appropriate for diagnostic radiology, an audit guide to their clinical review, and data collection sheets for the rapid production of reports in audit situations. It will be a useful guide for diagnostic radiology facilities wishing to improve their service to patients through timely diagnosis with minimal radiation dose.

  20. Dutch Lung Surgery Audit: A National Audit Comprising Lung and Thoracic Surgery Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berge, Martijn Ten; Beck, Naomi; Heineman, David Jonathan; Damhuis, Ronald; Steup, Willem Hans; van Huijstee, Pieter Jan; Eerenberg, Jan Peter; Veen, Eelco; Maat, Alexander; Versteegh, Michel; van Brakel, Thomas; Schreurs, Wilhemina Hendrika; Wouters, Michel Wilhelmus

    2018-04-21

    The nationwide Dutch Lung Surgery Audit (DLSA) started in 2012 to monitor and evaluate the quality of lung surgery in the Netherlands as an improvement tool. This outline describes the establishment, structure and organization of the audit by the Dutch Society of Lung Surgeons (NVvL) and the Dutch Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons (NVT), in collaboration with the Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing (DICA). In addition, first four-year results are presented. The NVvL and NVT initiated a web-based registration including weekly updated online feedback for participating hospitals. Data verification by external data managers is performed on regular basis. The audit is incorporated in national quality improvement programs and participation in the DLSA is mandatory by health insurance organizations and the National Healthcare Inspectorate. Between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2015, all hospitals performing lung surgery participated and a total of 19,557 patients were registered from which almost half comprised lung cancer patients. Nationwide the guideline adherence increased over the years and 96.5% of lung cancer patients were discussed in preoperative multidisciplinary teams. Overall postoperative complications and mortality after non-small cell lung cancer surgery were 15.5% and 2.0%, respectively. The audit provides reliable benchmarked information for caregivers and hospital management with potential to start local, regional or national improvement initiatives. Currently, the audit is further completed with data from non-surgical lung cancer patients including treatment data from pulmonary oncologists and radiation oncologists. This will ultimately provide a comprehensive overview of lung cancer treatment in The Netherlands. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  1. Causes and temporal changes in nationally collected stillbirth audit data in high-resource settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Tom; Manktelow, Bradley N; Smith, Lucy K; Draper, Elizabeth S

    2017-06-01

    Few high-income countries have an active national programme of stillbirth audit. From the three national programmes identified (UK, New Zealand, and the Netherlands) steady declines in annual stillbirth rates have been observed over the audit period between 1993 and 2014. Unexplained stillbirth remains the largest group in the classification of stillbirths, with a decline in intrapartum-related stillbirths, which could represent improvements in intrapartum care. All three national audits of stillbirths suggest that up to half of all reviewed stillbirths have elements of care that failed to follow standards and guidance. Variation in the classification of stillbirth, cause of death and frequency of risk factor groups limit our ability to draw meaningful conclusions as to the true scale of the burden and the changing epidemiology of stillbirths in high-income countries. International standardization of these would facilitate direct comparisons between countries. The observed declines in stillbirth rates over the period of perinatal audit, a possible consequence of recommendations for improved antenatal care, should serve to incentivise other countries to implement similar audit programmes. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Audit Risk Assessment in the Light of Current European Regulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciprian-Costel Munteanu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Recent European reforms on audit regulations have been motivated by efforts to increase audit quality, functioning and performance. We believe the adoption of Directive 2014/56 and Regulation 537/2014 strengthened the role of independent audit and risk committees, which will positively contribute towards audit quality. This paper aims to critically assess the status quo of audit risk assessment in current European standards and regulations, by conducting a theoretical analysis of different aspects of audit risk. Our main objective is to stress the importance of detecting inherent and control risk, which lead to material misstatement at the assertion level. They need to be assessed so as to determine the nature, timing and extent of further audit procedures necessary to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence. These pieces of evidence enable the auditor to express an opinion on the financial statements at an acceptably low level of audit risk. Therefore, we point to the fact that researchers as well as practitioners and policymakers have to be careful when using audit tools and assessing risk levels, as their conclusions continuously shape the regulations.

  3. External Audit Green Deal Approach. Final report; Externe Audit Green Deal Aanpak. Eindrapport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Mil, B.P.A.; Gooskens, B.J.F.; Van Schelven, R.M.; Stutje, A.

    2013-10-15

    External audit of the effectiveness of the Green Deals, based on the question how the Green Deal contributes to green growth. The central idea of this new tool is that the Dutch government facilitates initiatives of businesses, societal organisations, local governments and citizens by removing bottlenecks as much as possible [Dutch] Externe audit over (de effectiviteit van) de Green Deal aanpak, op basis van de volgende onderzoeksvraag: 'Hoe draagt de Green Deal aanpak bij aan het bevorderen van groene groei?' De centrale gedachte van dit nieuwe instrument is dat de overheid initiatieven van bedrijven, maatschappelijke organisaties, decentrale overheden en burgers faciliteert door het wegnemen van knelpunten.

  4. Pengaruh Gender dan Pengalaman Audit terhadap Audit Judgment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erna Pasanda

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to examine the influence of gender and audit experience toward audit judgment and to examine gender and audit experience towards audit judgment when moderated by client credibility. The research was conducted on auditors who worked on KAP in Makassar South Sulawesi using survey. Sampling technique in this study was random sampling based on judgment. Data collected and then analyzed by employing regression method and Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA. The result indicates that gender does not significantly influence audit judgment while audit experience significantly influences audit judgment. Client credibility does not moderate the influence of gender and audit experience on the audit judgment.

  5. Beyond meaningful use: getting meaningful value from IT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortin, Jason; Zywiak, Walt

    2010-02-01

    The HITECH provisions of ARRA include financial incentives for providers to demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology. However, to maximize the value of IT under new payment models, provider organizations will need to go beyond meaningful use criteria in three key areas: Delivering high-quality care. Ensuring coordinated care. Integrating financial systems.

  6. Energy Audit as a Tool for Improving System Efficiency in Industrial Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Gopi Srinath,; N. Uday Kumar

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents the characteristics of energy consumption in industrial sector, the methodology and results of energy audits (EA) performed in industrial sites and potentials for energy efficiency (EE) improvements. The present state of industrial energy in India could be characterized by significant technological out-of–date, low energy efficiency and low level of environmental protection. Presented analysis of the results of conducted energy audits in selected industrial...

  7. The Meaningful Activity Participation Assessment: A Measure of Engagement in Personally Valued Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eakman, Aaron M.; Carlson, Mike E.; Clark, Florence A.

    2010-01-01

    The Meaningful Activity Participation Assessment (MAPA), a recently developed 28-item tool designed to measure the meaningfulness of activity, was tested in a sample of 154 older adults. The MAPA evidenced a sufficient level of internal consistency and test-retest reliability and correlated as theoretically predicted with the Life Satisfaction…

  8. Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis risk assessment in a general surgery cohort: a closed-loop audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGoldrick, D M; Redmond, H P

    2017-08-01

    Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a potential source of morbidity and mortality in surgical in-patients. A number of guidelines exist that advise on prophylactic measures. We aimed to assess VTE prophylaxis prescribing practices and compliance with a kardex-based risk assessment tool in a general surgery population. Data on general surgery in-patients were collected on two separate wards on two separate days. Drug kardexes were assessed for VTE prophylaxis measures and use of the risk assessment tool. NICE and SIGN guidelines were adopted as a gold standard. The audit results and information on the risk assessment tool were presented as an educational intervention at two separate departmental teaching sessions. A re-audit was completed after 3 months. In Audit A, 74 patients were assessed. 70% were emergency admissions. The risk assessment tool was completed in 2.7%. 75 and 97% of patients were correctly prescribed anti-embolic stockings (AES) and low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH), respectively. 30 patients were included in Audit B, 56% of whom were emergency admissions. 66% had a risk assessment performed, a statistically significant improvement (p audit and intervention.

  9. Aktivitas Komite Audit, Kepemilikan Institusional dan Biaya Audit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Kusumaning Wedari

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the influence of the audit committee activities and institutional ownership to the audit fees in Indonesia public companies. The research samples are manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2010 – 2013. There are 124 observations that meet the sample criteria, data are analyzed using Eviews 6.0. The results show that the audit committee activities which measured by the number of audit committee meetings have significant positive effect on the audit fees. Meanwhile, institutional ownership, diffused and blockholders institutional ownership do not significantly affect to the audit fees. However some of the control variables such as the number of wholly-owned subsidiaries, subsidiaries abroad, and audit quality have significant positive effect on audit fees, whereas leverage, loss and audit opinion have no significant effect on the audit fee.

  10. Adaptation of the QUANUM platform for internal audits in Nuclear Medicine in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paula, V.M.; Andrade, E.R. de; Sá, L.V. de

    2017-01-01

    Audit is an ongoing review of all processes involving a particular service to ensure that each process is developed systematically and in accordance with specific regulations. The IAEA developed an internal audit process named QUANUM - Quality Management Audits in Nuclear Medicine and available in their website. This tool offers support to management quality audits, assisting teams in the evaluation of quality management system. QUANUM tool was developed based on the European Community guidelines and international recommendations. In order to be better applied in a country, national regulations should be followed not to generate non-conformities. Based on the current legal framework a review was performed under light of the normative items from national regulators which should be in compliance with the international recommendations. Also, national requirements not addressed by international recommendations were considered. Therefore, a single model was designed to meet both requirements, national and international standards and regulations. An Internal Audit model was elaborated helping to quantify risk levels concerned to the process as a whole demonstrating that national regulations meet 0,63 % of the international QUANUM requirements This tool systematizes and improves the quality management policy and, at last, be able to attend the Regulatory Audit, minimizing non-conformities. (author)

  11. Adaptation of the QUANUM platform for internal audits in Nuclear Medicine in Brazil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paula, V.M.; Andrade, E.R. de, E-mail: vitor_moura06@hotmail.com [Instituto Militar de Engenharia (IME), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Sá, L.V. de, E-mail: lidia@ird.gov.br, E-mail: fisica.dna@gmail.com [Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria (IRD/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2017-07-01

    Audit is an ongoing review of all processes involving a particular service to ensure that each process is developed systematically and in accordance with specific regulations. The IAEA developed an internal audit process named QUANUM - Quality Management Audits in Nuclear Medicine and available in their website. This tool offers support to management quality audits, assisting teams in the evaluation of quality management system. QUANUM tool was developed based on the European Community guidelines and international recommendations. In order to be better applied in a country, national regulations should be followed not to generate non-conformities. Based on the current legal framework a review was performed under light of the normative items from national regulators which should be in compliance with the international recommendations. Also, national requirements not addressed by international recommendations were considered. Therefore, a single model was designed to meet both requirements, national and international standards and regulations. An Internal Audit model was elaborated helping to quantify risk levels concerned to the process as a whole demonstrating that national regulations meet 0,63 % of the international QUANUM requirements This tool systematizes and improves the quality management policy and, at last, be able to attend the Regulatory Audit, minimizing non-conformities. (author)

  12. THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL AUDIT IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NĂSTASIE MIHAELA – ANDREEA

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available General research area of this article is the impacts of social audit in human resources management, in full compliance with the identification of social risks that may threaten the proper functioning of the economic entity. An essential tool used in human resource management is social audit, which provides a balance between the economic entity's financial results and its social results. Social audit is at the same time, an instrument of leadership and management interference in internal audit and financial audit and pursues an economic entity management capacity on the part of human problems and on the other hand the social problems generated by a continuously changing environment. This article is part of a broader research and through it we tried to address a topical issue, ie the impact of social audit and its consequences on economic and financial development level of economic entities.

  13. Performance improvement through management audits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arter, D.R.

    1986-01-01

    We should go back to the basics of what a quality assurance program is designed to accomplish and then use that program to provide confidence to the public that actions are correct. The quality assurance management audit, if done responsible with trained people, is the best tool we have to monitor the goal of conducting business safely and correctly. Audit report should be used to project future performance and should not be used as a forum for recommendations. They should be presented in such a manner as to allow the managers involved to continually improve the work activity

  14. Nationwide prospective audit of pancreatic surgery: design, accuracy, and outcomes of the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Rijssen, L Bengt; Koerkamp, Bas G; Zwart, Maurice J; Bonsing, Bert A; Bosscha, Koop; van Dam, Ronald M; van Eijck, Casper H; Gerhards, Michael F; van der Harst, Erwin; de Hingh, Ignace H; de Jong, Koert P; Kazemier, Geert; Klaase, Joost; van Laarhoven, Cornelis J; Molenaar, I Quintus; Patijn, Gijs A; Rupert, Coen G; van Santvoort, Hjalmar C; Scheepers, Joris J; van der Schelling, George P; Busch, Olivier R; Besselink, Marc G

    2017-10-01

    Auditing is an important tool to identify practice variation and 'best practices'. The Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Audit is mandatory in all 18 Dutch centers for pancreatic surgery. Performance indicators and case-mix factors were identified by a PubMed search for randomized controlled trials (RCT's) and large series in pancreatic surgery. In addition, data dictionaries of two national audits, three institutional databases, and the Dutch national cancer registry were evaluated. Morbidity, mortality, and length of stay were analyzed of all pancreatic resections registered during the first two audit years. Case ascertainment was cross-checked with the Dutch healthcare inspectorate and key-variables validated in all centers. Sixteen RCT's and three large series were found. Sixteen indicators and 20 case-mix factors were included in the audit. During 2014-2015, 1785 pancreatic resections were registered including 1345 pancreatoduodenectomies. Overall in-hospital mortality was 3.6%. Following pancreatoduodenectomy, mortality was 4.1%, Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ III morbidity was 29.9%, median (IQR) length of stay 12 (9-18) days, and readmission rate 16.0%. In total 97.2% of >40,000 variables validated were consistent with the medical charts. The Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Audit, with high quality data, reports good outcomes of pancreatic surgery on a national level. Copyright © 2017 International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Audit

    OpenAIRE

    1991-01-01

    Audit has long been a feature of good general practice. The literature is full of examples of audit by general practitioners and this Occasional Paper quotes many examples of audit which have produced valuable results. This chapter gives some advice to doctors wishing to audit their prescribing.

  16. Development of best estimate auditing code for CANDU thermal-hydraulic safety analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, Bub Dong; Lee, Won Jae; Hwang, Moon Kyu; Lim, Hong Sik [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejeon (Korea)

    2002-04-01

    The main purpose of this study is to develop a thermal hydraulic auditing code for the CANDU reactor, modifying the model of existing PWR auditing tool, i.e. RELAP5/MOD3.The study was performed by reconsideration of the previous code assessment works and phenomena identification for essential accident scenario. Improvement areas of model development for auditing tool were identified based on the code comparison and PIRT results. Nine models have been improved significantly for the analysis of LOCA and Mon LOCA event. Conceptual problem or separate effect assessment have been performed to verify the model improvement. The linking calculation with CONTAIN 2.0 has been also enabled to establish the unified auditing code system. Analysis for the CANDU plant real transient and hypothetical LOCA bas been performed using the improved version. It has been concluded that the developed version can be utilized for the auditing analysis of LOCA and non-LOCA event for the CANDU reactor. 25 refs., 84 figs., 36 tabs. (Author)

  17. An audit of diagnostic tests performed in medical microbiology, and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Clinical audit is an important tool for reviewing and improving the quality of service in clinical laboratories. This is a three year audit of diagnostic test carried out in Medical Microbiology and Immunology laboratories of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria. The objectives were to document and ...

  18. Improving energy audit process and report outcomes through planning initiatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sprau Coulter, Tabitha L.

    Energy audits and energy models are an important aspect of the retrofit design process, as they provide project teams with an opportunity to evaluate a facilities current building systems' and energy performance. The information collected during an energy audit is typically used to develop an energy model and an energy audit report that are both used to assist in making decisions about the design and implementation of energy conservation measures in a facility. The current lack of energy auditing standards results in a high degree of variability in energy audit outcomes depending on the individual performing the audit. The research presented is based on the conviction that performing an energy audit and producing a value adding energy model for retrofit buildings can benefit from a revised approach. The research was divided into four phases, with the initial three phases consisting of: 1.) process mapping activity - aimed at reducing variability in the energy auditing and energy modeling process. 2.) survey analysis -- To examine the misalignment between how industry members use the top energy modeling tools compared to their intended use as defined by software representatives. 3.) sensitivity analysis -- analysis of the affect key energy modeling inputs are having on energy modeling analysis results. The initial three phases helped define the need for an improved energy audit approach that better aligns data collection with facility owners' needs and priorities. The initial three phases also assisted in the development of a multi-criteria decision support tool that incorporates a House of Quality approach to guide a pre-audit planning activity. For the fourth and final research phase explored the impacts and evaluation methods of a pre-audit planning activity using two comparative energy audits as case studies. In each case, an energy audit professionals was asked to complete an audit using their traditional methods along with an audit which involved them first

  19. National Energy Audit (NEAT) Users Manual Version 7; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gettings, M.

    2001-01-01

    Welcome to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) energy auditing tool, called ''NEAT.'' NEAT, an acronym for National Energy Audit Tool, a program for personal computers that was designed for use by local agencies in the Weatherization Assistance Program. It is an approved alternative audit that meets all auditing requirements set forth by the Program. NEAT is easy to use. It applies engineering and economic calculations to evaluate energy conservation measures for single-family, detached houses or small multifamily buildings. You can use it to rank measures for each individual house, or to establish a priority list of conservation measures for nearly identical housing types. NEAT was written for the Weatherization Assistance Program by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Many building energy consumption algorithms are taken from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's Computerized Instrumented Residential Audit (CIRA), published in 1982 for the Department of Energy. Equipment retrofit conservation measures are based on published reports on various heating retrofits. Heating and cooling system replacement conservation measures are based on the energy ratings of new heating and cooling equipment. The Weatherization Program anticipates that this computer-based energy audit will offer substantial performance improvements to many states who choose to incorporate it into their programs. When conservation measures are evaluated locally according to climate, fuel cost, measure cost, and existing house conditions, the Program will be closer to its goal of assuring the maximum return for every federal dollar spent

  20. Instrumentation Audit: Responsibility Crisis and a Challenge to Organization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norpaiza Mohd Hasan; Siti Radiah Mohd Kamarudin; Hairul Nizam Idris; Zaharuddin Ahmad

    2011-01-01

    Scientific equipment today is one of the things that is very important in modern research and development. Research agencies usually have a lot of sophisticated scientific equipment and expensive, Nuclear Malaysia is one the example. When an organization has a lot of expensive equipment, so sometimes there are things that are overlooked that contribute to the damage of the equipment or the use of minimal equipment compared to the price. The audit committee was established to examine the equipment. This auditing purposely is to know the current status of condition, use and frequency of use of scientific equipment in Nuclear Malaysia. Committee is composed of a number of research officers and senior technical assistant. Committee is divided into 8 teams audit consists of 2 officers and a technician for each. Audit just only done on equipment purchased through quotations or tenders (for example more than RM50,000 ). Audit process performed from July 2010 to May 2011. A total of 62 scientific instruments were successfully audited. Results showed that 1.6 % damaged tools full 6.5 % while the device is being repaired by 90.3 % well-functioning tool. Most of the scientific equipment are damaged due to the turmoil that is the responsibility of lack of regular maintenance. Awareness of the importance of regular maintenance and use of log books among officials responsible still at low. Willingness to change from different attitude to be more responsible for the scientific equipment poses a challenge to the organization. (author)

  1. Aspects of audit. 4: Acceptability of audit.

    OpenAIRE

    Shaw, C D

    1980-01-01

    Whether or not audit is accepted in Britain will be determined principally by how it is controlled, how much it costs, and how effective it is. The objectives of audit have been defined as education, planning, evaluation, research, and anticipatory diplomacy--that is, starting internal audit before external audit is imposed on the medical profession. Published reports suggest that in Britain internal audit would be more effective andless expensive than the complex professional standards revie...

  2. Measurement of communication satisfaction. Evaluating the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire as a communication audit tool

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koning, K.H.; de Jong, Menno D.T.

    2007-01-01

    Despite the number of publications about auditing organizational communication, scholars have paid little attention to the reliability and validity of individual audit techniques. This study examines the merits and restrictions of the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) by comparing CSQ

  3. Audit of Completion of Radiology Request Form in a Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Clinical audit is one approach to improve the quality of patient care, completion of request form inclusive. Radiology request forms are essential communication tools between the clinician and the radiologist. The aim of this study is to audit the adequacy of completion of X-ray request forms. Methodology: A ...

  4. Predictive Utility of Brief AUDIT for HIV Antiretroviral Medication Nonadherence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broyles, Lauren Matukaitis; Gordon, Adam J.; Sereika, Susan M.; Ryan, Christopher M.; Erlen, Judith A.

    2012-01-01

    Alcohol use negatively affects adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), thus HIV/AIDS providers need accurate, efficient assessments of alcohol use. Using existing data from an efficacy trial of two cognitive-behavioral ART adherence interventions, we sought to determine if results on two common alcohol screening tests (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Consumption (AUDIT-C) and its binge-related question (AUDIT-3)) predict ART nonadherence. Twenty seven percent of the sample (n=308) were positive on the AUDIT-C and 34% were positive on the AUDIT-3. In multivariate analyses, AUDIT-C positive status predicted ART nonadherence after controlling for race, age, conscientiousness, and self-efficacy (p=.036). While AUDIT-3 positive status was associated with ART nonadherence in unadjusted analyses, this relationship was not maintained in the final multivariate model. The AUDIT-C shows potential as an indirect screening tool for both at-risk drinking and ART nonadherence, underscoring the relationship between alcohol and chronic disease management. PMID:22014256

  5. Optimising measurement of health-related characteristics of the built environment: Comparing data collected by foot-based street audits, virtual street audits and routine secondary data sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pliakas, Triantafyllos; Hawkesworth, Sophie; Silverwood, Richard J; Nanchahal, Kiran; Grundy, Chris; Armstrong, Ben; Casas, Juan Pablo; Morris, Richard W; Wilkinson, Paul; Lock, Karen

    2017-01-01

    The role of the neighbourhood environment in influencing health behaviours continues to be an important topic in public health research and policy. Foot-based street audits, virtual street audits and secondary data sources are widespread data collection methods used to objectively measure the built environment in environment-health association studies. We compared these three methods using data collected in a nationally representative epidemiological study in 17 British towns to inform future development of research tools. There was good agreement between foot-based and virtual audit tools. Foot based audits were superior for fine detail features. Secondary data sources measured very different aspects of the local environment that could be used to derive a range of environmental measures if validated properly. Future built environment research should design studies a priori using multiple approaches and varied data sources in order to best capture features that operate on different health behaviours at varying spatial scales. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Modeling Meaningful Learning in Chemistry Using Structural Equation Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandriet, Alexandra R.; Ward, Rose Marie; Bretz, Stacey Lowery

    2013-01-01

    Ausubel and Novak's construct of "meaningful learning" stipulates that substantive connections between new knowledge and what is already known requires the integration of thinking, feeling, and performance (Novak J. D., (2010), "Learning, creating, and using knowledge: concept maps as facilitative tools in schools and…

  7. Exploring audit assistants decision to leave the audit profession

    OpenAIRE

    Gertsson, Nellie; Sylvander, Johanna; Broberg, Pernilla; Friberg, Josefine

    2017-01-01

    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore why audit assistants leave the audit profession. By including both the perceptions held by audit assistants that left the audit profession and the perceptions of audit assistants still working in the audit profession, this study aims to explore how determinants of job satisfaction are associated with decisions to leave the audit profession. Design/methodology/approach - To explore the association between determinants of job satisfaction and de...

  8. The Impact of Professional Accounting Ethics in Quality Assurance in Audit

    OpenAIRE

    Azubike Onuora Oraka; T.O. Okegbe

    2015-01-01

    This study assesses the impact of professional accounting ethics in quality assurance in audit. Data for the study were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The data collected were analyzed with means score and standard deviation and the three formulated hypotheses were tested with z-test statistical tool. Based on the analysis, the study found among others that quality assurance in audit has enhanced investors’ confidence in the reliability of audited accounts and Professional ...

  9. Conceptual model for online auditing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Hee, van K.M.; Werf, van der J.M.E.M.; Kumar, Akhil; Verdonk, M.C.

    2011-01-01

    The independent verification of the right applications of business rules in an information system is a task for auditors. The increasing complexity of information systems, and the high risks associated with violations of business rules, have created the need for on line auditing tools. In this paper

  10. Concept maps and the meaningful learning of science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Antonio C. S. Valadares

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The foundations of the Meaningful Learning Theory (MLT were laid by David Ausubel. The MLT was highly valued by the contributions of Joseph Novak and D. B. Gowin. Unlike other learning theories, the MLT has an operational component, since there are some instruments based on it and with the meaningful learning facilitation as aim. These tools were designated graphic organizers by John Trowbridge and James Wandersee (2000, pp. 100-129. One of them is the concept map created by Novak to extract meanings from an amalgam of information, having currently many applications. The other one is the Vee diagram or knowledge Vee, also called epistemological Vee or heuristic Vee. It was created by Gowin, and is an excellent organizer, for example to unpack and make transparent the unclear information from an information source. Both instruments help us in processing and becoming conceptually transparent the information, to facilitate the cognitive process of new meanings construction. In this work, after a brief introduction, it will be developed the epistemological and psychological grounds of MLT, followed by a reference to constructivist learning environments facilitators of the meaningful learning, the characterization of concept maps and exemplification of its use in various applications that have proved to be very effective from the standpoint of meaningful learning.

  11. Peer chart audits: A tool to meet Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME competency in practice-based learning and improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patel Sangnya

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME supports chart audit as a method to track competency in Practice-Based Learning and Improvement. We examined whether peer chart audits performed by internal medicine residents were associated with improved documentation of foot care in patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods A retrospective electronic chart review was performed on 347 patients with diabetes mellitus cared for by internal medicine residents in a university-based continuity clinic from May 2003 to September 2004. Residents abstracted information pertaining to documentation of foot examinations (neurological, vascular, and skin from the charts of patients followed by their physician peers. No formal feedback or education was provided. Results Significant improvement in the documentation of foot exams was observed over the course of the study. The percentage of patients receiving neurological, vascular, and skin exams increased by 20% (from 13% to 33% (p = 0.001, 26% (from 45% to 71% (p Conclusion Peer chart audits performed by residents in the absence of formal feedback were associated with improved documentation of the foot exam in patients with diabetes mellitus. Although this study suggests that peer chart audits may be an effective tool to improve practice-based learning and documentation of foot care in diabetic patients, evaluating the actual performance of clinical care was beyond the scope of this study and would be better addressed by a randomized controlled trial.

  12. THE MEANINGFUL ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION ASSESSMENT: A MEASURE OF ENGAGEMENT IN PERSONALLY VALUED ACTIVITIES*

    Science.gov (United States)

    EAKMAN, AARON M.; CARLSON, MIKE E.; CLARK, FLORENCE A.

    2011-01-01

    The Meaningful Activity Participation Assessment (MAPA), a recently developed 28-item tool designed to measure the meaningfulness of activity, was tested in a sample of 154 older adults. The MAPA evidenced a sufficient level of internal consistency and test-retest reliability and correlated as theoretically predicted with the Life Satisfaction Index-Z, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey, the Purpose in Life Test, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Inventory and the Rand SF-36v2 Health Survey subscales. Zero-order correlations consistently demonstrated meaningful relationships between the MAPA and scales of psychosocial well-being and health-related quality of life. Results from multiple regression analyses further substantiated these findings, as greater meaningful activity participation was associated with better psychological well-being and health-related quality of life. The MAPA appears to be a reliable and valid measure of meaningful activity, incorporating both subjective and objective indicators of activity engagement. PMID:20649161

  13. Continuous Fraud Detection in Enterprise Systems through Audit Trail Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J. Best

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Enterprise systems, real time recording and real time reporting pose new and significant challenges to the accounting and auditing professions. This includes developing methods and tools for continuous assurance and fraud detection. In this paper we propose a methodology for continuous fraud detection that exploits security audit logs, changes in master records and accounting audit trails in enterprise systems. The steps in this process are: (1 threat monitoring-surveillance of security audit logs for ‘red flags’, (2 automated extraction and analysis of data from audit trails, and (3 using forensic investigation techniques to determine whether a fraud has actually occurred. We demonstrate how mySAP, an enterprise system, can be used for audit trail analysis in detecting financial frauds; afterwards we use a case study of a suspected fraud to illustrate how to implement the methodology.

  14. Developing a framework for audit quality management in audit firms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darius Vaicekauskas, Jonas Mackevičius

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Over the last few decades audit quality has been investigated by many scholars, although it still hasn’t been properly conceptualized and lacks one common definition. This may be explained by the constant shifting of audit theory and practice, and the complexity of the audit service. The objective of the paper is to investigate the existing definitions of audit quality, identify its main elements and provide a framework for audit quality management in audit firms. The main contribution of the paper is a developed framework for audit quality management, covering both main stakeholders of auditing triangular relationships: third-party users, as well as audit clients. Due to a slump in audit prices, complex competition and a high degree of homogeneity, the authors of the paper focus not only on external users’ perceptions, as the existing large body of literature does, but also stress audit clients’ need for satisfaction in the comprehensive framework. The framework covers various audit firms and audit engagement team factors affecting audit quality and leading to quality audit outputs: an accurate and reliable auditor report and a value adding management letter. Based on the framework presented, recommendations for future audit quality research are provided

  15. [Audit as a tool to assess and promote the quality of medical records and hospital appropriateness: metodology and preliminary results].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poscia, Andrea; Cambieri, Andrea; Tucceri, Chiara; Ricciardi, Walter; Volpe, Massimo

    2015-01-01

    In the actual economic context, with increasing health needs, efficiency and efficacy represents fundamental keyword to ensure a successful use of the resources and the best health outcomes. Together, the medical record, completely and correctly compiled, is an essential tool in the patient diagnostic and therapeutic path, but it's becoming more and more essential for the administrative reporting and legal claims. Nevertheless, even if the improvement of medical records quality and of hospital stay appropriateness represent priorities for every health organization, they could be difficult to realize. This study aims to present the methodology and the preliminary results of a training and improvement process: it was carried out from the Hospital Management of a third level Italian teaching hospital through audit cycles to actively involve their health professionals. A self assessment process of medical records quality and hospital stay appropriateness (inpatients admission and Day Hospital) was conducted through a retrospective evaluation of medical records. It started in 2012 and a random sample of 2295 medical records was examined: the quality assessment was performed using a 48-item evaluation grid modified from the Lombardy Region manual of the medical record, while the appropriateness of each days was assessed using the Italian version of Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) - 2002ed. The overall assessment was presented through departmental audit: the audit were designed according to the indication given by the Italian and English Ministry of Health to share the methodology and the results with all the involved professionals (doctors and nurses) and to implement improvement strategies that are synthesized in this paper. Results from quality and appropriateness assessment show several deficiencies, due to 40% of minimum level of acceptability not completely satisfied and to 30% of inappropriateness between days of hospitalization. Furthermore, there are

  16. Social networking for language learners: Creating meaningful output with Web 2.0 tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Chartrand

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The Internet has the potential to provide language learners with vast resources of authentic written, audio, and video materials to supplement lessons. Educators can find a wide assortment of materials for learners to study in class or after class for independent learning and to encourage learner autonomy. More recently, however, the immense popularity of social networking websites has created new opportunities for language learners to interact in authentic ways that were previously difficult to achieve. Advances in technology mean that today, learners of a language can easily interact with their peers in meaningful practice that helps foster language acquisition and motivation. That is, tasks that make use of Web 2.0 interactivity can significantly raise students’ potential to generate meaningful output and stimulate their interest in language learning.

  17. A template for a clinico-pathological audit of medical liver biopsies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colling, Richard; Fryer, Eve; Cobbold, Jeremy; Collier, Jane; Collantes, Elena; Wang, Lai Mun; Hubscher, Stefan; Wyatt, Judith; Fleming, Kenneth

    2015-11-01

    With changing indications for performing medical liver biopsies, we aimed to develop a tool to allow pathologists to evaluate the current usefulness, value and impact of their medical liver biopsy service. We designed and piloted a questionnaire-based clinico-pathological audit for medical liver biopsies. The audit tool was simple to implement and provided useful information about our service. Hepatologists felt that 96% of reports were clinically useful. 56% of biopsies confirmed clinical diagnoses, 46% helped differentiate between diagnoses and 42% were able to exclude possible diagnoses. 74% resulted in a change of management and 27% of liver biopsies resulted in a diagnosis which was not clinically suspected. We demonstrate the usefulness of an audit tool in providing evidence of the value of the liver pathology service in a large UK regional centre. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  18. Pedagogical Principles of Learning to Teach Meaningful Physical Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ní Chróinín, Déirdre; Fletcher, Tim; O'Sullivan, Mary

    2018-01-01

    Background: Concerns that current forms of physical education teacher education (PETE) are not adequately providing teachers with the tools necessary for working with the realities and challenges of teaching physical education in contemporary schools has led some scholars to advocate for an approach that prioritises meaningfulness in physical…

  19. CONTINUOUS AUDITING: THE USA EXPERIENCE AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN BRAZIL

    OpenAIRE

    Miklos Vasarhelyi; Fernando Tostes; Michael Alles; Edson Luiz Riccio

    2006-01-01

    Continuous Auditing, broadly defined as the transformation of internal and external auditing through the application of modern information technology, is being increasingly adopted by firms throughout the world. Organizations ranging from Siemens, HCA, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, BIPOP Bank and the Internal Revenue Service are developing tools and practices that will bring assurance closer to the transaction and reduce through automation, the cost of auditing. A June 2006 Pricewaterhou...

  20. Using a communication audit to improve communication on clinical placement in pre-registration nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogard, Elaine; Ellis, Roger; Ellis, Jackie; Barker, Chris

    2005-02-01

    This article describes a novel communication audit conducted with those concerned with the practice placements of pre-registration Nursing students. The study, uniquely, addressed all who were involved in communication concerning placement in what is described as an organisational analysis. The aim of the audit was to identify levels of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with present communication processes and to identify points for improvement. The audit used the Hogard-Barker Communication Audit of Practice a customized version of a well established tool, devised to cover issues relevant to practice placements. A key feature of the tool is the opportunity for participants to identify the amount of communication they are receiving on particular topics and issues against the amount they would like to receive. Participants in the audit included students, assessor mentors, ward managers, clinical facilitators and link tutors. Overall there was considerable dissatisfaction with what was perceived to be the insufficient amount of communication received on a number of topics including allocations, the curriculum, students' learning outcomes and commitments in terms of college work. In addition to identifying points for improvement the audit provides a baseline against which progress can be assessed through a future audit.

  1. Auditing the Auditors: Has the Establishment of the Audit Oversight Board Affected Audit Quality?

    OpenAIRE

    Ismail, Hashanah; Theng, Ung Chui

    2015-01-01

    This paper reports on the results of a research into the relationship between audit quality during the years before and after the incorporation of the Audit Oversight Board (AOB) in Malaysia in 2010. As the AOB only audits auditors of listed companies this study is based on 50 companies’ audited financial statements 2 years before and after AOB was established. A total of 200 firm years were observed. Using reported companies’ earnings to proxy for earnings and audit quality the data collecte...

  2. Laboratory-based clinical audit as a tool for continual improvement: an example from CSF chemistry turnaround time audit in a South-African teaching hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imoh, Lucius C; Mutale, Mubanga; Parker, Christopher T; Erasmus, Rajiv T; Zemlin, Annalise E

    2016-01-01

    Timeliness of laboratory results is crucial to patient care and outcome. Monitoring turnaround times (TAT), especially for emergency tests, is important to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of laboratory services. Laboratory-based clinical audits reveal opportunities for improving quality. Our aim was to identify the most critical steps causing a high TAT for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) chemistry analysis in our laboratory. A 6-month retrospective audit was performed. The duration of each operational phase across the laboratory work flow was examined. A process-mapping audit trail of 60 randomly selected requests with a high TAT was conducted and reasons for high TAT were tested for significance. A total of 1505 CSF chemistry requests were analysed. Transport of samples to the laboratory was primarily responsible for the high average TAT (median TAT = 170 minutes). Labelling accounted for most delays within the laboratory (median TAT = 71 minutes) with most delays occurring after regular work hours (P audit identified sample transportation, work shift periods and use of inappropriate CSF sample tubes as drivers of high TAT for CSF chemistry in our laboratory. The results of this audit will be used to change pre-analytical practices in our laboratory with the aim of improving TAT and customer satisfaction.

  3. Clinical audit: Development of the criteria of good practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soimakallio, S.; Alanen, A.; Jaervinen, H.; Ahonen, A.; Ceder, K.; Lyyra-Laitinen, T.; Paunio, M.; Sinervo, T.; Wigren, T.

    2011-01-01

    Clinical audit is a systematic review of the procedures in order to improve the quality and the outcome of patient care, whereby the procedures are examined against agreed standards for good medical Radiological procedures. The criteria of good procedures (i.e. the good practice) are thus the cornerstones for development of clinical audits: these should be the basis of assessments regardless of the type of the audit-external, internal, comprehensive or partial. A lot of criteria for good practices are available through the recommendations and publications by international and national professional societies and other relevant organisations. For practical use in clinical audits, the criteria need to be compiled, sorted out and agreed on for the particular aims of an audit (comprehensive or partial, external or internal). The national professional and scientific societies can provide valuable contribution to this development. For examination-or treatment-specific criteria- preliminary consensus needs to be obtained with the help of clinical experts, while clinical audits can be useful as a benchmarking tool to improve the criteria. (authors)

  4. THE ROLE AND THE PLACE OF MARKETING AUDIT IN THE MARKETING STRATEGIC PLANNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iuliana CETINĂ

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available During the strategic planning activity process, a very important step is to conduct internal and external audit. Marketing audit is not an isolated process within the organization; it is a component of the management audit assessing the impact of environmental factors on all activities of the organization. Marketing Audit is considered by many authors only an analysis of internal and external environment of the organization. In the development and substantiation of marketing strategy, marketing audit is set in the strategic marketing planning, which shows that it is an assessment tool and control and, at the same time, a way of the strategy implementation. The audit marketing is therefore part of the organization's strategic marketing plan.

  5. ENERGY AUDIT ANALYSIS BY BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE APPLICATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfa Firdaus

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Energy audit is one of the first tasks to be performed in the accomplishment of an effective energy cost control program. To obtain the best information for a successful energy audit, the auditor must make some measurements during the audit visit. One of the tools that primarily used in audit visit is the portable Power Quality Analyzers (PQA for measuring single to three-phase lines with a high degree of precision and accuracy. It is utilized for monitoring and recording power supply anomalies. For most survey applications, changing currents makes it mandatory for data to be compiled over a period of time with enormous amount of electricity data. Hence, this paper proposed a Business Intelligence approach that can facilitate the auditor to quickly analyze the PQA data. There are five Key Performance Indicators (KPI to be displayed for analyze in form of dashboard. The method that uses to construct the dashboard is classification and association rules with the help of orange dataminer tools. Classification method is utilized to display the data distributions by frequency on a bar chart. Once we got the frequent sets, they allow us to extract association rules among the item sets, where we make some statement about how likely are two sets of items to co-occur or to conditionally occur. The result of this paper is a dashboard of five scorecards, namely unbalanced voltage, unbalanced currents, voltage harmonic, currents harmonic, and power factor. 

  6. Are joint audits a proper instrument for increased audit quality?

    OpenAIRE

    Velte, Patrick; Azibi, Jamel

    2015-01-01

    Joint audits are recently controversial discussed to increase audit quality and decrease Audit market concentration in Europe, complementing the existing and future rotation rules by the 8th EC directive. First, this article presents a theoretical foundation of joint audits. In this context, the main influences on low balling are presented. The link between joint audits and audit quality is stillcontroversial. Then, the main results of empirical research on joint audit are focused. A clear po...

  7. Development and implementation of a remote audit tool for high dose rate (HDR) Ir-192 brachytherapy using optically stimulated luminescence dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casey, Kevin E.; Kry, Stephen F.; Howell, Rebecca M.; Followill, David; Alvarez, Paola; Lawyer, Ann

    2013-01-01

    formal RPC audit program. Trial audits of four Nucletron sources and four Varian sources revealed an average RPC-to-institution dose ratio of 1.000 (standard deviation = 0.011).Conclusions: The authors have created an OSLD-based 192 Ir HDR brachytherapy source remote audit tool which offers sufficient dose measurement accuracy to allow the RPC to establish a remote audit program with a ±5% acceptance criterion. The feasibility of the system has been demonstrated with eight trial audits to date

  8. Development and implementation of a remote audit tool for high dose rate (HDR) Ir-192 brachytherapy using optically stimulated luminescence dosimetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Casey, Kevin E.; Kry, Stephen F.; Howell, Rebecca M.; Followill, David [Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 and The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Alvarez, Paola; Lawyer, Ann [Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States)

    2013-11-15

    criterion for source strength audits under a formal RPC audit program. Trial audits of four Nucletron sources and four Varian sources revealed an average RPC-to-institution dose ratio of 1.000 (standard deviation = 0.011).Conclusions: The authors have created an OSLD-based {sup 192}Ir HDR brachytherapy source remote audit tool which offers sufficient dose measurement accuracy to allow the RPC to establish a remote audit program with a ±5% acceptance criterion. The feasibility of the system has been demonstrated with eight trial audits to date.

  9. Sharing the results of a patient satisfaction audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Kim; Watkins, Rebecca; Newman, Sue; Pullen, Judy; Osborne, Debbie; Milton, Samantha; Davies, Tara

    2018-03-08

    Regular service audits since 2008 gave a stoma care department confidence in the service it provides. In 2016 the department undertook a new audit to benchmark its services, using the Association of Stoma Care Nurses (ASCN) UK Revised Stoma Care Nursing Standards and Audit Tool (2015) . Of the 60 questionnaires given out, 43 were returned (71%). The results highlighted areas of good practice with positive patient feedback. However, it also identified that the team needed to improve documentation when offering patients the opportunity to meet a former patient with a stoma preoperatively and when discussing lifestyle issues. The results demonstrated poor preoperative compliance; this was lower than expected and did not concur with department statistics. The audit highlights the importance of clarity when developing a questionnaire to ensure all respondents not only interpret its meaning in the same way, but also only answer the questions specific to them.

  10.  Developing a framework for audit quality management in audit firms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darius Vaicekauskas

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available  Over the last few decades audit quality has been investigated by many scholars, although it still hasn’t been properly conceptualized and lacks one common definition. This may be explained by the constant shifting of audit theory and practice, and the complexity of the audit service. The objective of the paper is to investigate the existing definitions of audit quality, identify its main elements and provide a framework for audit quality management in audit firms. The main contribution of the paper is a developed frame-work for audit quality management, covering both main stakeholders of auditing triangular relationships: third-party users, as well as audit clients. Due to a slump in audit prices, complex competition and a high degree of homogeneity, the authors of the paper focus not only on external users’ perceptions, as the existing large body of literature does, but also stress audit clients’ need for satisfaction in the comprehen-sive framework. The framework covers various audit firms and audit engagement team factors affecting audit quality and leading to quality audit outputs: an accurate and reliable auditor report and a value adding management letter. Based on the framework presented, recommendations for future audit quality research are provided.

  11. Aviation’s Normal Operations Safety Audit: a safety management and educational tool for health care? Results of a small-scale trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bennett SA

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Simon A Bennett Civil Safety and Security Unit, School of Business, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK Background: A National Health Service (NHS contingent liability for medical error claims of over £26 billion. Objectives: To evaluate the safety management and educational benefits of adapting aviation’s Normal Operations Safety Audit (NOSA to health care. Methods: In vivo research, a NOSA was performed by medical students at an English NHS Trust. After receiving training from the author, the students spent 6 days gathering data under his supervision. Results: The data revealed a threat-rich environment, where errors – some consequential – were made (359 threats and 86 errors were recorded over 2 weeks. The students claimed that the exercise improved their observational, investigative, communication, teamworking and other nontechnical skills. Conclusion: NOSA is potentially an effective safety management and educational tool for health care. It is suggested that 1 the UK General Medical Council mandates that all medical students perform a NOSA in fulfillment of their degree; 2 the participating NHS Trusts be encouraged to act on students’ findings; and 3 the UK Department of Health adopts NOSA as a cornerstone risk assessment and management tool. Keywords: aviation, safety audit, health care, management benefits, educational benefits

  12. Evaluating Internal Communication: The ICA Communication Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldhaber, Gerald M.

    1978-01-01

    The ICA Communication Audit is described in detail as an effective measurement procedure that can help an academic institution to evaluate its internal communication system. Tools, computer programs, analysis, and feedback procedures are described and illustrated. (JMF)

  13. Integrating Concept Mapping into Information Systems Education for Meaningful Learning and Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Wei; Yue, Kwok-Bun

    2017-01-01

    Concept map (CM) is a theoretically sound yet easy to learn tool and can be effectively used to represent knowledge. Even though many disciplines have adopted CM as a teaching and learning tool to improve learning effectiveness, its application in IS curriculum is sparse. Meaningful learning happens when one iteratively integrates new concepts and…

  14. An Overview of Ecological Footprinting and Other Tools and Their Application to the Development of Sustainability Process: Audit and Methodology at Holme Lacy College, UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawe, Gerald F. M.; Vetter, Arnie; Martin, Stephen

    2004-01-01

    A sustainability audit of Holme Lacy College is described. The approach adopted a "triple bottom line" assessment, comprising a number of key steps: a scoping review utilising a revised Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors project appraisal tool; an environmental impact assessment based on ecological footprinting and a social and…

  15. Analisis Pengaruh Keahlian, Independensi, Perencanaan Audit dan Supervisi Audit terhadap Kualitas Audit pada Inspektorat Provinsi Sumatera Utara

    OpenAIRE

    Pohan, Nur Aisah

    2015-01-01

    The objective of the research was to analyze the influence of skill, independence, audit planning, and audit supervision on audit quality simultaneously and partially and to find out that motivation could moderate the correlation of skill, independence, audit planning, and audit supervision with audit quality at the Inspectorate of North Sumatera Province office. The research used causal research method. The population and the samples consisted of 66 supervision officials at the Inspectorate ...

  16. MENGUNGKAP KORUPSI MELALUI BUKTI AUDIT MENJADI BUKTI MENURUT HUKUM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Made Dudy Satyawan

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Uncovering Corruption through Audits into Evidence under the Law. The purpose of this study is to reveal how law enforcement officers interpret audit evidence in uncovering corruption. This is underpinned by the LHPKKN controversy (made by the state auditor in the hearing as evidence of documents in the Corruption Court. The method used in this research is case study. This research finds that LHPKKN is not necessarily believed by the judge because it is one of the tools and not the only evidence used in determining the decision of corruption. All of audit evidence can not be used as legal evidence.

  17. Comprehensive audits of radiotherapy practices: A tool for quality improvement: Quality Assurance Team for Radiation Oncology (QUATRO)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-10-01

    As part of a comprehensive approach to quality assurance (QA) in the treatment of cancer by radiation, an independent external audit (peer review) is important to ensure adequate quality of practice and delivery of treatment. Quality audits can be of various types and at various levels, either reviewing critical parts of the radiotherapy process (partial audits) or assessing the whole process (comprehensive audits). The IAEA has a long history of providing assistance for dosimetry (partial) audits in radiotherapy to its Member States. Together with the World Health Organization (WHO), it has operated postal audit programmes using thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD) to verify the calibration of radiotherapy beams since 1969. Furthermore, it has developed a set of procedures for experts undertaking missions to radiotherapy hospitals in Member States for on-site review of dosimetry equipment, data and techniques, measurements and training of local staff. This methodology involves dosimetry and medical radiation physics aspects of the radiotherapy process without entering into clinical areas. The IAEA, through its technical cooperation programme, has received numerous requests from developing countries to perform comprehensive audits of radiotherapy programmes to assess the whole process. including aspects such as organization, infrastructure, and clinical and medical physics components. The objective of a comprehensive clinical audit is to review and evaluate thc quality of all of the components of the practice of radiotherapy at an institution, including its professional competence, with a view to quality improvement. A multidisciplinary team, comprising a radiation oncologist, a medical physicist and a radiotherapy technologist, carries out the audit. The present publication has been field tested by IAEA teams performing audits in radiotherapy programmes in hospitals in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Their comments, corrections and feedback have been taken

  18. Comprehensive audits of radiotherapy practices: A tool for quality improvement: Quality Assurance Team for Radiation Oncology (QUATRO)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-08-01

    As part of a comprehensive approach to quality assurance (QA) in the treatment of cancer by radiation, an independent external audit (peer review) is important to ensure adequate quality of practice and delivery of treatment. Quality audits can be of various types and at various levels, either reviewing critical parts of the radiotherapy process (partial audits) or assessing the whole process (comprehensive audits). The IAEA has a long history of providing assistance for dosimetry (partial) audits in radiotherapy to its Member States. Together with the World Health Organization (WHO), it has operated postal audit programmes using thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD) to verify the calibration of radiotherapy beams since 1969. Furthermore, it has developed a set of procedures for experts undertaking missions to radiotherapy hospitals in Member States for on-site review of dosimetry equipment, data and techniques, measurements and training of local staff. This methodology involves dosimetry and medical radiation physics aspects of the radiotherapy process without entering into clinical areas. The IAEA, through its technical cooperation programme, has received numerous requests from developing countries to perform comprehensive audits of radiotherapy programmes to assess the whole process. including aspects such as organization, infrastructure, and clinical and medical physics components. The objective of a comprehensive clinical audit is to review and evaluate thc quality of all of the components of the practice of radiotherapy at an institution, including its professional competence, with a view to quality improvement. A multidisciplinary team, comprising a radiation oncologist, a medical physicist and a radiotherapy technologist, carries out the audit. The present publication has been field tested by IAEA teams performing audits in radiotherapy programmes in hospitals in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Their comments, corrections and feedback have been taken

  19. Adaption of the PARCS Code for Core Design Audit Analyses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hyong Chol; Lee, Young Jin; Uhm, Jae Beop; Kim, Hyunjik [Nuclear Safety Evaluation, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Hun Young; Ahn, Seunghoon; Woo, Swengwoong [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-05-15

    The eigenvalue calculation also includes quasi-static core depletion analyses. PARCS has implemented variety of features and has been qualified as a regulatory audit code in conjunction with other NRC thermal-hydraulic codes such as TRACE or RELAP5. In this study, as an adaptation effort for audit applications, PARCS is applied for an audit analysis of a reload core design. The lattice physics code HELIOS is used for cross section generation. PARCS-HELIOS code system has been established as a core analysis tool. Calculation results have been compared on a wide spectrum of calculations such as power distribution, critical soluble boron concentration, and rod worth. A reasonable agreement between the audit calculation and the reference results has been found.

  20. Internal Audit as a Tool for Combating Economic Fraud. Case Study of the Misappropriation Process of Company’s Assets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michał Falkowski

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the problem of economic fraud and the role of Internal Audit as a tool for preventing it. As the economic downturn intensifies, the possibility of disputes and other difficulties arises more frequently. More often employees and contracting parties try to shift their own losses on to other economic entities. When internal rules are broken or either are not established, organizations are exposed to risks and problems that they are often not used to dealing with. As the analyzed case study showed threats of an economic fraud can come also from inside the company. Embezzlement concerning expense reimbursement is one of the most “popular” ways to steal money from inside the company. To prevent such situations from happening Internal Audit Unit has to perform assurance and consulting actions to deter this particular and any other type of fraud. When the actual fraud occurs an important element, is the properly divide roles between an internal auditor and the forensic specialist who is adequately prepared to lead the investigation, find evidence, and bring fraudsters to justice.

  1. FINANCIAL AUDIT -RISKS IDENTIFIED IN THE AUDIT PLANNING STAGE

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    Stelian Selisteanu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The general objective of the audit activity is to currently present, under all significant aspects, a financial situation and to state an opinion according to which all economic operations are indeed correct and pursuant the law. As any activity that involves the human factor, the audit activity is subject to the influence of certain risks, risks that emerge, firstly, from an organizational level of the audited entity. In audit, risk is a very important influence element, whose ignorance can generate major implications in achieving the final goal to create an evidences database on which a pertinent and objective opinion can be founded, concerning the audited financial situations. In this context, one of the main objectives, that takes place during the planning phase of the audit, is represented by assessing risks to which the audited activity is subjected to, evaluation that helps the determining the work volume implied by the audit.

  2. Developing an online collaborative system within the domain of financial auditing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel Năstase

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The research paper, focused on a rather technical approach, has the goal to design a system that brings together diverse audit stakeholders and investigates how an audit database available online can be implemented in SharePoint, as part of an on-line audit system which is collaborative and national. The online audit database covers various information needs for both financial auditors and the employees of the Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania. For rapid deployment, we used various tools: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, SharePoint Server 2010, SharePoint Designer 2010 and various implementation features: external content types, external lists, business data web parts etc. In this paper, we use two research methods: the first one is empiric, based on formulating a questionnaire and the interpretation of the results, while the second is the analysis of the implementation process by using a step-by-step approach. The online audit database stores information about the results of previous audits, the opinions issued as result of audits, the results of online electronic inspections, audit firms, audited entities, risks identified etc. The conclusion was that the online database, which is updated through Internet, is feasible to implement in SharePoint, for multiple audit stakeholders including financial auditors who can sell their financial audit services benefiting from the transparency that the system provides.

  3. Environmental audits of oil and gas properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moody, T.D.; Forbes, S.

    1991-01-01

    The growing concern over one, the cost of correcting environmental damage and two, the potential financial liabilities associated with the acquisition, sale or lease of oil and gas properties, has led many prospective buyers to investigate the environmental liabilities associated with the property transfer. The environmental audit provides a tool or mechanism to assist the prudent investor in identifying environmental problems that could adversely effect an otherwise normal business activity. Accordingly, an environmental audit can identify potential environmental liabilities associated with the property, thus allowing the investor an opportunity to better assess financial risks. In addition, should the negative findings of the environmental audit be limited, the findings could be used by the buyer in negotiating the final price of the subject property to account for potential or known liabilities. As this suggests, environmental damage to an oil and gas property does not necessarily render the property worthless. This paper provides a brief guide on environmental audits of oil and gas properties as well as general information on the most common exploration and production wastes

  4. Frameworks for improvement: clinical audit, the plan-do-study-act cycle and significant event audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillam, Steve; Siriwardena, A Niroshan

    2013-01-01

    This is the first in a series of articles about quality improvement tools and techniques. We explore common frameworks for improvement, including the model for improvement and its application to clinical audit, plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles and significant event analysis (SEA), examining the similarities and differences between these and providing examples of each.

  5. On the nature of auditing: The audit partner effect : Research on the effect of individual audit partners on audit quality and the information dynamics of accounting data

    OpenAIRE

    Buuren, van, J.P.

    2009-01-01

    This doctoral thesis is about whether auditing is ‘static and mechanic’ of nature or the opposite: ‘dynamic and organic’. If auditing is considered ‘static and mechanic’ of nature, this implies that standard audit solutions are available and can uniformly be applied by the audit partners. Moreover, it suggests that the level of audit quality can be guaranteed to a large extent by the audit firm’s control and governance structures. In such an environment, audit firm size and the actual audit q...

  6. Towards an integration of affiliated companies energy audit process system at P.T Astra International

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telaga, Abdi Suryadinata; Hartanto, Indra Dwi; Audina, Debby Rizky; Prabowo, Fransiscus Dimas

    2017-06-01

    Environmental awareness, stringent regulation and soaring energy costs, together make energy efficiency as an important pillar for every company. Particularly, in 2020, the ministry of energy and mineral resources of Indonesia has set a target to reduce carbon emission by 26%. For that reason, companies in Indonesia have to comply with the emission target. However, there is trade-off between company's productivity and carbon emission. Therefore, the companies' productivity must be weighed against the environmental effect such as carbon emission. Nowadays, distinguish excessive energy in a company is still challenging. The company rarely has skilled person that capable to audit energy consumed in the company. Auditing energy consumption in a company is a lengthy and time consuming process. As PT Astra International (AI) have 220 affiliated companies (AFFCOs). Occasionally, direct visit to audit energy consumption in AFFCOs is inevitable. However, capability to conduct on-site energy audit was limited by the availability of PT AI energy auditors. For that reason, PT AI has developed a set of audit energy tools or Astra green energy (AGEn) tools to aid the AFFCOs auditor to be able to audit energy in their own company. Fishbone chart was developed as an analysis tool to gather root cause of audit energy problem. Following the analysis results, PT AI made an improvement by developing an AGEn web-based system. The system has capability to help AFFCOs to conduct energy audit on-site. The system was developed using prototyping methodology, object-oriented system analysis and design (OOSAD), and three-tier architecture. The implementation of system used ASP.NET, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 database, and web server IIS 8.

  7. Auditing and Evaluating University-Community Engagement: Lessons from a UK Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Angie; Northmore, Simon

    2011-01-01

    The growing importance of community and public engagement activities in universities has led to an increasing emphasis on auditing and evaluating university-community partnerships. However, the development of effective audit and evaluation tools is still at a formative stage. This article presents a case study of the University of Brighton's…

  8. Audit Methodology for IT Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirela GHEORGHE

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The continuous development of the new IT technologies was followed up by a rapid integration of them at the organization level. The management of the organizations face a new challenge: structural redefinition of the IT component in order to create plus value and to minimize IT risks through an efficient management of all IT resources of the organization. These changes have had a great impact on the governance of the IT component. The paper proposes an audit methodology of the IT Governance at the organization level. From this point of view the developed audit strategy is a strategy based on risks to enable IT auditor to study from the best angle efficiency and effectiveness of the IT Governance structure. The evaluation of the risks associated with IT Governance is a key process in planning the audit mission which will allow the identification of the segments with increased risks. With now ambition for completeness, the proposed methodology provides the auditor a useful tool in the accomplishment of his mission.

  9. Improving the quality of clinical coding: a comprehensive audit model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamid Moghaddasi

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The review of medical records with the aim of assessing the quality of codes has long been conducted in different countries. Auditing medical coding, as an instructive approach, could help to review the quality of codes objectively using defined attributes, and this in turn would lead to improvement of the quality of codes. Method: The current study aimed to present a model for auditing the quality of clinical codes. The audit model was formed after reviewing other audit models, considering their strengths and weaknesses. A clear definition was presented for each quality attribute and more detailed criteria were then set for assessing the quality of codes. Results: The audit tool (based on the quality attributes included legibility, relevancy, completeness, accuracy, definition and timeliness; led to development of an audit model for assessing the quality of medical coding. Delphi technique was then used to reassure the validity of the model. Conclusion: The inclusive audit model designed could provide a reliable and valid basis for assessing the quality of codes considering more quality attributes and their clear definition. The inter-observer check suggested in the method of auditing is of particular importance to reassure the reliability of coding.

  10. Integrating analytical procedures into the continuous audit environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eija Koskivaara

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this article is to show how to embed analytical procedures (AP into the continuous audit environment. The audit environment is discussed in terms of audit phases, where the role of APs is to obtain evidence for auditors. The article addresses different characteristics of AP techniques. Furthermore, the article compares four different AP techniques to form expectations for the monthly sales values. Two of these techniques are simple quantitative ones, such as the previous year’s value and the mean of the previous years’ values. The advanced quantitative techniques are regression analysis and an artificial neural network (ANN-based model. In a comparison of the prediction results, the regression analysis and ANN model turn out to be equally good. The development of these kinds of tools is crucial to the continuous audit environment, especially when most data transmission between companies and their stakeholders are moved into the electronic form.

  11. Is audit research? The relationships between clinical audit and social-research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Rhidian

    2005-01-01

    Quality has an established history in health care. Audit, as a means of quality assessment, is well understood and the existing literature has identified links between audit and research processes. This paper reviews the relationships between audit and research processes, highlighting how audit can be improved through the principles and practice of social research. The review begins by defining the audit process. It goes on to explore salient relationships between clinical audit and research, grouped into the following broad themes: ethical considerations, highlighting responsibilities towards others and the need for ethical review for audit; asking questions and using appropriate methods, emphasising transparency in audit methods; conceptual issues, including identifying problematic concepts, such as "satisfaction", and the importance of reflexivity within audit; emphasising research in context, highlighting the benefits of vignettes and action research; complementary methods, demonstrating improvements for the quality of findings; and training and multidisciplinary working, suggesting the need for closer relationships between researchers and clinical practitioners. Audit processes cannot be considered research. Both audit and research processes serve distinct purposes. Attention to the principles of research when conducting audit are necessary to improve the quality of audit and, in turn, the quality of health care.

  12. CONVERGENCE OF INTERNATIONAL AUDIT STANDARDS AND AMERICAN AUDIT STANDARDS REGARDING SAMPLING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chis Anca Oana

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Sampling is widely used in market research, scientific analysis, market analysis, opinion polls and not least in the financial statement audit. We wonder what is actually sampling and how did it appear? Audit sampling involves the application of audit procedures to less than 100% of items within an account balance or class of transactions. Nowadays the technique is indispensable, the economic entities operating with sophisticated computer systems and large amounts of data. Economic globalization and complexity of capital markets has made possible not only the harmonization of international accounting standards with the national ones, but also the convergence of international accounting and auditing standards with the American regulations. International Standard on Auditing 530 and Statement on Auditing Standard 39 are the two main international and American normalized referentials referring to audit sampling. This article discusses the origin of audit sampling, mentioning a brief history of the method and different definitions from literature review. The two standards are studied using Jaccard indicators in terms of the degree of similarity and dissimilarity concerning different issues. The Jaccard coefficient measures the degree of convergence of international auditing standards (ISA 530 and U.S. auditing standards (SAS 39. International auditing standards and American auditing standards, study the sampling problem, both regulations presenting common points with regard to accepted sampling techniques, factors influencing the audit sample, treatment of identified misstatements and the circumstances in which sampling is appropriate. The study shows that both standards agree on application of statistical and non-statistical sampling in auditing, that sampling is appropriate for tests of details and controls, the factors affecting audit sampling being audit risk, audit objectives and population\\'s characteristics.

  13. Audit Monitoring For Quality Management System (QMS) In Malaysian Nuclear Agency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fazila Said; Nurul Huda Mudri; Nurul Zusyakirah Ishak

    2013-01-01

    Auditing for Quality Management System (QMS) is a tool that helps an organization to enhance the quality performance. The audit was performed to check, maintain and improve the QMS practice. It is a compulsory for an organization to undergo series of audit in order to maintain the certification based on standard. In Malaysian Nuclear Agency, audit activities is monitored by Research and Innovation Management Centre (RIMC) that manage and ensure the internal and external audit are performed effectively. This paper will discuss the audit status of the processes that implement MS ISO 9001 and laboratories that accredited with MS ISO/ IEC 17025 for consecutive five years from year 2008 till 2012. Among the factors that show the effectiveness of QMS are cumulative of non-conformance (nc) according to duration of certification, frequency of nc by clause and comparison of non conformance and conformance clause within five years. The improvement plans from RIMC are also have been discussed according to four factors; internal audit quality, organizational setting, management support and auditee attributes. (author)

  14. Developing a framework for audit quality management in audit firms

    OpenAIRE

    Darius Vaicekauskas, Jonas Mackevičius

    2014-01-01

    Over the last few decades audit quality has been investigated by many scholars, although it still hasn’t been properly conceptualized and lacks one common definition. This may be explained by the constant shifting of audit theory and practice, and the complexity of the audit service. The objective of the paper is to investigate the existing definitions of audit quality, identify its main elements and provide a framework for audit quality management in audit firms. The main contribution of the...

  15. THE EFFECT OF AUDIT FOLLOW-UP AND SIZES ON THE AUDIT QUALITY

    OpenAIRE

    Mahpiansyah Mahpiansyah

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRAK Penelitian ini mengukur pengaruh ukuran audit dan tindak lanjut hasil audit terhadap kualitas audit di Indonesia. Pemerintah Indonesia memiliki dua institusi audit: eksternal dan internal audit. Tindak lanjut audit adalah perkembangan pelaksanaan rekomendasi audit dari audit eksternal untuk memperbaiki laporan keuangan auditee. Penelitian ini menganalisa data 33 provinsi dari tahun 2009 sampai dengan tahun 2013 dari Ikhtisar Laporan Hasil Pemeriksaan Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (ILHP ...

  16. Wireless Network Penetration Testing and Security Auditing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Shao-Long

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available IEEE802.11 wireless wireless networks have security issues that are vulnerable to a variety of attacks. Due to using radio to transport data, attackers can bypass firewalls, sniff sensitive information, intercept packets and send malicious packets. Security auditing and penetration testing is expected to ensure wireless networks security. The contributions of this work are analyzed the vulnerability and types of attacks pertaining to IEEE 802.11 WLAN, performed well known attacks in a laboratory environment to conduct penetration tests to confirm whether our wireless network is hackable or not. WAIDPS is configured as auditing tool to view wireless attacks, such as WEP/WPA/WPA2 cracking, rouge access points, denial of service attack. WAIDPS is designed to detect wireless intrusion with additional features. Penetration testing and auditing will mitigate the risk and threatening to protect WALN.

  17. Nuclear industry project audit and countermeasures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yongxin; Zhang Jian

    2012-01-01

    With China's increasing use of nuclear energy, nuclear power related construction projects related to the deepening of the audit, some of the nuclear industry in construction field of the dominant issues have been more effective containment, such as inflated workload, high-set fixed standards, to improve billing unit price, which overestimate the risk calculation tools and behavior completed audit of the accounts have been able to escape his stuff. However, some nuclear industry construction field with a hidden problem because of its hidden nature, not easily found, and some even have intensified the trend. Construction funds to the country such problems caused by the loss of waste is enormous, to the breeding of corruption provided the soil is fertile, if not promptly and effectively to stop the breeding will spread. This paper on the current construction of the nuclear industry in several major areas of the hidden problems are discussed, and the angle from the audit of appropriate countermeasures. (authors)

  18. Pengaruh Gender dan Pengalaman Audit terhadap Audit Judgment

    OpenAIRE

    Erna Pasanda; Natalia Paranoan

    2013-01-01

    This study aims to examine the influence of gender and audit experience toward audit judgment and to examine gender and audit experience towards audit judgment when moderated by client credibility. The research was conducted on auditors who worked on KAP in Makassar South Sulawesi using survey. Sampling technique in this study was random sampling based on judgment. Data collected and then analyzed by employing regression method and Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA). The result indicates tha...

  19. One Continuous Auditing Practice in China: Data-oriented Online Auditing(DOOA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wei; Zhang, Jin-Cheng; Jiang, Yu-Quan

    Application of information technologies (IT) in the field of audit is worth studying. Continuous auditing (CA) is an active research domain in computer-assisted audit field. In this paper, the concept of continuous auditing is analyzed firstly. Then, based on analysis on research literatures of continuous auditing, technique realization methods are classified into embedded mode and separate mode. According to the condition of implementing online auditing in China, data-oriented online auditing (DOOA) used in China is also one of separate mode of continuous auditing. And the principle of DOOA is analyzed. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages of DOOA are also discussed. Finally, advices to implement DOOA in China are given, and the future research topics related to continuous auditing are also discussed.

  20. Auditing chronic disease care: Does it make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Essel, Vivien; van Vuuren, Unita; De Sa, Angela; Govender, Srini; Murie, Katie; Schlemmer, Arina; Gunst, Colette; Namane, Mosedi; Boulle, Andrew; de Vries, Elma

    2015-06-26

    An integrated audit tool was developed for five chronic diseases, namely diabetes, hypertension, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and epilepsy. Annual audits have been done in the Western Cape Metro district since 2009. The year 2012 was the first year that all six districts in South Africa's Western Cape Province participated in the audit process. To determine whether clinical audits improve chronic disease care in health districts over time. Western Cape Province, South Africa. Internal audits were conducted of primary healthcare facility processes and equipment availability as well as a folder review of 10 folders per chronic condition per facility. Random systematic sampling was used to select the 10 folders for the folder review. Combined data for all facilities gave a provincial overview and allowed for comparison between districts. Analysis was done comparing districts that have been participating in the audit process from 2009 to 2010 ('2012 old') to districts that started auditing recently ('2012 new'). The number of facilities audited has steadily increased from 29 in 2009 to 129 in 2012. Improvements between different years have been modest, and the overall provincial average seemed worse in 2012 compared to 2011. However, there was an improvement in the '2012 old' districts compared to the '2012 new' districts for both the facility audit and the folder review, including for eight clinical indicators, with '2012 new' districts being less likely to record clinical processes (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.21-0.31). These findings are an indication of the value of audits to improve care processes over the long term. It is hoped that this improvement will lead to improved patient outcomes.

  1. An initial reliability and validity study of the Interaction, Communication, and Literacy Skills Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Choueifati, Nisrine; Purcell, Alison; McCabe, Patricia; Heard, Robert; Munro, Natalie

    2014-06-01

    Early childhood educators (ECEs) have an important role in promoting positive outcomes for children's language and literacy development. This paper reports the development of a new tool, The Interaction Communication and Literacy (ICL) Skills Audit, and pilots its reliability and validity. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was examined by three speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Five skill areas relating to ECE language and literacy practice were rated. The face and content validity of the ICL Skills Audit was examined by expert SLPs (n = 8) and expert ECEs (n = 4) via questionnaire. The overall intra-rater reliability for the ICL Skills Audit was excellent with percentage close agreement (PCA) of 91-94. Inter-rater agreement was PCA 68-80. Expert SLPs and ECEs agreed that the content was comprehensive and practical. Based on this preliminary study, the ICL Skills Audit appears to be a promising tool that can be used by SLPs and ECEs in collaboration to measure the skills of ECEs in the areas of language and literacy support. Future psychometric and outcome research on the revised ICL Skills Audit is warranted.

  2. Software For Computer-Security Audits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arndt, Kate; Lonsford, Emily

    1994-01-01

    Information relevant to potential breaches of security gathered efficiently. Automated Auditing Tools for VAX/VMS program includes following automated software tools performing noted tasks: Privileged ID Identification, program identifies users and their privileges to circumvent existing computer security measures; Critical File Protection, critical files not properly protected identified; Inactive ID Identification, identifications of users no longer in use found; Password Lifetime Review, maximum lifetimes of passwords of all identifications determined; and Password Length Review, minimum allowed length of passwords of all identifications determined. Written in DEC VAX DCL language.

  3. AUDIT INFORMATION CONTENT

    OpenAIRE

    Ioan Rus

    2012-01-01

    The audit of computer systems shows at least two features that make the auditwork not includable in other audit processes such as internal audit and financial audit. Thesetwo particularities refer to the specific software used in information systems auditing and reallevels of information systems audit. This paper presents the specific levels of a system ofauditing and specific techniques available for their implementation in practice. In the end theauthor suggests proposals for improving spec...

  4. Expediting the Quest for Quality: The Role of IQAC in Academic Audit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nitonde, Rohidas

    2016-01-01

    Academic Audit is an important tool to control and maintain standards in academic sector. It has been found highly relevant by the experts across the world. Academic audit helps institutions to introspect and improve their quality. The present paper intends to probe into the possible role of Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) in Academic Audit…

  5. Combining ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and European Commission Decision 2002/657 audit requirements: a practical way forward.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, Jack F

    2012-08-01

    Laboratories involved in the analyses of veterinary drug residues are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they produce meaningful and reliable data. Quality assurance and quality control systems are implemented in laboratories to provide evidence of this and these are subject to external assessment to ensure that they are effective. Audits to ISO/IEC 17025:2005, an internationally accepted standard, and subsequent accreditation provide laboratories and their customers with a degree of assurance that the laboratories are operating in control and the data they report can be relied on. However, national or regional authorities may place additional requirements on laboratories to ensure quality data are reported. For example, in the European Union, all official control laboratories involved in veterinary drug residue analyses must also meet the requirements of European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC which sets performance criteria for analytical methods used in this area and these are subject to additional audits by national or regional authorities. All audits place considerable time and resource demands on laboratories and this paper discusses the burden audits place on laboratories and describes a UK initiative to combine these audits to the benefit of both the regulatory authority and the laboratory. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. The audit boiler-room. A methodology applied to the energy demand mastership; L'audit chaufferie. Une methodologie au service de la maitrise de la demande d'energie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-01

    This paper presents the context and the content of the guideline audit of boiler-rooms. This guideline, presented as a decision making tool, has been created to help the foremen to prepare a boiler-room audit. By the optimization of the installations it defines a will to be effective, clean and cheaper. (A.L.B.)

  7. Behavior of audit fees in the audit firm or partner changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo Antonio Pierri Junior

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to identify if the behavior of audit fees are affected when the partner or audit firm change for the period 2010 to 2013. For this, an empirical model was developed and hypotheses based on the international and national literature about determinants of audit fees and audit firm rotation. The hypothesis of the study sought to observe the discount on the initial year relationship between the audited company and the audit firm, the fees in change of audit partner and the differences in the type of audit firm change, whether big- Four or non-Big Four. In addition to the variables incorporated to the assumptions, the model features eight control variables: total assets, subsidiaries, foreign subsidiaries, general liquidity, big-four, inherent risk, loss and restructuring operations. Data analysis technique used was the regression model with panel data. From the fixed effects model, it was observed that the company's asset size, liquidity and the type of firm that performs the audit contribute to increase the value of the fees paid by the audited companies. It wasn't possible to get significant evidence about discounted value of the audit fees, either in the audit firm or partner changes.

  8. Medical Audit as an Educational Tool to Improve Intravenous Nutritional Support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudsk, Kenneth A.; And Others

    1982-01-01

    An audit of medical records at San Francisco General Hospital was undertaken to assess compliance with the procedural policies in the hyperalimentation (TPN) protocol of the Department of Surgery of the University of California, San Francisco, and to evaluate the appropriateness of TPN therapy. (MLW)

  9. Product and process effectiveness using performance-based auditing techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horseman, M.L.

    1995-01-01

    Focus is the backbone of genius. Focus is the lifeblood of adequate products and effective processes. Focus is the theme of Performance-Based Audits (PBA). The Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (CRWM) Program is using the PBA tool extensively to focus on the evaluation of product adequacy and process effectiveness. The term Performance-Based Audit has been around for several years. however, the approach presented here for the systematic end-product selection, planning, and measurement of adequacy and effectiveness is new and innovative

  10. Reducing healthcare costs facilitated by surgical auditing: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Govaert, Johannes Arthuur; van Bommel, Anne Charlotte Madeline; van Dijk, Wouter Antonie; van Leersum, Nicoline Johanneke; Tollenaar, Robertus Alexandre Eduard Mattheus; Wouters, Michael Wilhemus Jacobus Maria

    2015-07-01

    Surgical auditing has been developed in order to benchmark and to facilitate quality improvement. The aim of this review is to determine if auditing combined with systematic feedback of information on process and outcomes of care results in lower costs of surgical care. A systematic search of published literature before 21-08-2013 was conducted in Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Articles were selected if they met the inclusion criteria of describing a surgical audit with cost-evaluation. The systematic search resulted in 3608 papers. Six studies were identified as relevant, all showing a positive effect of surgical auditing on quality of healthcare and therefore cost savings was reported. Cost reductions ranging from $16 to $356 per patient were seen in audits evaluating general or vascular procedures. The highest potential cost reduction was described in a colorectal surgical audit (up to $1,986 per patient). All six identified articles in this review describe a reduction in complications and thereby a reduction in costs due to surgical auditing. Surgical auditing may be of greater value when high-risk procedures are evaluated, since prevention of adverse events in these procedures might be of greater clinical and therefore of greater financial impact. This systematic review shows that surgical auditing can function as a quality instrument and therefore as a tool to reduce costs. Since evidence is scarce so far, further studies should be performed to investigate if surgical auditing has positive effects to turn the rising healthcare costs around. In the future, incorporating (actual) cost analyses and patient-related outcome measures would increase the audits' value and provide a complete overview of the value of healthcare.

  11. Development of an Evidence-Based Calibration Methodology Dedicated to Energy Audit of Office Buildings. Part 1: Methodology and Modeling.

    OpenAIRE

    Bertagnolio, Stéphane; Andre, Philippe

    2010-01-01

    1 Introduction To promote improvements in the HVAC installations of existing buildings, the article 9 of the EPBD directive establishes mandatory audits and inspections of air-conditioning systems. The development of auditing tools and procedures and the training of future auditors are the main objectives of the HARMONAC project launched in 2007. Four audit stages are generally distinguished: benchmarking, inspection, detailed audit and investment grade audit. Answering the questions en...

  12. ADAKAH KANDUNGAN INFORMASI LAPORAN AUDIT WTP DENGAN PARAGRAF PENJELAS DAN LAPORAN AUDIT WDP?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arie Wicaksono

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menyelidiki konten informasi modified audit opinion pada penilaian pasar. Modified audit opinion dianggap sebagai titik awal laporan standar. Modified audit opinion mengacu pada laporan audit wajar tanpa pengecualian dengan paragraf penjelasan dan laporan audit wajar dengan pengecualian pada reaksi pasar. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode studi peristiwa. Sampelnya adalah perusahaan yang memiliki laporan audit wajar tanpa pengecualian dengan paragraf penjelasan dan laporan audit wajar dengan pengecualian yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia pada periode 2004-2009. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pe-ngumuman laporan audit wajar tanpa pengecualian dengan paragraf penjelasan dan laporan audit wajar dengan pengecualian tidak secara signifikan mempengaruhi abnormal return. This study aims to investigate the information content of modified audit opinion on market valuation. Modified audit opinions are considered the least departure of standard report. The term modified audit opinion refers to both unqualified audit report with explanatory paragraph and qualified audit report on market reaction. The research was done by using event study method. The sample are companies that have unqualified audit report with explanatory paragraph and qualified audit report that listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in the period of 2004-2009.The results show that the announcement of unqualified audit report with explanatory paragraph and qualified audit report did not significantly affect the abnormal return.

  13. Results of the national audit in radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alonso Samper, Jose Luis; Dominguez, Lourdes; Alert Silva, Jose; Alfonso Laguardia, Rodolfo; Larrinaga Cortina, Eduardo; Garcia Yip, Fernando; Rodriguez Machado, Jorge; Morales Lopez, Jorge Luis; Silvestre Patallo, Ileana

    2009-01-01

    The National Audit Programme in Radiotherapy in Cuba working for 8 years regularly visiting each country's radiotherapy service at least once every two years, during the visit involving two medical physicists and radiation oncologist. This paper presents the main features of the program and its main results. Early detection deficiencies in the work of the Radiation Therapy Services that may cause radiological risk situations for both patients and workers and the general public. Help with their comments to the continuous improvement of quality of care. During audit visits is reviewed the whole process of radiotherapy, since the patient comes to the monitoring service. This is done by dividing the audits into three groups or aspects: Clinical Aspects, Aspects of Safety and Quality Control Aspects of the equipment. Methodological guidelines have been established for conducting audits and they serve as standards of quality in radiation therapy, these guidelines also allow the quantification of results. It has identified the main gaps in services that affect the quality of care. After each visit, leave recommendations may be directed to the service itself, to the direction of the provincial hospital or health. Conclusions. We believe that the National Audit Programme in Radiotherapy is an effective tool in controlling the quality of the treatments offered and at the same time with its recommendations helps services to continually improve quality. (Author)

  14. Results of the national audits radiotherapy program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alonso Samper, Jose Luis; Alert Silva, Jose; Alfonso Laguardia, Rodolfo

    2009-01-01

    The National Audit Programme in Radiotherapy in Cuba works regularly 8 years visiting each country's radiotherapy service at least once every two years, during the visit involving two physicists and an oncologist radiation therapist. This paper presents the main features of the program and its main . Early detection deficiencies in the work of the Radiation Therapy Services to may cause radiological risk situations for both patients and workers and the general public. Help with their comments to the continuous improvement of quality treatments. During audit visits is reviewed throughout the process of radiation from that the patient comes to the monitoring service. This is done by dividing the audits into three groups or aspects Clinical Aspects, Aspects of Safety and Quality Control Aspects of the equipment. Methodological guidelines have been established for conducting audits and they serve as standards of quality in radiation therapy, these guidelines also allow quantification of the . It has identified the main gaps in services that affect quality treatments. After each visit, leave recommendations may be directed to service itself, to the direction of the provincial hospital or health. We believe that the National Audit Programme in Radiotherapy is a efficient tool in controlling the quality of treatments given and at the same time with its recommendations to help improve services of continuous quality. (author)

  15. CONTINUOUS AUDITING: THE USA EXPERIENCE AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN BRAZIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miklos Vasarhelyi

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Continuous Auditing, broadly defined as the transformation of internal and external auditing through the application of modern information technology, is being increasingly adopted by firms throughout the world. Organizations ranging from Siemens, HCA, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, BIPOP Bank and the Internal Revenue Service are developing tools and practices that will bring assurance closer to the transaction and reduce through automation, the cost of auditing. A June 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers survey finds that 50% of U.S. companies now use continuous auditing techniques and 31% percent of the rest have already made plans to follow suit. In this article we introduce the concepts of CA to a Brazilian audience and discuss its further application there.

  16.  Developing a framework for audit quality management in audit firms

    OpenAIRE

    Darius Vaicekauskas; Jonas Mackevičius

    2014-01-01

     Over the last few decades audit quality has been investigated by many scholars, although it still hasn’t been properly conceptualized and lacks one common definition. This may be explained by the constant shifting of audit theory and practice, and the complexity of the audit service. The objective of the paper is to investigate the existing definitions of audit quality, identify its main elements and provide a framework for audit quality management in audit firms. The main contribution of th...

  17. Audit quality and the audit partner effect : Evidence from European listed companies

    OpenAIRE

    Buuren, van, J.P.

    2009-01-01

    The main objective of this study is to provide evidence on the differences in audit quality amongst audit partners. I attribute these dissimilarities to (i) differences in the audit risk perception and the risk appetite of individual audit partners and (ii) to differences in the personal business case of audit partners. As a result, three audit partner archetypes have been identified: liberal, high quality and conservative. This paper will provide evidence that 50% of the audit partners (53% ...

  18. Corporate Governance Role of Audit Committees in the Banking Sector: Evidence from Libya

    OpenAIRE

    Abdulaziz Abdulsaleh

    2014-01-01

    This study aims at identifying the practices that should be taken into consideration by audit committees as a tool of corporate governance in Libyan commercial banks by investigating various perceptions on this topic. The study is based on a questionnaire submitted to audit committees ‘members at Libyan commercial banks, directors of internal audit departments as well as members of board of directors at these banks in addition to a number of external auditors and academic staff from Libyan un...

  19. Team Training in the Perioperative Arena: A Methodology for Implementation and Auditing Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhee, Amanda J; Valentin-Salgado, Yessenia; Eshak, David; Feldman, David; Kischak, Pat; Reich, David L; LoPachin, Vicki; Brodman, Michael

    Preventable medical errors in the operating room are most often caused by ineffective communication and suboptimal team dynamics. TeamSTEPPS is a government-funded, evidence-based program that provides tools and education to improve teamwork in medicine. The study hospital implemented TeamSTEPPS in the operating room and merged the program with a surgical safety checklist. Audits were performed to collect both quantitative and qualitative information on time out (brief) and debrief conversations, using a standardized audit tool. A total of 1610 audits over 6 months were performed by live auditors. Performance was sustained at desired levels or improved for all qualitative metrics using χ 2 and linear regression analyses. Additionally, the absolute number of wrong site/side/person surgery and unintentionally retained foreign body counts decreased after TeamSTEPPS implementation.

  20. Emergency recompression: clinical audit of service delivery at a national level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, John As; Sayer, Martin Dj

    2009-03-01

    Clinical audit is an essential element to the maintenance or improvement of delivery of any medical service. During the development phase of a National Recompression Registration Service for Scotland, clinical audit was initiated to provide a standardised tool to monitor the quality of outcome with respect to the severity of presentation. A functional audit process was an essential consideration for planned future measurement of treatment efficacy at local (single hyperbaric unit) and national (multiple hyperbaric units) scales. The audit process was designed to be undemanding, robust and informative, irrespective of the experience of treatment centre and of the clinician in charge of treatment. The clinical records from 104 cases of divers with decompression illness were used to derive and evaluate measures of severity and clinical outcome that could be used for audit and quality assurance. The various measures of disease severity were examined against clinical outcome and days spent in care after admission to a hyperbaric unit. An initial version of the clinical audit format that was developed from this process is presented.

  1. Audit of workplace walkability in an Irish healthcare setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, Judy

    2016-12-01

    Recent studies suggest that time spent sitting is associated with greater risks of all causes of mortality and cardiovascular disease even for those who live a healthy lifestyle. As part of a healthier worksite initiative, we conducted a worksite walkability audit and staff survey of a large hospital-based administrative campus with a high proportion of health staff working in largely office-based roles. The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Healthier Worksite Initiative Walkability Audit Tool was used to audit 20 walking segments. The audit further examined the walkability of segments most likely to be used by outpatients and the families of residents visiting and attending the campus. The second phase of this research involved an employee electronic survey to understand staff requirements from a workplace physical activity initiative. Overall, the campus scored a medium risk to walkability on the CDC audit tool. This means that with some key minor alterations the walking route could be made safe and attractive for walking. There was a 20% (n = 151) response rate to the staff survey with 66% of respondents sitting at their desk for most of the day with the majority spending 5-7 h a day sitting at work. Evidence suggests that reducing sedentary time may be important to public health. The worksite is an ideal location for targeting a large number of individuals. Key public health messages that promote daily recommended physical activity targets should also carry additional messages about reducing occupational sitting time. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Evaluation of the HACCP system in a university canteen: microbiological monitoring and internal auditing as verification tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osimani, Andrea; Aquilanti, Lucia; Tavoletti, Stefano; Clementi, Francesca

    2013-04-17

    Food safety is essential in mass catering. In Europe, Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 requires food business operators to put in place, implement and maintain permanent procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. Each HACCP plan is specifically implemented for the processing plant and processing methods and requires a systematic collection of data on the incidence, elimination, prevention, and reduction of risks. In this five-year-study, the effectiveness of the HACCP plan of a University canteen was verified through periodic internal auditing and microbiological monitoring of meals, small equipment, cooking tools, working surfaces, as well as hands and white coats of the canteen staff. The data obtained revealed no safety risks for the consumers, since Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were never detected; however, a quite discontinuous microbiological quality of meals was revealed. The fluctuations in the microbial loads of mesophilic aerobes, coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and sulphite-reducing clostridia were mainly ascribed to inadequate handling or processing procedures, thus suggesting the need for an enhancement of staff training activities and for a reorganization of tasks. Due to the wide variety of the fields covered by internal auditing, the full conformance to all the requirements was never achieved, though high scores, determined by assigning one point to each answer which matched with the requirements, were achieved in all the years.

  3. Evaluation of the HACCP System in a University Canteen: Microbiological Monitoring and Internal Auditing as Verification Tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osimani, Andrea; Aquilanti, Lucia; Tavoletti, Stefano; Clementi, Francesca

    2013-01-01

    Food safety is essential in mass catering. In Europe, Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 requires food business operators to put in place, implement and maintain permanent procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. Each HACCP plan is specifically implemented for the processing plant and processing methods and requires a systematic collection of data on the incidence, elimination, prevention, and reduction of risks. In this five-year-study, the effectiveness of the HACCP plan of a University canteen was verified through periodic internal auditing and microbiological monitoring of meals, small equipment, cooking tools, working surfaces, as well as hands and white coats of the canteen staff. The data obtained revealed no safety risks for the consumers, since Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were never detected; however, a quite discontinuous microbiological quality of meals was revealed. The fluctuations in the microbial loads of mesophilic aerobes, coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and sulphite-reducing clostridia were mainly ascribed to inadequate handling or processing procedures, thus suggesting the need for an enhancement of staff training activities and for a reorganization of tasks. Due to the wide variety of the fields covered by internal auditing, the full conformance to all the requirements was never achieved, though high scores, determined by assigning one point to each answer which matched with the requirements, were achieved in all the years. PMID:23594937

  4. KEPUASAN KLIEN DAN KEGUNAAN LAPORAN AUDIT EKSTERNAL STAKE HOLDER (PERSPEKTIF KLIEN AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tubagus Ismail

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to test a structural equation model (SEM of client satisfaction with the audit, and of client perception of the usefulness of the audit to external stakeholders. A questionnaire was mailed to audit clients, i.e. of manufacturing go public companies in the province of Banten; 57 useable questionnaires were returned. Data were processed using the SEM software Partial Least Square (PLS. The data suggest that auditors face difficulties in handling divided loyalties, as audit clients perceive a strong relationship between client satisfaction and usefulness to external stakeholders. The higher auditors competence is perceived to be by the clients, the more satisfied they are with the audit and the more useful they believe the audit is to external stakeholders. The more skeptical the auditor is perceived to be by the clients, the less satisfied they are with the audit and the moreuseful they believe the audit is to external stakeholders. The findings extend previous results, the better the relationship with the auditor is perceived to be by the clients, the more satisfied they are with the audit and the less useful they believe the audit is to external stakeholders. The study addresses an issue most auditing research has not explicitly considered: the distinction between client satisfaction with the audit and client perceptions of the usefulness of the audit to external stakeholders. Tujuan dari artikel ini adalah untuk menguji model persamaan struktural (SEM atas kepuasan klien, audit, dan persepsi klien tentang kegunaan audit kepada pemangku kepentingan eksternal. Responden penelititan ini adalah 57 klien audit, yang bekerja di perusahaan manufaktur go public di Provinsi Banten. Data diolah dengan menggunakan software SEM Partial Least Square (PLS. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa auditor menghadapi kesulitan dalam menangani kesetiaan yang terbagi bagi, antara harus berada pada posisi kepuasan klien dan kegunaan kepada

  5. Local Audit of Diagnostic Surgical Pathology as a Tool for Quality ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Internal audit has been rarely done for quality assurance of histology laboratories in Nigeria. We reviewed the steps involved in the production of reports with a view to assessing the performance of the histopathology laboratory of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Methods: A randomly selected 2 per ...

  6. Current standards for infection control: audit assures compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flanagan, Pauline

    Having robust policies and procedures in place for infection control is fundamentally important. However, each organization has to go a step beyond this; evidence has to be provided that these policies and procedures are followed. As of 1 April 2009, with the introduction of the Care Quality Commission and The Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for the NHS on the Prevention and Control of Healthcare-Associated Infections and Related Guidance, the assurance of robust infection control measures within any UK provider of health care became an even higher priority. Also, the commissioning of any service by the NHS must provide evidence that the provider has in place robust procedures for infection control. This article demonstrates how the clinical audit team at the Douglas Macmillan Hospice in North Staffordshire, UK, have used audit to assure high rates of compliance with the current national standards for infection control. Prior to the audit, hospice staff had assumed that the rates of compliance for infection control approached 100%. This article shows that a good quality audit tool can be used to identify areas of shortfall in infection control and the effectiveness of putting in place an action plan followed by re-audit.

  7. Continuos Online Auditing Dan Continuous Assurance : Evolusi Jasa Audit Masa Mendatang

    OpenAIRE

    Ariston; Handoko, Jesica

    2006-01-01

    The advent of computer has affected numerous aspects of accounting and auditing. Computerassisted auditing has became commonplace, leading to a significant increase in efficiency of auditing (Kogan dkk., 1999). This improvements enabled management and reporting (internal and external) of finer information sets at progressively narrower time frames. This article describes continuous online auditing and continuous assurance as emerging future audit services evolution. They have three impo...

  8. [Thoughts on the Witnessed Audit in Medical Device Single Audit Program].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Jing; Xiao, Jiangyi; Wang, Aijun

    2018-02-08

    Medical Device Single Audit Program is one of the key projects in International Medical Device Regulators Forum, which has much experience to be used for reference. This paper briefly describes the procedures and contents of the Witnessed Audit in Medical Device Single Audit Program. Some revelations about the work of Witnessed Audit have been discussed, for reference by the Regulatory Authorities and the Auditing Organizations.

  9. PILLARS OF THE AUDIT ACTIVITY: MATERIALITY AND AUDIT RISK

    OpenAIRE

    ANA MARIA JOLDOŞ; IONELA CORNELIA STANCIU; GABRIELA GREJDAN

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to present the issues of materiality and audit risk within the activity of financial audit. The concepts of materiality and audit risk are described from a theoretical perspective, providing approaches found within the national and international literature and within the specific legislation. A case study on the calculation of materiality and audit risk for an entity is presented in the last part of the article. Through the theoretical approach and the case stud...

  10. Students' Meaningful Learning Orientation and Their Meaningful Understandings of Meiosis and Genetics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavallo, Ann Liberatore

    This 1-week study explored the extent to which high school students (n=140) acquired meaningful understanding of selected biological topics (meiosis and the Punnett square method) and the relationship between these topics. This study: (1) examined "mental modeling" as a technique for measuring students' meaningful understanding of the…

  11. Auditing hazardous waste incineration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jayanty, R.K.M.; Allen, J.M.; Sokol, C.K.; von Lehmden, D.J.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports that audit standards consisting of volatile and semivoltile organics have been established by the EPA to be provided to federal, state, and local agencies or their contractors for use in performance audits to assess the accuracy of measurement methods used during hazardous waste trial burns. The volatile organic audit standards currently total 29 gaseous organics in 5, 6, 7, 9, and 18-component mixtures at part-per-billion (ppb) levels (1 to 10 000 ppb) in compressed gas cylinders in a balance gas of nitrogen. The semivoltile organic audit standards currently total six organics which are spiked onto XAD-2 cartridges for auditing analysis procedures. Studies of all organic standards have been performed to determine the stability of the compounds and the feasibility of using them as performance audit materials. Results as of July 1987 indicate that all of the selected organic compounds are adequately stabile for use as reliable audit materials. Performance audits have been conducted with the audit materials to assess the accuracy of the measurement methods. To date, 160 performance audits have been initiated with the ppb-level audit gases. The audit results obtained with audit gases during hazardous waste trial burn tests were generally within ±50% of the audit concentrations. A limited number of audit results have been obtained with spiked XAD-2 cartridges, and the results have generally been within ±35% of the audit concentrations

  12. Can virtual streetscape audits reliably replace physical streetscape audits?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badland, Hannah M; Opit, Simon; Witten, Karen; Kearns, Robin A; Mavoa, Suzanne

    2010-12-01

    There is increasing recognition that the neighborhood-built environment influences health outcomes, such as physical activity behaviors, and technological advancements now provide opportunities to examine the neighborhood streetscape remotely. Accordingly, the aims of this methodological study are to: (1) compare the efficiencies of physically and virtually conducting a streetscape audit within the neighborhood context, and (2) assess the level of agreement between the physical (criterion) and virtual (test) audits. Built environment attributes associated with walking and cycling were audited using the New Zealand Systematic Pedestrian and Cycling Environment Scan (NZ-SPACES) in 48 street segments drawn from four neighborhoods in Auckland, New Zealand. Audits were conducted physically (on-site) and remotely (using Google Street View) in January and February 2010. Time taken to complete the audits, travel mileage, and Internet bandwidth used were also measured. It was quicker to conduct the virtual audits when compared with the physical audits (χ = 115.3 min (virtual), χ = 148.5 min (physical)). In the majority of cases, the physical and virtual audits were within the acceptable levels of agreement (ICC ≥  0.70) for the variables being assessed. The methodological implication of this study is that Google Street View is a potentially valuable data source for measuring the contextual features of neighborhood streets that likely impact on health outcomes. Overall, Google Street View provided a resource-efficient and reliable alternative to physically auditing the attributes of neighborhood streetscapes associated with walking and cycling. Supplementary data derived from other sources (e.g., Geographical Information Systems) could be used to assess the less reliable streetscape variables.

  13. Performing of quality audits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rausch, W.P.

    1980-01-01

    A discussion of the need for Quality Audits both from the practical and regulatory point of view will be followed by presentation of the required steps of audit preparation, auditor assignment, checklist development, review of prior audits, notification, logistics, etc. The various examination steps of auditing, including pre-audit conference, checklist usage, interview, and objective evidence review, will be discussed as will the techniques used in finding development, post audit conference, audit report writing, and follow-up. An overview of organization for auditing, including training and certification, will be presented. (RW)

  14. IT auditing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fijneman, R.; Ho, K.H.; Roos Lindgreen, E.; Veltman, P.

    2008-01-01

    This textbook on IT auditing (EDP auditing) is intended for ICT, IT auditing and accountancy professionals and students. It provides a consistent introduction to all topics with which an IT auditor is confronted in practice. It also refers of course to the major standards and norms adopted in

  15. Identifying meaningful activities among elderly people with demenitia: the developing process of an observation taxonomy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andresen, Mette

    2014-01-01

    , values and beliefs in the center formed the base in the development of the tool. Aim: To develop an observational tool which can identify meaningful activities among elderly demented nursing home residents and thereby provide staff with more knowledge and possibilities for inviting and engaging residents...

  16. Use of audits and reviews to improve plant performance, INPO'S experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mc Coy, C.K.

    1986-01-01

    INPO's primary mission is to assist utilities in improving their nuclear plants performance. Consequently, the author has viewed utility audits and reviews as potential tools for improving plant performance. He has attempted to find examples where these tools are used effectively, and to find common elements of effective utility audit and review programs. One thing the author noted was that the words ''audit'' and ''review'' were not consistently used or understood. So to begin, he likes to stick to Webster's definitions in the context of nuclear power activities. First, Webster defines the verb audit as ''to examine with intent to verify.'' In this context this means to verify compliance with requirements. Second, Webster defines a review as ''a general survey'' or ''a critical evaluation.'' In this context this means an evaluation of an activity or program for effectiveness in accomplishing its intended purpose. INPO's evaluations are reviews, not audits, and they are intended to provide information to utility managers upon which they may make changes to improve performance. INPO does make ''recommendations'' based on effective practices seen at other plants, but the author insists that line management develop the corrective action. INPO provides follow-up at the next evaluation to ensure the corrective actions taken by management were effective. INPO bases most of its findings on observations of work and conditions in the plant as noted by knowledgeable personnel trained in observation techniques

  17. Results from an audit feedback strategy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in-hospital care: a joint analysis from the AUDIPOC and European COPD audit studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez-Campos, Jose Luis; Asensio-Cruz, M Isabel; Castro-Acosta, Ady; Calero, Carmen; Pozo-Rodriguez, Francisco

    2014-01-01

    Clinical audits have emerged as a potential tool to summarize the clinical performance of healthcare over a specified period of time. However, the effectiveness of audit and feedback has shown inconsistent results and the impact of audit and feedback on clinical performance has not been evaluated for COPD exacerbations. In the present study, we analyzed the results of two consecutive nationwide clinical audits performed in Spain to evaluate both the in-hospital clinical care provided and the feedback strategy. The present study is an analysis of two clinical audits performed in Spain that evaluated the clinical care provided to COPD patients who were admitted to the hospital for a COPD exacerbation. The first audit was performed from November-December 2008. The feedback strategy consisted of personalized reports for each participant center, the presentation and discussion of the results at regional, national and international meetings and the creation of health-care quality standards for COPD. The second audit was part of a European study during January and February 2011. The impact of the feedback strategy was evaluated in term of clinical care provided and in-hospital survival. A total of 94 centers participated in the two audits, recruiting 8,143 admissions (audit 1∶3,493 and audit 2∶4,650). The initially provided clinical care was reasonably acceptable even though there was considerable variability. Several diagnostic and therapeutic procedures improved in the second audit. Although the differences were significant, the degree of improvement was small to moderate. We found no impact on in-hospital mortality. The present study describes COPD hospital care in Spanish hospitals and evaluates the impact of peer-benchmarked, individually written and group-oral feedback strategy on the clinical outcomes for treating COPD exacerbations. It describes small to moderate improvements in the clinical care provided to COPD patients with no impact on in

  18. WHATSAPP CONTRIBUTIONS IN SPANISH TEACHING: A PERSPECTIVE OF MEANINGFUL AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iandra Maria Weirich da Silva Coelho

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This article describes a didactic proposal, mediated by the use of WhatsApp as a potential tool for the teaching of Spanish as an additional language. Activities are drawn from collaborative and meaningful practice with authentic situations of the language usage, taking by reference the theoretical construct of the Theory of Meaningful Learning (AUSUBEL, 2003 and Collaborative Practice of Writing. The results identify positive contributions about the increased interest and motivation of students, promotion of discursive competence, interactivity, autonomy, about actions involving the authorship and collaborative construction in information network for knowledge sharing.

  19. The diversity of the Brazilian regional Audit Courts on government auditing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André Feliciano Lino

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Currently, the 33 regional audit courts are responsible to monitor the public financial management cycle for states and municipalities and to judge the compliance of governors’ acts to the laws regarding procurement and civil servants’ employment from more than 20,000 governmental entities under their jurisdiction. This article aims to analyze the diversity of internal configuration of these regional audit courts and to discuss the potential associations with the financial auditing quality their teams usually run. We conducted interviews with external auditors and IT directors from 18 courts, followed by triangulation to official documents from the audit courts, such as audit manuals and activities reports. The audit quality drivers were identified within the governmental auditing literature, supporting the evidences collected by the interviews content analysis. Despite all regional auditing bodies in Brazil were based on the Napoleonic model, the analysis indicates the identified configurations vary according to the team’s organization and size, auditor rotation and use of data reporting systems. The discussion shows that dissimilarities on the courts’ configurations, as they are responsible to audit a specific country area, will contribute to a different coercion level on fiscal and accounting issues to state and municipalities, due a combination of characteristics which could mitigate or improve the audit quality. This paper additionally suggests some precautions, based on the organization alignment literature, for the use of proxies to control audit quality effects in the public finance studies in Brazil.

  20. Safety Auditing and Assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodin, James Ronald (Ronnie)

    2005-01-01

    Safety professionals typically do not engage in audits and independent assessments with the vigor as do our quality brethren. Taking advantage of industry and government experience conducting value added Independent Assessments or Audits benefits a safety program. Most other organizations simply call this process "internal audits." Sources of audit training are presented and compared. A relation of logic between audit techniques and mishap investigation is discussed. An example of an audit process is offered. Shortcomings and pitfalls of auditing are covered.

  1. Time to audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smyth, L G; Martin, Z; Hall, B; Collins, D; Mealy, K

    2012-09-01

    Public and political pressures are increasing on doctors and in particular surgeons to demonstrate competence assurance. While surgical audit is an integral part of surgical practice, its implementation and delivery at a national level in Ireland is poorly developed. Limits to successful audit systems relate to lack of funding and administrative support. In Wexford General Hospital, we have a comprehensive audit system which is based on the Lothian Surgical Audit system. We wished to analyse the amount of time required by the Consultant, NCHDs and clerical staff on one surgical team to run a successful audit system. Data were collected over a calendar month. This included time spent coding and typing endoscopy procedures, coding and typing operative procedures, and typing and signing discharge letters. The total amount of time spent to run the audit system for one Consultant surgeon for one calendar month was 5,168 min or 86.1 h. Greater than 50% of this time related to work performed by administrative staff. Only the intern and administrative staff spent more than 5% of their working week attending to work related to the audit. An integrated comprehensive audit system requires a very little time input by Consultant surgeons. Greater than 90% of the workload in running the audit was performed by the junior house doctors and administrative staff. The main financial implications for national audit implementation would relate to software and administrative staff recruitment. Implementation of the European Working Time Directive in Ireland may limit the time available for NCHD's to participate in clinical audit.

  2. Security information in production and operations: a study on audit trails in database systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Roratto

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Special care should be taken to verify the integrity and to ensure that sensitive data is adequately protected. One of the key activities for data loss prevention is anaudit. And in order to be able to audit a system, it is important to have reliable records of its activities. Systems that store critical data, whether financial or productive, must have features such as audit log, also called audit trail, which records all activities on critical data. This allows to identify harmful actions that can be internal or external, intentionally or unintentionally caused. Therefore, this paper presents major studies in security audit trail (audit log, especially records of logs, and it presents what is available in terms of commercial tools and what they offer.

  3. Audit Fee Determinants and Audit Quality in Ethiopian Commercial ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    However, among the factors considered important by the regulatory bank, credit risk is found to be insignificant. With regard to audit quality, the study did not find significant relationship between the extent of earning management and abnormal audit fees, indicating that auditors do not seem to compromise audit quality to ...

  4. Audit Fee Determinants and Audit Quality in Ethiopian Commercial ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    Secondly, the presence of vigilant regulation places a countervailing effect in the audit ... market and the stiff competition (partly triggered by the bidding system) ... accounting profession, and lower audit quality concern afforded in the country, ..... those earnings and give it a better audit opinion than the facts merit (Xie et al.

  5. TAX AUDIT AS A SEPARATE ITEM IN THE SYSTEM OF GENERAL AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksey F. Akhmetshin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article describes General concepts of the audit, the purpose and the essence of the tax audit, determines the methods of calculation of the tax burden, describes the ratio of the total and tax audit. Comparative analysis with the purpose of definition of tax audit as a separate element of the system of General audit is given. Conclusion about expediency of holding events for tax audit for the purpose of reduction of tax risks of economic entities is made.

  6. Audit mode change, corporate governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Limei Cao

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates changes in audit strategy in China following the introduction of risk-based auditing standards rather than an internal control-based audit mode. Specifically, we examine whether auditors are implementing the risk-based audit mode to evaluate corporate governance before distributing audit resources. The results show that under the internal control-based audit mode, the relationship between audit effort and corporate governance was weak. However, implementation of the risk-based mode required by the new auditing standards has significantly enhanced the relationship between audit effort and corporate governance. Since the change in audit mode, the Big Ten have demonstrated a significantly better grasp of governance risk and allocated their audit effort accordingly, relative to smaller firms. The empirical evidence indicates that auditors have adjusted their audit strategy to meet the regulations, risk-based auditing is being achieved to a degree, reasonable and effective corporate governance helps to optimize audit resource allocation, and smaller auditing firms in particular should urgently strengthen their risk-based auditing capability. Overall, our findings imply that the mandatory switch to risk-based auditing has optimized audit effort in China.

  7. On the nature of auditing: The audit partner effect : Research on the effect of individual audit partners on audit quality and the information dynamics of accounting data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buuren, van J.P.

    2009-01-01

    This doctoral thesis is about whether auditing is ‘static and mechanic’ of nature or the opposite: ‘dynamic and organic’. If auditing is considered ‘static and mechanic’ of nature, this implies that standard audit solutions are available and can uniformly be applied by the audit partners. Moreover,

  8. Changing Methodologies in Financial Audit and Their Impact on Information Systems Audit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel VILSANOIU

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper tries to provide a better understanding of the relation between financial audit and information systems audit and to assess the influence the change in financial audit methodologies had on IS audit. We concluded that the COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework was the starting point for fundamental changes in both financial and IS audit and that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act should be viewed as an enabler rather than an enforcer in establishing strong governance models. Finally, our research suggests that there is a direct causality effect between the employment of BRA (business risk audit methodologies and the growing importance of IS audit.

  9. Scientific and Technological Development and its Impact on Auditing and Control of Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maricela Arias-Madrazo

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Science and technology have been essential elements in the development of society; evidence of this is the Computing converted determinant of progress in all branches of knowledge. The relationship between computers and auditing is significant, given its role to monitor and control their systems and assets, and its use as a tool. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyze the role of information systems in the audit, using the method of analysis-synthesis and logical historical, concluding that it is not only the use of information technology in audit, but the computer audit is feasible and possible to reduce costs, improve quality of information, fraud prevention and social satisfaction.

  10. Increased auditor independence by external rotation and separating audit and non audit duties? - A note on the European audit regulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Velte

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The European audit reform contains the implementation of an external mandatory auditor rotation (audit firm rotation and a separation of audit and non audit duties to increase auditor independence. The central question is, whether these regulation measures are connected with an increased accounting and audit quality. First, this article presents an agency theoretical foundation of auditor independence. Then, a state of the art analysis of empirical research illustrates these ambivalent results, so that the economic need for the audit market regulation in Europe is controversial

  11. Suitcase to Audit Solar Installations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alberdi, J.; Barcala, J.M.; Blas de, J.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.J.; Yuste, C.

    2001-07-01

    The audit suitcase was proposed by BESEL to introduce in the solar energy market a new tool which can make an evaluation of solar installation efficiency. Non-invasive sensors and low power components permit both easy installation of the devices and data storage for a period as long as ten days. This project was funded by the contract JOR3-CT98-7030 of the European Union JOULE III program. (Author)

  12. Suitcase to Audit Solar Installations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alberdi, J.; Barcala, J. M.; Blas, J. de; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J. J.; Yuste, C.

    2001-01-01

    The audit suitcase was proposed by BESEL to introduce in the solar energy market a new tool which can make an evaluation of solar installation efficiency. Non-invasive sensors and low power components permit both easy installation of the devices and data storage for a period as long as ten days. This project was funded by the contract JOR3-CT98-7030 of the European Union JOULE III program. (Author)

  13. Features partnership in auditing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.P. Bondar

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The notion of «institution partnerships in the audit» and its importance in Ukraine. Done overview of international experience in the Institute of partnerships in the audit business. Determined the nature of the audit, rights, duties and powers of the partnership during the audit. Done distribution of functions between the partner and the engagement partner in the synthesis of these blocks: taking on a new customer service or continued cooperation with existing customers (clients; familiarization with activities of customer audits, including an understanding of its internal control system; identification and assessment of risks of material misstatement of accounting; audit process and the audit and the formation of the final judgment. On the basis of the distribution of functions between the partner and the engagement partner, defined the overall structure of management system auditing firm. These conditions for implementation of partnerships in the audit business, and identified a number of advantages and disadvantages of partnerships for auditing.

  14. PENGARUH KOMITMEN PROFESIONAL DAN SOSIALISASI ANTISIPATIF MAHASISWA AUDIT TERHADAP PERILAKU WHISTLEBLOWING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fitri Yani Jalil

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the anteceden of whistleblowing behavior by the professional commitment and anticipatory socialization student audit. It’s extend Elias (2008 and criticizes on the mismatch between the hypothesis with testing tools are used, so that the results can’t answer hypothetical appropriately. The used data is 104 of accounting students who have taken the course of auditing. Hypothesis testing used multiple regression test and t-test, with the previous factor analysis. The result indicates that professional commitment have significant effect on whistleblowing. The results also showed no significant difference to the level of anticipatory socialization respondents to whistleblowing. This study provides in addition to the audit literature by doing different test levels of professional commitment and anticipatory socialization student audit of whistleblowing behavior.DOI: 10.15408/ess.v4i1.1965

  15. Increased auditor independence by external rotation and separating audit and non audit duties? - A note on the European audit regulation

    OpenAIRE

    Patrick Velte; Marc Eulerich

    2015-01-01

    The European audit reform contains the implementation of an external mandatory auditor rotation (audit firm rotation) and a separation of audit and non audit duties to increase auditor independence. The central question is, whether these regulation measures are connected with an increased accounting and audit quality. First, this article presents an agency theoretical foundation of auditor independence. Then, a state of the art analysis of empirical research illustrates these ambivalent resul...

  16. The Usefulness of Analytical Procedures - An Empirical Approach in the Auditing Sector in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Pinho

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The conceptual conflict between the efficiency and efficacy on financial auditing arises from the fact that resources are scarce, both in terms of the time available to carry out the audit and the quality and timeliness of the information available to the external auditor. Audits tend to be more efficient, the lower the combination of inherent risk and control risk is assessed to be, allowing the auditor to carry out less extensive and less timely auditing tests, meaning that in some cases analytical audit procedures are a good tool to support the opinions formed by the auditor. This research, by means of an empirical study of financial auditing in Portugal, aims to evaluate the extent to which analytical procedures are used during a financial audit engagement in Portugal, throughout the different phases involved in auditing. The conclusions point to the fact that, in general terms and regardless of the size of the audit company and the way in which professionals work, Portuguese auditors use analytical procedures more frequently during the planning phase rather than during the phase of evidence gathering and the phase of opinion formation.

  17. Audits Made Simple

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belangia, David Warren [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2015-04-09

    A company just got notified there is a big external audit coming in 3 months. Getting ready for an audit can be challenging, scary, and full of surprises. This Gold Paper describes a typical audit from notification of the intent to audit through disposition of the final report including Best Practices, Opportunities for Improvement (OFI), and issues that must be fixed. Good preparation can improve the chances of success. Ensuring the auditors understand the environment and requirements is paramount to success. It helps the auditors understand that the enterprise really does think that security is important. Understanding and following a structured process ensures a smooth audit process. Ensuring follow-up on OFIs and issues in a structured fashion will also make the next audit easier. It is important to keep in mind that the auditors will use the previous report as a starting point. Now the only worry is the actual audit and subsequent report and how well the company has done.

  18. National Energy AudiT (NEAT) user`s manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krigger, J.K.; Adams, N. [Saturn Resource Management, Helena, MT (United States); Gettings, M. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Energy Div.

    1997-10-01

    Welcome to the US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) energy auditing tool called ``NEAT``. NEAT, an acronym for National Energy AudiT, is a program for personal computers that was designed for use by local agencies in the Weatherization Assistance Program. It is an approved alternative audit that meets all auditing requirements set forth by the program as well as those anticipated from new regulations pertaining to waiver of the 40% materials requirements. NEAT is easy to use. It applies engineering and economic calculations to evaluate energy conservation measures for single-family, detached houses or small multifamily buildings. You can use it to rank measured for each individual house, or to establish a priority list of conservation measures for nearly identical housing types. NEAT was written for the Weatherization Assistance Program by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Many buildings energy consumption algorithms are taken from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory`s to the computerized Instrumented Residential Audit (CIRA), published in 1982 for the Department of energy. Equipment retrofit conservation measures are based on published reports on various heating retrofits. Heating and cooling system replacement conservation measures are based on the energy ratings of new heating and cooling equipment. The Weatherization Program anticipates that this computer-based energy audit will offer substantial performance improvements to many states who choose to incorporate it into their programs. When conservation measures are evaluated locally according to climate, fuel cost, measure cost, and existing house conditions, the Program will be closer to its goal of assuring the maximum return for every federal dollar spent.

  19. The Client Risk and The Audit Planning: Influence of Acceptance of Audit Engagement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deby Suryani

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This study briefly aims to extend the relationship between client risks with the audit planning by proposes the acceptance of audit engagement as a mediate variable to fill a gap research, furthermore to determine the effect of client risk toward the audit planning in Public Accounting Firm in Jakarta, Indonesia. This research is a quantitative causal with primary data obtained by questionnaires. The population of this study is the auditors of Public Accounting Firm registered in the Directory Indonesian Institute of Accountants (Certified 2016 in Jakarta and to obtain the sample used purposive sampling technique and obtained samples of 197 respondents from 45 Public Accounting Firms spread in Jakarta. The analysis of data is using Structural Equation Modeling. The results of this research shows; (1. The Client risks directly may affect the audit planning in a positive but not significantly, (2. The Client risk directly affects the acceptance of audit positively and significantly, (3. The acceptance of audit engagement has positively and significantly influence on audit planning. Therefore the acceptance of audit engagement perfectly can act as mediate variable between client's risks with the audit planning, whereas the acceptance of audit engagement indicated by Time Budget Pressure, Audit Fee. Letter of Auditing and all indicator have a high loading factor.

  20. Pedagogical Background for Technology Education--Meaningful Learning in Theory and Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Autio, Ossi

    2009-01-01

    One important theme in technology education is the growing need to develop the type of pedagogies that encourage pupils in authentic and meaningful learning experiences. Often, the teaching strategies of technology education are only a matter of teaching the handling of materials and tools, and the production of mere objects does not consider how…

  1. Pengaruh Anggaran Waktu Audit, Kompleksitas Dokumen Audit dan Pengalaman Auditor terhadap Pertimbangan Audit Sampling pada Badan Pemeriksaan Keuangan (Bpk) Republik Indonesia Perwakilan Provinsi Aceh

    OpenAIRE

    Nadirsyah, Nadirsyah; Indriani, Mirna; Usman, Iskandar

    2011-01-01

    This research is done at BPK branch office Aceh Province which aim to know the influence of time budget audit, complexsity of audit document and audit experience toward judgement audit sampling either simultaneously or partially. Responden of this research is auditors at BPK branch office Aceh Province. The objective of this research is to be able to seek the causality between the time budget audit, complexsity of audit document and audit experience toward judgement audit sampling wi...

  2. Does Audit Quality Improve After the Implementation of Mandatory Audit Partner Rotation?

    OpenAIRE

    Gary MONROE; Sarowar HOSSAIN

    2013-01-01

    We investigate whether audit partner tenure and audit quality associations remain significant after the implementation of mandatory audit partner rotation. Carey and Simnett (2006) report a significant negative association between long audit partner tenure and the propensity to issue qualified going-concern opinions for financially distressed companies. However, their study uses data from a period when there was no restriction on the length of audit partner tenure, i.e., from a period before ...

  3. Public Cofidence in Audited Report: An Empirical Review | Osasu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ... the data gathered from the primary source the non-parametric statistical tool (z-test) was employed. ... of the users are not aware of the functioning or the activities of audit carried out in companies. Also ...

  4. Audit quality and the audit partner effect : Evidence from European listed companies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buuren, van J.P.

    2009-01-01

    The main objective of this study is to provide evidence on the differences in audit quality amongst audit partners. I attribute these dissimilarities to (i) differences in the audit risk perception and the risk appetite of individual audit partners and (ii) to differences in the personal business

  5. The Future of Audit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Lombardi

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to discuss the current state and future of auditing. Expert consensus is used as a basis to examine the current state of auditing and generate modifications both needed and likely to occur in the audit profession. This study contributes to the literature by using the Delphi method to develop predictions as to the direction of the audit industry and discuss the implications associated with these predictions. If auditors can better understand where the profession stands and where it is headed, then they can better prepare for the future. Some predictions emerging from this study relative to future audit practices include increasing automation of audit procedures, more predictive financial statements, continuous auditing of financial statements and transactions, and an increasingly global perspective regarding audit activities.

  6. Psychometric properties of the AUDIT among men in Goa, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endsley, Paige; Weobong, Benedict; Nadkarni, Abhijit

    2017-10-01

    The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is a 10-item screening questionnaire used to detect alcohol use disorders. The AUDIT has been validated in only two studies in India and although it has been previously used in Goa, India, it has yet to be validated in that setting. In this paper, we aim to report data on the validity of the AUDIT for the screening of AUDs among men in Goa, India. Concurrent and convergent validity of the AUDIT were assessed against the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Scale (WHODAS) for alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, and functional status respectively through the secondary analysis of data from a community cohort of men from Goa, India. The AUDIT showed high internal reliability and acceptable criterion validity with adequate psychometric properties for the detection of alcohol abuse and dependence. However, all of the optimal cut-off points from ROC analyses were lower than the WHO recommended for identification of risk of all AUDs, with a score of 6-12 detecting alcohol abuse and 13 and higher alcohol dependence. In order to optimize the utility of the AUDIT, a lowered cut-off point for alcohol abuse and dependence is recommended for Goa, India. Further validation studies for the AUDIT should be conducted for continued validation of the tool in other parts of India. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. The UKNG database: a simple audit tool for interventional neuroradiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Millar, J.S.; Burke, M.

    2007-01-01

    The UK Neurointerventional Group (UKNG) has developed a unified database for the purposes of recording, analysis and clinical audit of neuroangiography and neurointerventional procedures. It has been in use since January 2002. The database utilizes an Access platform (Microsoft) comprising separate but linked programs for data collection and analysis. The program that analyses aneurysm therapy has been designed to mirror the criteria used in the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT). Data entered into the main database immediately update the analysis program producing clinical outcome scores in the form of a report. Our local database (Wessex) now contains records on more than 1,750 patients including nearly 350 aneurysm coilings and a total of approximately 500 neurointerventional, vascular procedures. Every time a new piece of information is added to the main database the reporting database is automatically updated which allows 'real-time' audit and analysis of one's clinical practice. The clinical outcome scores for aneurysm treatment are presented in such a way that we can directly compare our results with the 'Clinical Standard' set by ISAT. This database provides a unique opportunity to monitor and review practice at national level. The UKNG wishes to share this database with the wider neurointerventional community and a copy of the software can be obtained free of charge from the authors. (orig.)

  8. The UKNG database: a simple audit tool for interventional neuroradiology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Millar, J.S.; Burke, M. [Southampton General Hospital, Departments of Neuroradiology and IT, Wessex Neurological Centre, Southampton (United Kingdom)

    2007-06-15

    The UK Neurointerventional Group (UKNG) has developed a unified database for the purposes of recording, analysis and clinical audit of neuroangiography and neurointerventional procedures. It has been in use since January 2002. The database utilizes an Access platform (Microsoft) comprising separate but linked programs for data collection and analysis. The program that analyses aneurysm therapy has been designed to mirror the criteria used in the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT). Data entered into the main database immediately update the analysis program producing clinical outcome scores in the form of a report. Our local database (Wessex) now contains records on more than 1,750 patients including nearly 350 aneurysm coilings and a total of approximately 500 neurointerventional, vascular procedures. Every time a new piece of information is added to the main database the reporting database is automatically updated which allows 'real-time' audit and analysis of one's clinical practice. The clinical outcome scores for aneurysm treatment are presented in such a way that we can directly compare our results with the 'Clinical Standard' set by ISAT. This database provides a unique opportunity to monitor and review practice at national level. The UKNG wishes to share this database with the wider neurointerventional community and a copy of the software can be obtained free of charge from the authors. (orig.)

  9. Dental radiography ten years ago and now: overview of results of postal TLD audit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vtelenska, M.; Novak, L.

    2014-01-01

    Since 2002, regular postal audit in dental radiography organized by NRPI Prague belongs to basic radiography QA/QC tools in the Czech Republic. The measured parameters are incident air kerma, field size, and exposure reproducibility. The overall quality of the dental radiograph is also assessed. Ten-year summary of the audit results is presented here. (authors)

  10. AUDIT and AUDIT-C as screening instruments for alcohol problem use in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liskola, Joni; Haravuori, Henna; Lindberg, Nina; Niemelä, Solja; Karlsson, Linnea; Kiviruusu, Olli; Marttunen, Mauri

    2018-07-01

    The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is commonly used in adults to screen for harmful alcohol consumption but few studies exist on its use among adolescents. Our aim was to validate the AUDIT and its derivative consumption questionnaire (AUDIT-C) as screening instruments for the detection of problem use of alcohol in adolescents. 621 adolescents (age-range, 12-19 years) were drawn from clinical and population samples who completed the AUDIT questionnaire. Psychiatric diagnoses were assessed using K-SADS-PL. A rating based on the K-SADS-PL was used to assess alcohol use habits, alcohol use disorders, screening and symptom criteria questions. Screening performance of the AUDIT and AUDIT-C sum scores and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated. The diagnostic odds ratios (dOR) were calculated to express the overall discrimination between cut-offs. Comparisons of ROC between the AUDIT and AUDIT-C pairs indicated a slightly better test performance by AUDIT for the whole sample and in a proportion of the subsamples. Optimal cut-off value for the AUDIT was ≥5 (sensitivity 0.931, specificity 0.772, dOR 45.22; 95% CI: 24.72-83.57) for detecting alcohol problem use. The corresponding optimal cut-off value for the AUDIT-C was ≥3 in detecting alcohol problem use (sensitivity 0.952, specificity 0.663, dOR 39.31; 95% CI: 19.46-78.97). Agreement between the AUDIT and AUDIT-C using these cut-off scores was high at 91.9%. Our results for the cut-off scores for the early detection of alcohol problem use in adolescents are ≥5 for AUDIT, and ≥3 for AUDIT-C. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Self-audit as part of a research governance framework for health research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crammond, Bradley R; Parker, Anna V; Brooks, Megan; Skiba, Marina; McNeil, John J

    2011-03-21

    Clinical research is an area of increasing activity for hospitals, universities and research institutions, which requires formal governance and oversight to manage risks. Monitoring research practice should be a part of research governance activities. However, formal audits have proved time consuming for researchers and auditors. To increase attention to good research practice and screen for poor practice, the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Monash University and the Alfred Research and Ethics Unit in Melbourne have developed a brief self-audit tool for researchers. We evaluated the self-audit using a questionnaire for researchers. The results were positive, with most respondents believing that it promoted good research practice.

  12. PILLARS OF THE AUDIT ACTIVITY: MATERIALITY AND AUDIT RISK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANA MARIA JOLDOŞ

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to present the issues of materiality andaudit risk within the activity of financial audit. The concepts of materiality and audit risk aredescribed from a theoretical perspective, providing approaches found within the national andinternational literature and within the specific legislation. A case study on the calculation ofmateriality and audit risk for an entity is presented in the last part of the article. Through thetheoretical approach and the case study, it was concluded that materiality has an importantrole in determining the type of report to be issued, that is why it can be considered helpful forthose involved in the audit process.

  13. The impact of global financial crisis on audit and non-audit fees

    OpenAIRE

    Alexeyeva, Irina; Svanström, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    This is the accepted and refereed manuscript to the article Purpose - The paper aims to investigate audit and non-audit fees during the global financial crisis (GFC) in an environment that is relatively sparsely regulated with regard to the provision of non-audit services. Design/methodology/approach - Audit and non-audit fees were studied during pre-GFC (2006-2007), GFC (2008-2009) and post-GFC (2010-2011) periods. Findings - During the GFC Swedish companies benefited from an increa...

  14. Knowledge Management Tools in Application to Regulatory Body Activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volkov, E.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: The paper presents the application of knowledge management tools to regulatory authority activity. Knowledge management tools are considered a means for improving the efficiency of regulator activities. Three case studies are considered: 1. a knowledge management audit procedure in the regulator (tools for knowledge management audit application, results and the audit outcomes); 2. the development of a guide to identify causes of discrepancies and shortcomings revealed during inspections in NPP maintenance (ontologies of factors influencing on a maintenance quality and causes of discrepancies and shortcoming development); 3. the development of a knowledge portal for regulator (regulator needs which could be covered by the portal, definition and basic function of the portal, it’s functioning principles, development goals and tasks, common model, development stages). (author)

  15. Audits contribute to pride, productivity and profit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, Q.

    1984-01-01

    The object of this writing is to demonstrate that audits (in general) when used as a ''management tool' can contribute to pride, productivity, and profit. The goal of ''pride'' achievement is demonstrated through the use of techniques developed from behavioral sciences. Discussed is dealing with people and their basic needs. This is intended to point out the fact that satisfying individual needs and concerns is the first step to achieving the goals of pride, productivity, and profit. Also discussed are the basic needs of safety (security), social, ego/esteem, and self-fulfillment as well as providing some basic techniques of auditing which will help assure general satisfaction of these needs. Also noted are reporting methods. The goal of ''productivity'' is approached by demonstrating that objectives must be clear and workable. Objectives must be translated into specific action and that action must be compatible with the overall company objectives. All objectives must be known and understood by those affected. Consideration must be given to men, money, and machines (present technology). All of the objectives must also be weighed against external constraints. The goal of ''profit'' then becomes the product of a combination of ''pride'' and ''productivity''. Audits must be cost conscious. Value engineer the problem, the cause, and the solution. Discussion continues with quality cost programs briefly indicating that ''Q'' costs could be considered a type of audit. Identifying deficiencies and weaknesses, then correcting them, contributes to profit. Increased pride and productivity contributes to profit. Consider the employee's awareness and commitment for doing a good job when auditing

  16. Auditing of environmental management system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Čuchranová Katarína

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available Environmental auditing has estabilished itself as a valueable instrument to verify and help to improve the environmental performance.Organizations of all kinds may have a need to demonstrate the environmental responsibility. The concept of environmental management systems and the associated practice of environmental auditing have been advanced as one way to satisfy this need.These system are intended to help an organization to establish and continue to meet its environmental policies, objectives, standards and other requirements.Environmental auditing is a systematic and documented verification process of objectively obtaining and evaluating audit evidence to determine whether an organizations environmental management system conforms to the environmental management system audit criteria set by the organization and for the communication of the results of this process to the management.The following article intercepts all parts of preparation environmental auditing.The audit programme and procedures should cover the activities and areas to be considered in audits, the frequency of audits, the responsibilities associated with managing and conducting audits, the communication of audit results, auditor competence, and how audits will be conducted.The International Standard ISO 140011 estabilishes the audit procedures that determine conformance with EMS audit criteria.

  17. Changing Methodologies in Financial Audit and Their Impact on Information Systems Audit

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel VILSANOIU; Mihaela SERBAN

    2010-01-01

    This paper tries to provide a better understanding of the relation between financial audit and information systems audit and to assess the influence the change in financial audit methodologies had on IS audit. We concluded that the COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework was the starting point for fundamental changes in both financial and IS audit and that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act should be viewed as an enabler rather than an enforcer in establishing strong governance models. Finally, ou...

  18. Public Audit of Local Area Development Fund in Meghalaya | IDRC ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Public Audit of Local Area Development Fund in Meghalaya ... The team proposes to use the 2005 Right to Information Act as a tool to gather relevant information. ... adaptive water management: Innovative solutions from the Global South”.

  19. Road safety audit tools, procedures, and experiences : a literature review and recommendations : research in the framework of the European research project Safety Standards for Road Design and Redesign SAFESTAR, Workpackage 8.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kooi, R.M. van der

    1999-01-01

    This report describes tools and procedures established in different countries which apply Road Safety Audits (RSA). These RSAs are utilized to identify potential safety problems and they concentrate on safety measures to overcome these problems. This technique is used to detect possible safety

  20. Evaluation of a Nutrition Care Process-based audit instrument, the Diet-NCP-Audit, for documentation of dietetic care in medical records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lövestam, Elin; Orrevall, Ylva; Koochek, Afsaneh; Karlström, Brita; Andersson, Agneta

    2014-06-01

    Adequate documentation in medical records is important for high-quality health care. Documentation quality is widely studied within nursing, but studies are lacking within dietetic care. The aim of this study was to translate, elaborate and evaluate an audit instrument, based on the four-step Nutrition Care Process model, for documentation of dietetic care in medical records. The audit instrument includes 14 items focused on essential parts of dietetic care and the documentation's clarity and structure. Each item is to be rated 0-1 or 0-2 points, with a maximum total instrument score of 26. A detailed manual was added to facilitate the interpretation and increase the reliability of the instrument. The instrument is based on a similar tool initiated 9 years ago in the United States, which in this study was translated to Swedish and further elaborated. The translated and further elaborated instrument was named Diet-NCP-Audit. Firstly, the content validity of the Diet-NCP-Audit instrument was tested by five experienced dietitians. They rated the relevance and clarity of the included items. After a first rating, minor improvements were made. After the second rating, the Content Validity Indexes were 1.0, and the Clarity Index was 0.98. Secondly, to test the reliability, four dietitians reviewed 20 systematically collected dietetic notes independently using the audit instrument. Before the review, a calibration process was performed. A comparison of the reviews was performed, which resulted in a moderate inter-rater agreement with Krippendorff's α = 0.65-0.67. Grouping the audit results in three levels: lower, medium or higher range, a Krippendorff's α of 0.74 was considered high reliability. Also, an intra-rater reliability test-retest with a 9 weeks interval, performed by one dietitian, showed strong agreement. To conclude, the evaluated audit instrument had high content validity and moderate to high reliability and can be used in auditing documentation of dietetic

  1. 34 CFR 668.23 - Compliance audits and audited financial statements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Compliance audits and audited financial statements. 668... purpose financial statements. (3) Third-party servicers. Except as provided under this part or 34 CFR part... financial statements no later than six months after the last day of the institution's fiscal year. (5) Audit...

  2. Mortality reporting in interventional radiology: Experience of a pilot audit with the Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, R.D.; Ingram, S.; Moss, J.G.; Pace, N.; Chakraverty, S.

    2013-01-01

    Aim: To describe the initial pilot phase of the 2009 Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality (SASM), which includes outcomes and difficulties that arose during any interventional radiology (IR) procedure performed on patients in this audit over an 18 month period. Materials and methods: Approximately 40 consultant interventional radiologists from all units in Scotland elected to participate in the audit. Each response was then peer reviewed after anonymisation of the patient and institution. If a relevant ACON (area for consideration or area of concern) was generated, this was checked by one of the other reviewers before communication with the original reporting radiologist and colleagues. There was then a right of reply by the reporting unit before formal documentation was sent out. Results: Initial results were analysed after 18 months period, during which time 95 forms relating to deaths of surgical inpatients were sent to interventional radiologists identified as having been involved in an IR procedure at some time during the patient’s admission. Seventy-one forms had been returned by July 2010, of which 46 had gone through the entire SASM process. From these, 10 ACONs were attributed. Anonymised case vignettes and reports from these were used as educational tools. Conclusion: Involvement with SASM is a useful process. Significant safety issues and learning points were identified in the pilot. The majority of ACONs identified by the audit were in patients who had undergone percutaneous biliary interventions

  3. PENGARUH KONDISI KEUANGAN, PERTUMBUHAN DAN OPINI AUDIT TAHUN SEBELUMNYA TERHADAP OPINI AUDIT GOING CONCERN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Badingatus Solikhah

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Penelitian tentang going concern ditujukan untuk menguji secara empiris dampak kondisi keuangan corporate, perkembangan corporate dan opini audit tahun lalu terhadap opini audit going concern Data dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan content analysis dan metode dokumentasi dan diproses dengan Logistic Regression. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, bukti empiris yang ditemukan adalah bahwa kondisi keuangan corporate opini audit tahun lalu berdampak signifikan terhadap penerimaan opini audit going concern. Namun sebaliknya variabel pertumbuhan corporate terbukti tidak signifikan terhadap penerimaan opini audit going concern. AbstractThe going concern research has a goal for testing empirically the effect of corporate financial condition, corporate growth, and last year audit opinion towards going concern audit opinion The data were collected by using content analysis and documentation methods, and processed by means of Logistic Regression. Based on the result of the study, empirical evidence is found that corporate financial condition and last year audit opinion has significant effect towards going concern audit opinion acceptance. In the contrary, corporate growth variable is proven insignificant towards going concern audit opinion acceptance.Keywords: audit opinion; going concern; logistic regression

  4. Audit mode change, corporate governance

    OpenAIRE

    Limei Cao; Wanfu Li; Limin Zhang

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates changes in audit strategy in China following the introduction of risk-based auditing standards rather than an internal control-based audit mode. Specifically, we examine whether auditors are implementing the risk-based audit mode to evaluate corporate governance before distributing audit resources. The results show that under the internal control-based audit mode, the relationship between audit effort and corporate governance was weak. However, implementation of the ri...

  5. Audit Of The Prevalence Of Malnutrition Using The Modified Subjective Global Assessment Tool In Maintenance Peritoneal Dialysis Patients In The Top End Renal Service Of The Nortehrn Territory Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Greta Hollis

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the audit is to determine the prevalence of malnutrition in maintenance peritoneal dialysis (MPD patients in the Top End of the Northern Territory, using the modified Subjective Global Assessment (SGA tool. Methods: The audit was conducted in an outpatients setting. Approximately 75% of PD patients in the Top End Renal service are represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. The study population was MPD patients in the Top End Renal Service (TERS of the Northern Territory, from January 1st 2010 to December 31st 2010. Results were compared to malnutrition rates found in the 2008/09 the audit of MPD patients in the TERS. The SGA’s were performed by the renal Dietitian as part of the standard dietetic support of MPD patients. SGA scores were collected from patient medical charts. Results: Patients were classified into one of three categories, based on their SGA score (A Well-nourished; (B Mild- Moderate Malnutrition, (C Severe malnutrition. Malnutrition (B or C was detected in 10% of PD patients, compared to the 2008/09 audit where 76% of MPD patients had some degree of malnutrition. Summary: These results were much lower than malnutrition rates (76% in the MPD patients audited in 2008/09. A number of factors affecting the PD service after the 2008/09 audit could explain the decrease in malnutrition rates including the implementation of free oral nutrition supplements to MPD patients, development of service wide culturally appropriate education resources used in the pre-dialysis and dialysis stage. Future research into the correlation between improved peritonitis rates and decreased malnutrition rates in the population are warranted.

  6. Health plan auditing: 100-percent-of-claims vs. random-sample audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sillup, George P; Klimberg, Ronald K

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the relative efficacy of two different methodologies for auditing self-funded medical claim expenses: 100-percent-of-claims auditing versus random-sampling auditing. Multiple data sets of claim errors or 'exceptions' from two Fortune-100 corporations were analysed and compared to 100 simulated audits of 300- and 400-claim random samples. Random-sample simulations failed to identify a significant number and amount of the errors that ranged from $200,000 to $750,000. These results suggest that health plan expenses of corporations could be significantly reduced if they audited 100% of claims and embraced a zero-defect approach.

  7. From joint to single audits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Claus; Thinggaard, Frank

    2018-01-01

    This study analyses audit quality differences between audits by a single big audit firm and joint audits with either one or two big audit firms. We exploit the unique situation in Denmark beginning on 1 January 2005, at which time a long-standing mandatory joint audit system for listed companies ...

  8. The Risk of Electronic Audit and its Impact on The Quality Audit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zainab Jabbar Yousif

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The auditing profession faces a challenge referred to as information technology ,Information technology has set the profession of auditing in constant challenge because it has made the world an open - limited system through communication technology . The importance of this research stems from the need to identify the nature of the  risks of electronic auditing  after turned  from manual checking to electronic auditing due to developments in technologies  in all sectors.  The risk of electronic auditing  the risk of information technology infrastructure and the risks of applications and other  related to communication processes, several conclusions have been reached, implementation of programs with goods specifications in the electronic auditing  process will lead to safety of work and  reduce the risk of electronic auditing . The research highlights these  risks and their impact on the quality of auditing .                                  

  9. MAAGs (Medical Audit Advisory Groups): the Eli Lilly National Clinical Audit Centre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, R; Fraser, R

    1993-01-01

    Outlines the framework for promoting audit in general practice, created as one part of the health service reforms. Medical Audit Advisory Groups (MAAGs) were set up in each district with the aim of participation in audit of all general practitioners by April 1992. The activities undertaken have included those recommended by the Department of Health; the most significant of these being the appointment of lay facilitators who are able to assist general practitioners and primary care teams co-operate over efforts to improve the quality of care, and may offer one means of introducing some of the methods of total quality management into general practice. Discusses the problems which remain: audit is not yet sufficiently systematic, interface audit with secondary care is at a very early stage, the ways to involve managers and patients in audit remain to be clarified, and there is little evidence of the consequences of audit in terms of improved care. The Eli Lilly National Clinical Audit Centre has been set up within the Department of General Practice, University of Leicester, in order to address these issues.

  10. [Introduction of Quality Management System Audit in Medical Device Single Audit Program].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Jing; Xiao, Jiangyi; Wang, Aijun

    2018-01-30

    The audit of the quality management system in the medical device single audit program covers the requirements of several national regulatory authorities, which has a very important reference value. This paper briefly described the procedures and contents of this audit. Some enlightenment on supervision and inspection are discussed in China, for reference by the regulatory authorities and auditing organizations.

  11. INTERNAL AUDIT AS AN ATTRIBUTE OF MANAGEMENT DURING THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgiana Susmanschi

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Internal audit provides through its tasks reasonable assurance that decisions implemented and on-going objectives are under control. Internal audit has passed from a simple check to a role in assisting management in order to have better control over operations, thus the internal audit function overcomes its primordial role to provide simple stage directions functional, following his path to becoming a useful leverage to optimize the company. Any company, irrespective of its business and operating environment, faces a number of risks, frauds. The most effective tools in preventing fraud are management control and internal audit, the latter being of prime importance in the field of corporate governance. The present paper follows to highlight the place and role that internal audit has in the economic entities which it is labeled as an attribute of management. A negative element identified at the level of the affected companies is the failure to identify risk management, due to increasing complexity of services and risky nature of the business. Although internal audit is not responsible for implementation of actions as a response to risks, it is responsible for providing reports to the management of significant information showing key risk assessment and so helps the management to become more efficient.

  12. Quality assurance and the need to evaluate interventions and audit programme outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Min; Vaartjes, Ilonca; Klipstein-Grobusch, Kerstin; Kotseva, Kornelia; Jennings, Catriona; Grobbee, Diederick E; Graham, Ian

    2017-06-01

    Evidence-based clinical guidelines provide standards for the provision of healthcare. However, these guidelines have been poorly implemented in daily practice. Clinical audit is a quality improvement tool to promote quality of care in daily practice and to improve outcomes through the systematic review of care delivery and implementation of changes. A major priority in the management of subjects with cardiovascular disease (CVD) management is secondary prevention by controlling cardiovascular risk factors and providing appropriate medical treatment. Clinical audits can be applied to monitor modifiable risk factors and evaluate quality improvements of CVD management in daily practice. Existing clinical audits have provided an overview of the burden of risk factors in subjects with CVD and reflect real-world risk factor recording and management. However, consistent and representative data from clinic audits are still insufficient to fully monitor quality improvement of CVD management. Data are lacking in particular from low- and middle-income countries, limiting the evaluation of CVD management quality by clinical audit projects in many settings. To support the development of clinical standards, monitor daily practice performance, and improve quality of care in CVD management at national and international levels, more widespread clinical audits are warranted.

  13. Audit stakeholder media market: the need for and characteristics of the organization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.V. Bardash

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Active Ukraine media market development and its integration into the global market space cause a number of problems faced by scientists and practitioners in the fild of audit organizing of firms that saturate this market sector. The market research problems and organizing business parameters audit in this market are segmental in nature as the vast majority of work media market, accounting of its financial performance and its audit are dealt with separately, thus leaving aside the causal link between the trends of the industry and the specifics of audit of its subjects who in their turn represent different legal forms. The article deals with domestic and foreign experience of media market development for using it as marketing communications tools. The study takes the media companies organizational form as the basis for organizing and holding internal and external audits. The article summarizes the list of domestic audit challenges that accompany media market globalization. Therefore, the system that would efficiently respond to these challenges and, thereby, ensure effective company operation has great significance for the subjects of the media market taking into account their legal status and type of business.

  14. Screening for At-Risk Drinking in a Population Reporting Symptoms of Depression: A Validation of the AUDIT, AUDIT-C, and AUDIT-3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levola, Jonna; Aalto, Mauri

    2015-07-01

    Excessive alcohol use is common in patients presenting with symptoms of depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its most commonly used abbreviated versions perform in detecting at-risk drinking among subjects reporting symptoms of depression. A subsample (n = 390; 166 men, 224 women) of a general population survey, the National FINRISK 2007 Study, was used. Symptoms of depression were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form and alcohol consumption with the Timeline Follow-back (TLFB). At-risk drinking was defined as ≥280 g weekly or ≥60 g on at least 1 occasion in the previous 28 days for men, 140 and 40 g, respectively, for women. The AUDIT, AUDIT-C, and AUDIT-3 were tested against the defined gold standard, that is, alcohol use calculated from the TLFB. An optimal cutoff was designated as having a sensitivity and specificity of over 0.75, with emphasis on specificity. The AUDIT and its abbreviations were compared with carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) and gamma-glutamyltransferase. At-risk drinking was common. The AUDIT and AUDIT-C performed quite consistently. Optimal cutoffs for men were ≥9 for the AUDIT and ≥6 for AUDIT-C. The optimal cut-offs for women with mild symptoms of depression were ≥5 for the AUDIT and ≥4 for AUDIT-C. Optimal cutoffs could not be determined for women with moderate symptoms of depression (specificity AUDIT. The AUDIT-3 failed to perform in women, but in men, a good level of sensitivity and specificity was reached at a cutoff of ≥2. With standard threshold values, the biochemical markers demonstrated very low sensitivity (9 to 28%), but excellent specificity (83 to 98%). Screening for at-risk drinking among patients presenting with symptoms of depression using the full AUDIT is recommended, although the AUDIT-C performed almost equally well. Cut-offs should be adjusted according to gender, but not according to the severity

  15. Auditing Quality in China

    OpenAIRE

    Ding, Shengyan

    2012-01-01

    In the research area of Chinese auditing market, few studies have been conducted on the effects that auditor-related characteristics have on auditing quality. Thus, the paper is to examine the influences auditor-related attributes have on auditing quality, including size of the auditing firm, its income, and whether it is Big 4 or not. In addition to that, research topic on relationship between relationship between market concentration level and auditing quality is also an attractive one amon...

  16. PENGARUH KUALITAS AUDIT, OPINION SHOPPING, DEBTDEFAULT PERTUMBUHAN PERUSAHAAN DAN KONDISI KEUANGAN PERUSAHAAN TERHADAP PENERIMAAN OPINI AUDITGOING CONCERN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Istiana

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This research have a purpose to test the effect of Audit Quality, opinion shopping, debt default, company growth and company financial condition to going concern audit opinion acceptance. The sample which used in this research is Manufacture Company which registered in Indonesia Stock Exchange use of 2006-2008. The sample was taken with purposive sampling method and the result 53 companies were match and fulfill the sample criteria. Hypotheses testing was done whit logistic regression test tool from SPSS application program. The research result show that audit quality does not effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance, opinion shopping does not effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance, debt default have effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance, company growth does not effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance, and company financial condition have effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance.

  17. Audit of the informed consent process as a part of a clinical research quality assurance program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lad, Pramod M; Dahl, Rebecca

    2014-06-01

    Audits of the informed consent process are a key element of a clinical research quality assurance program. A systematic approach to such audits has not been described in the literature. In this paper we describe two components of the audit. The first is the audit of the informed consent document to verify adherence with federal regulations. The second component is comprised of the audit of the informed consent conference, with emphasis on a real time review of the appropriate communication of the key elements of the informed consent. Quality measures may include preparation of an informed consent history log, notes to accompany the informed consent, the use of an informed consent feedback tool, and the use of institutional surveys to assess comprehension of the informed consent process.

  18. Audit result and its users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shalimova Nataliya S.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article identifies essence of the “audit result” and “users of audit result” notions and characteristics of the key audit results user. It shows that in order to give a wide characteristic of users it is expedient to unite all objects, which could be used (audit report, fact of refusal to conduct audit and information that is submitted to managers in the process of audit with the term “audit result” and classify it depending on the terms of submission by final and intermediate result. The article offers to define audit results user as a person, persons or category of persons for whom the auditor prepares the audit report and, in cases, envisaged by international standards of the audit and domestic legislative and regulatory acts, provides other additional information concerning audit issues. In order to identify the key audit results user the article distributes all audit tasks into two groups depending on possibilities of identification of users. The article proves that the key user should be identified especially in cases of a mandatory audit and this process should go in interconnection with the mechanism of allocation of a key user of financial reports. It offers to consider external users with direct financial interests, who cannot request economic subjects directly to provide information and who should rely on general financial reports and audit report when receiving significant portion of information they need, as the key user. The article makes proposals on specification of the categorical mechanism in the sphere of audit, which are the basis for audit quality assessment, identification of possibilities and conditions of appearance of the necessary and sufficient trust to the auditor opinion.

  19. 12 CFR 715.7 - Supervisory Committee audit alternatives to a financial statement audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... financial statement audit. 715.7 Section 715.7 Banks and Banking NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION... Committee audit alternatives to a financial statement audit. A credit union which is not required to obtain a financial statement audit may fulfill its supervisory committee responsibility by any one of the...

  20. CRITERIA AND FACTORS THAT INSURE THE QUALITY IN PROVISION OF AUDIT SERVICES, DIFFERENT FROM AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antoniuk O.

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Quality management of audit services requires further theoretical research and development in the field of audit activity and quality of audit, continuous improvement of the organization and methodology in providing audit services. Purpose. The article deals with the theoretical and practical questions of assessing the quality of audit services that are different from the audit in order to identify ways to improve the methodological quality assurance in the provision of these services. Results. It is proved that factors (economic, methodological, organizational and conditions have an impact on the quality of audit services. This, in general, affects the content of audit services regulation and their social and economic significance. The terms of quality assurance, which are considered in the article, have a decisive influence on the implementation of those specific factors that directly change the properties of the audit services and create the services of the required quality. Assurance of the quality of audit services is considered as the creation of the necessary conditions for the implementation of all factors that affect the quality of audit services, maintanence of the given level of quality of audit services in accordance with the requirements of legal acts and market needs. Conclusions. The issue of identifying criteria, factors and indicators for assessing the quality in audit services is raised. In the generalized form, the matrix of quality assurance of audit services is presented, which indicates the interconnection of various conditions, factors, quality indicators in audit services.

  1. Rethinking The Future of Auditing: How an Integrated Continuous Auditing Approach Can Leverage the Full Potential of Continuous Auditing

    OpenAIRE

    Weins, Sebastian; Alm, Bastian; Wang, Tawei

    2016-01-01

    The concept of Continuous Auditing has been around for more than three decades. The ongoing discussion on the benefits and models on adoption has made Continuous Auditing become a more critical issue. Although a lot of progress has been made in previous years, we argue that the entire potential of Continuous Auditing still remains unrevealed. This paper provides a new conceptual framework on how to bring Continuous Auditing to the next level. It goes beyond the existing technical concepts and...

  2. Auditing Knowledge toward Leveraging Organizational IQ in Healthcare Organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahmoradi, Leila; Karami, Mahtab; Farzaneh Nejad, Ahmadreza

    2016-04-01

    In this study, a knowledge audit was conducted based on organizational intelligence quotient (OIQ) principles of Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) to determine levers that can enhance OIQ in healthcare. The mixed method study was conducted within the MOHME. The study population consisted of 15 senior managers and policymakers. A tool based on literature review and panel expert opinions was developed to perform a knowledge audit. The significant results of this auditing revealed the following: lack of defined standard processes for organizing knowledge management (KM), lack of a knowledge map, absence of a trustee to implement KM, absence of specialists to produce a knowledge map, individuals' unwillingness to share knowledge, implicitness of knowledge format, occasional nature of knowledge documentation for repeated use, lack of a mechanism to determine repetitive tasks, lack of a reward system for the formation of communities, groups and networks, non-updatedness of the available knowledge, and absence of commercial knowledge. The analysis of the audit findings revealed that three levers for enhancing OIQ, including structure and process, organizational culture, and information technology must be created or modified.

  3. Former Audit Partners on Audit Committees: Implications for Russian Corporate Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Genevieve Scalan

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The Moscow Exchange in conjunction with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD continues to address improvements in Russian corporate governance by conducting annual roundtables (OECD, 2017.  My research relates to corporate governance provided by audit committees. I examine relationships between former audit partner (FAP audit committee members and auditors, via a network similar to the interlocking directorate.  Using a dataset of U.S. auditor dismissals, I construct unique network variables measuring the relational ties between FAP audit committees and auditors.  I find some evidence suggesting ties created by former audit partners may increase auditor switching possibly indicating impaired auditor independence. This outcome suggests implications for Russian corporate governance because it is likely Russian Boards of Directors would experience similar circumstances as their U.S. counterparts.  As the Moscow Exchange continues its partnership with the OECD to improve corporate governance, audit quality and auditor independence should be considered in the dialogue.

  4. Corporate social responsibility audit: Theoretical aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Artem Koldovskyi

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper puts a conceptual framework to outline research for corporate social responsibility (CSR audit based on the analysis of current CRS literature and audit models as implementation of CSR. It is intended to make clear the phenomena about the relationship between audit, implementation of business ethics principles and corporate governance. However, most studies do not take into account modify CSR audit. This paper reports part of a research we carried out on the theoretical interpretation of the corporate social responsibility audit. This paper examines the corporate social responsibility audit as a composition of four categories - management system audits, on-site audits, verbal probability expressions (VPE audits and technology audits. The paper concludes suggests to systematize multiple audits so that they can be conduct in three types of audits - environmental management audits covering in-house companies, environmental technology audits of products, and environmental audits of sites, including non-manufacturing sites and non-consolidated subsidiaries.

  5. Audit Validation Using Ontologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion IVAN

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Requirements to increase quality audit processes in enterprises are defined. It substantiates the need for assessment and management audit processes using ontologies. Sets of rules, ways to assess the consistency of rules and behavior within the organization are defined. Using ontologies are obtained qualifications that assess the organization's audit. Elaboration of the audit reports is a perfect algorithm-based activity characterized by generality, determinism, reproducibility, accuracy and a well-established. The auditors obtain effective levels. Through ontologies obtain the audit calculated level. Because the audit report is qualitative structure of information and knowledge it is very hard to analyze and interpret by different groups of users (shareholders, managers or stakeholders. Developing ontology for audit reports validation will be a useful instrument for both auditors and report users. In this paper we propose an instrument for validation of audit reports contain a lot of keywords that calculates indicators, a lot of indicators for each key word there is an indicator, qualitative levels; interpreter who builds a table of indicators, levels of actual and calculated levels.

  6. Analisis Pengaruh Ukuran Kantor Akuntan Publik, Audit Fee, Audittenure, Dan Karakteristik Komite Audit Terhadap Audit Quality Pada Perusahaan Manufaktur Yang Terdaftar Di Bursa Efek Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    William, Richi

    2017-01-01

    130503129 Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis pengaruh ukuran kantor akuntan publik, audit fee, audit tenure, dan karakteristik komite audit terhadap kualitas audit pada perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Indikator karakteristik komite audit yaitu gender dan usia komite audit. Populasi penelitian ini sebanyak 151 perusahaan manufaktur. Metode pengambilan sampel yang digunakan adalah purposive sampling, sehingga diperoleh 27 perusahaan s...

  7. Audit Expectation Gap: Perspectives of Auditors and Audited ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study empirically examined Audit Expectation Gap: Perspectives of Auditors and Audited Account Users. For the purpose of this study primary and secondary data were used. Data were sourced through the examination of vast array of relevant literature like journals, standard textbooks, magazine and questionnaires.

  8. Developing and testing an internal audit tool of the psychosocial work environment in the oil and gas industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vestly Bergh, L.I.; Hinna, S.; Leka, S.; Zwetsloot, G.I.J.M.

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to present and discuss a pilot study for conducting internal psychosocial risk auditing in the oil and gas industry, focusing on offshore units. Psychosocial risk auditing is a proactive method for monitoring the status of psychosocial factors influencing the risk of

  9. POSSUM--a model for surgical outcome audit in quality care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, K J; Yii, M K

    2003-10-01

    Comparative surgical audit to monitor quality of care should be performed with a risk-adjusted scoring system rather than using crude morbidity and mortality rates. A validated and widely applied risk adjusted scoring system, P-POSSUM (Portsmouth-Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality) methodology, was applied to a prospective series of predominantly general surgical patients at the Sarawak General Hospital, Kuching over a six months period. The patients were grouped into four risk groups. The observed mortality rates were not significantly different from predicted rates, showing that the quality of surgical care was at par with typical western series. The simplicity and advantages of this scoring system over other auditing tools are discussed. The P-POSSUM methodology could form the basis of local comparative surgical audit for assessment and maintenance of quality care.

  10. The Internal Audit Outsourcing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzegorz Gołębiowski

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The article explores an issue of the internal audit outsourcing. It indicates the differences between internal audit, outsourcing and cosourcing of this service as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Drawing from the research on internal audit outsourcing the recent market trends were identified as well as motivations for choosing different forms of internal auditing.

  11. Creation of Auditing Knowledge:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liempd, Dennis van

      Even though auditing research could play a role in understanding the many challenges that are threatening the profession, and in providing possible solutions, it seems to have failed in adequately doing so. This is for a major part because of a lack of research into auditing's basic assumptions......, and a too one-sided view on the creation of auditing knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to call for more (diverse) research in this area. Earlier calls have been few and far between, and have not resulted in a lot of research. Within the last two decades though, the auditing universe has changed so...... much that high-quality auditing research never has been needed more. By reviewing available literature challenges to the auditing profession are explored, and the creation of knowledge in general and auditing knowledge in particular are discussed with respect to methodological approaches and operative...

  12. Is Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT or its shorter versions more useful to identify risky drinkers in a Chinese population? A diagnostic study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin H K Yip

    Full Text Available To examine the diagnostic performance of shorter versions of Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT, including Alcohol Consumption (AUDIT-C, in identifying risky drinkers in primary care settings using conventional performance measures, supplemented by decision curve analysis and reclassification table.A cross-sectional study of adult males in general outpatient clinics in Hong Kong. The study included only patients who reported at least sometimes drinking alcoholic beverages. Timeline follow back alcohol consumption assessment method was used as the reference standard. A Chinese translated and validated 10-item AUDIT (Ch-AUDIT was used as a screening tool of risky drinking.Of the participants, 21.7% were classified as risky drinkers. AUDIT-C has the best overall performance among the shorter versions of Ch-AUDIT. The AUC of AUDIT-C was comparable to Ch-AUDIT (0.898 vs 0.901, p-value = 0.959. Decision curve analysis revealed that when the threshold probability ranged from 15-30%, the AUDIT-C had a higher net-benefit than all other screens. AUDIT-C improved the reclassification of risky drinking when compared to Ch-AUDIT (net reclassification improvement = 0.167. The optimal cut-off of AUDIT-C was at ≥5.Given the rising levels of alcohol consumption in the Chinese regions, this Chinese translated 3-item instrument provides convenient and time-efficient risky drinking screening and may become an increasingly useful tool.

  13. Research in auditing: main themes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo Porte

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX was a turning point in auditing and in auditors practice for the academic world. Research concerning the characterization of academic production related to auditing is in its third decade. Its analysis is accomplished by means of definition of keywords, abstracts or title, and information on thematic association within the academic production itself in auditing is undisclosed. In order to revise this gap in auditing literature, this study identified the main themes in auditing and their association in post-SOX era by analyzing the content of objectives and hypothesis of 1,650 publications in Web of Science (2002-2014. The findings in this study extended those from the study by Lesage and Wechtler (2012 from 16 auditing thematic typologies to 22. The results demonstrate that the themes audit report & financial statement users, corporate governance, audit market, external audit, socio-economic data of the company, international regulation, and fraud risk & audit risk were the most addressed in the publications about auditing. Corporate governance has a broader association with the other themes in the area. Future researches may use these themes and relate them to the methodologies applied to audit studies.

  14. Leaving a joint audit system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Claus; Thinggaard, Frank

    2014-01-01

    determinants model and an audit fee change model and include interaction terms. Findings: The authors find short-term fee reductions in companies switching to single audits, but only where the former joint audit contained a dominant auditor. The authors argue that in this situation bargaining power is more...... with the auditors than in a equally shared joint audit, and that the auditors' incentives to offer an initial fee discount are bigger. Research limitations/implications: The number of observations is constrained by the small Danish capital market. Future research could take a more qualitative research approach......, to examine whether the use of a single audit firm rather than two has an effect on audit quality. The area calls for further theory development covering audit fee and audit quality in joint audit settings. Practical implications: Comapnies should consider their relationship with their auditors before...

  15. 46 CFR Sec. 12 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Audit. Sec. 12 Section 12 Shipping MARITIME... TRANSACTIONS UNDER AGENCY AGREEMENTS Reports and Audit Sec. 12 Audit. (a) The owner will audit as currently as possible subsequent to audit by the agent, all documents relating to the activities, maintenance and...

  16. Assessing achievement in nephrology training: using clinic chart audits to quantitatively screen competency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Christina M; Prince, Lisa K; Zwettler, Amy J; Nee, Robert; Oliver, James D; Abbott, Kevin C

    2014-11-01

    Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are complex tasks representing vital physician functions in multiple competencies, used to demonstrate trainee development along milestones. Managing a nephrology outpatient clinic has been proposed as an EPA for nephrology fellowship training. Retrospective cohort study of nephrology fellow outpatient clinic performance using a previously validated chart audit tool. Outpatient encounter chart audits for training years 2008-2009 through 2012-2013, corresponding to participation in the Nephrology In-Training Examination (ITE). A median of 7 auditors (attending nephrologists) audited a mean of 1,686±408 (SD) charts per year. 18 fellows were audited; 12, in both of their training years. Proportion of chart audit and quality indicator deficiencies. Longitudinal deficiency and ITE performance. Among fellows audited in both their training years, chart audit deficiencies were fewer in the second versus the first year (5.4%±2.0% vs 17.3%±7.0%; PITE score less than the 25th percentile for second-year fellows (P=0.03), with no significant association for first-year fellows. Auditor-reported deficiencies declined between the first and second halves of the year (17.0% vs 11.1%; PITE and the nephrology subspecialty board examination. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  17. Using the AUDIT-PC to predict alcohol withdrawal in hospitalized patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pecoraro, Anna; Ewen, Edward; Horton, Terry; Mooney, Ruth; Kolm, Paul; McGraw, Patty; Woody, George

    2014-01-01

    Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) occurs when alcohol-dependent individuals abruptly reduce or stop drinking. Hospitalized alcohol-dependent patients are at risk. Hospitals need a validated screening tool to assess withdrawal risk, but no validated tools are currently available. To examine the admission Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-(Piccinelli) Consumption (AUDIT-PC) ability to predict the subsequent development of AWS among hospitalized medical-surgical patients admitted to a non-intensive care setting. Retrospective case–control study of patients discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of AWS. All patients with AWS were classified as presenting with AWS or developing AWS later during admission. Patients admitted to an intensive care setting and those missing AUDIT-PC scores were excluded from analysis. A hierarchical (by hospital unit) logistic regression was performed and receiver-operating characteristics were examined on those developing AWS after admission and randomly selected controls. Because those diagnosing AWS were not blinded to the AUDIT-PC scores, a sensitivity analysis was performed. The study cohort included all patients age ≥18 years admitted to any medical or surgical units in a single health care system from 6 October 2009 to 7 October 2010. After exclusions, 414 patients were identified with AWS. The 223 (53.9 %) who developed AWS after admission were compared to 466 randomly selected controls without AWS. An AUDIT-PC score ≥4 at admission provides 91.0 % sensitivity and 89.7 % specificity (AUC=0.95; 95 % CI, 0.94–0.97) for AWS, and maximizes the correct classification while resulting in 17 false positives for every true positive identified. Performance remained excellent on sensitivity analysis (AUC=0.92; 95 % CI, 0.90–0.93). Increasing AUDIT-PC scores were associated with an increased risk of AWS (OR=1.68, 95 % CI 1.55–1.82, pAUDIT-PC score is an excellent discriminator of AWS and could be an important component

  18. [Real-time safety audits in a neonatal unit].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergon-Sendin, Elena; Perez-Grande, María Del Carmen; Lora-Pablos, David; Melgar-Bonis, Ana; Ureta-Velasco, Noelia; Moral-Pumarega, María Teresa; Pallas-Alonso, Carmen Rosa

    2017-09-01

    Random audits are a safety tool to help in the prevention of adverse events, but they have not been widely used in hospitals. The aim of the study was to determine, through random safety audits, whether the information and material required for resuscitation were available for each patient in a neonatal intensive care unit and determine if factors related to the patient, time or location affect the implementation of the recommendations. Prospective observational study conducted in a level III-C neonatal intensive care unit during the year 2012. The evaluation of written information on the endotracheal tube, mask and ambu bag prepared of each patient and laryngoscopes of the emergency trolley were included within a broader audit of technological resources and study procedures. The technological resources and procedures were randomly selected twice a week for audit. Appropriate overall use was defined when all evaluated variables were correctly programmed in the same procedure. A total of 296 audits were performed. The kappa coefficient of inter-observer agreement was 0.93. The rate of appropriate overall use of written information and material required for resuscitation was 62.50% (185/296). Mask and ambu bag prepared for each patient was the variable with better compliance (97.3%, P=.001). Significant differences were found with improved usage during weekends versus working-day (73.97 vs. 58.74%, P=.01), and the rest of the year versus 3 rd quarter (66.06 vs. 52%, P=.02). Only in 62.5% of cases was the information and the material necessary to attend to a critical situation urgently easily available. Opportunities for improvement were identified through the audits. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  19. Study protocol: Audit and Best Practice for Chronic Disease Extension (ABCDE Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thompson Sandra

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A growing body of international literature points to the importance of a system approach to improve the quality of care in primary health care settings. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI concepts and techniques provide a theoretically coherent and practical way for primary care organisations to identify, address, and overcome the barriers to improvements. The Audit and Best Practice for Chronic Disease (ABCD study, a CQI-based quality improvement project conducted in Australia's Northern Territory, has demonstrated significant improvements in primary care service systems, in the quality of clinical service delivery and in patient outcomes related to chronic illness care. The aims of the extension phase of this study are to examine factors that influence uptake and sustainability of this type of CQI activity in a variety of Indigenous primary health care organisations in Australia, and to assess the impact of collaborative CQI approaches on prevention and management of chronic illness and health outcomes in Indigenous communities. Methods/design The study will be conducted in 40–50 Indigenous community health centres from 4 States/Territories (Northern Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland over a five year period. The project will adopt a participatory, quality improvement approach that features annual cycles of: 1 organisational system assessment and audits of clinical records; 2 feedback to and interpretation of results with participating health centre staff; 3 action planning and goal setting by health centre staff to achieve system changes; and 4 implementation of strategies for change. System assessment will be carried out using a System Assessment Tool and in-depth interviews of key informants. Clinical audit tools include two essential tools that focus on diabetes care audit and preventive service audit, and several optional tools focusing on audits of hypertension, heart disease, renal

  20. The effects of audit value added on audit survival: Evidence from CPAs of Thailand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seerungrat Sudsomboon

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this study are to investigate the relationship between antecedents and consequences of audit value added (AVA. AVA is performance of the auditors who work with dedication and commitment to quality work and usefulness for user. AVA composes three dimensions as well as audit best practice, audit continuous learning, and professional ethic awareness. The results from the questionnaire survey of 135 CPAs in Thailand. The findings identified that only two dimensions of AVA has positive relationship with all consequences as well as audit continuous learning and professional ethic awareness. Which the consequences of this study are financial information transparency, stakeholder acceptance, and audit survival. In addition, the finding shows the relationship between antecedence and audit value added are positive significant. Which the antecedence of this study are Stakeholder pressure, audit regulation change, and business environment climate. Surprisingly, have not significant the relationship between audit best practice that dimensions of audit value added and consequences. The summary of this paper not only provides theoretical and managerial contributions but also suggestions and directions of the future research are elaborate.

  1. 11 CFR 9038.1 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Audit. 9038.1 Section 9038.1 Federal Elections... EXAMINATIONS AND AUDITS § 9038.1 Audit. (a) General. (1) The Commission will conduct an audit of the qualified... primary matching funds. The audit may be conducted at any time after the date of the candidate's...

  2. 30 CFR 735.22 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Audit. 735.22 Section 735.22 Mineral Resources... ENFORCEMENT § 735.22 Audit. The agency shall arrange for an independent audit no less frequently than once..., Attachment P. The audits will be performed in accordance with the “Standards for Audit of Governmental...

  3. NEVER AUDIT ALONE--THE CASE FOR AUDIT TEAMS

    Science.gov (United States)

    On-site audits conducted by technical and quality assurance (QA) experts at the data-gathering location are the core of an effective QA program. However, inadequate resources for such audits are the bane of a QA program, and the proposed solution frequently is to send only one au...

  4. Software Assists in Extensive Environmental Auditing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callac, Christopher; Matherne, Charlie

    2003-01-01

    The Base Environmental Management System (BEMS) is a Web-based application program for managing and tracking audits by the Environmental Office of Stennis Space Center in conformity with standard 14001 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14001). (This standard specifies requirements for an environmental-management system.) BEMS saves time by partly automating what were previously manual processes for creating audit checklists; recording and tracking audit results; issuing, tracking, and implementing corrective-action requests (CARs); tracking continuous improvements (CIs); and tracking audit results and statistics. BEMS consists of an administration module and an auditor module. As its name suggests, the administration module is used to administer the audit. It helps administrators to edit the list of audit questions; edit the list of audit locations; assign mandatory questions to locations; track, approve, and edit CARs; and edit completed audits. The auditor module is used by auditors to perform audits and record audit results: it helps the auditors to create audit checklists, complete audits, view completed audits, create CARs, record and acknowledge CIs, and generate reports from audit results.

  5. CRITERIA AND FACTORS THAT INSURE THE QUALITY IN PROVISION OF AUDIT SERVICES, DIFFERENT FROM AUDIT

    OpenAIRE

    Antoniuk O.

    2018-01-01

    Introduction. Quality management of audit services requires further theoretical research and development in the field of audit activity and quality of audit, continuous improvement of the organization and methodology in providing audit services. Purpose. The article deals with the theoretical and practical questions of assessing the quality of audit services that are different from the audit in order to identify ways to improve the methodological quality assurance in the provision of thes...

  6. The Application of Social Network Analysis to Accounting and Auditing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kacanski, Slobodan; Lusher, Dean

    2017-01-01

    This article aims to extend methodological possibilities for conducting research in accounting and auditing by providing an overview of how current developments in social network analysis (SNA) could serve as a powerful set of theoretical and methodological tools for this purpose. SNA focuses...

  7. Optimizing the use of the AUDIT for alcohol screening in college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demartini, Kelly S; Carey, Kate B

    2012-12-01

    The screening and brief intervention modality of treatment for at-risk college drinking is becoming increasingly popular. A key to effective implementation is use of validated screening tools. Although the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) has been validated in adult samples and is often used with college students, research has not yet established optimal cutoff scores to screen for at-risk drinking. Four hundred and one current drinkers completed computerized assessments of demographics, family history of alcohol use disorders, alcohol use history, alcohol-related problems, and general health. Of the 401 drinkers, 207 met criteria for at-risk drinking. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the area under the ROC (AUROC) of the AUDIT was .86 (95% CI [.83, .90]). The first 3 consumption items of the AUDIT (AUDIT-C; AUROC = .89, 95% CI [.86, .92]) performed significantly better than the AUDIT in the detection of at-risk drinking in the whole sample, and specifically for females. Gender differences emerged in the optimal cutoff scores for the AUDIT-C. A total score of 7 should be used for males, and a score of 5 should be used for females. These empirical guidelines may enhance identification of at-risk drinkers in college settings.

  8. 30 CFR 725.19 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Audit. 725.19 Section 725.19 Mineral Resources... REGULATIONS REIMBURSEMENTS TO STATES § 725.19 Audit. The agency shall arrange for an independent audit no less... Circular No. A-102, Attachment P. The audits will be performed in accordance with the “Standards for Audit...

  9. Predictive Utility of Brief Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) for human immunodeficiency virus antiretroviral medication nonadherence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broyles, Lauren Matukaitis; Gordon, Adam J; Sereika, Susan M; Ryan, Christopher M; Erlen, Judith A

    2011-10-01

    Alcohol use negatively affects adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), thus human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) care providers need accurate, efficient assessments of alcohol use. Using existing data from an efficacy trial of 2 cognitive-behavioral ART adherence interventions, the authors sought to determine if results on 2 common alcohol screening tests (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test--Consumption [AUDIT-C] and its binge-related question [AUDIT-3]) predict ART nonadherence. Twenty-seven percent of the sample (n = 308) were positive on the AUDIT-C and 34% were positive on the AUDIT-3. In multivariate analyses, AUDIT-C-positive status predicted ART nonadherence after controlling for race, age, conscientiousness, and self-efficacy (P = .036). Although AUDIT-3-positive status was associated with ART nonadherence in unadjusted analyses, this relationship was not maintained in the final multivariate model. The AUDIT-C shows potential as an indirect screening tool for both at-risk drinking and ART nonadherence, underscoring the relationship between alcohol and chronic disease management.

  10. The role of tax audit as a component of restaurants` financial state audit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T.M. Omelianchuk

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The necessity of tax audit in the process of audit the financial state the enterprises of restaurant economy arises through accumulation in the balance sheet information about the state of fiscal discipline in such forms like the debt on payment taxes, fees and other payments to the budget. In connection with the widespread scientific pluralism views, the purpose of the article is an analysis the role of the tax audit of the company in restaurant facilities today. Dialectical method of cognition of the essence of the tax audit and methods of comparison, generalization, systematization and synthesis of the study of the peculiarities of tax audit of the company in restaurant facilities were used for achievement the purpose of research. Discovered the features of realization the tax audit оn the company of the restaurant facilities. Studied the state the market development of the external audit of taxes and tax audit in Ukraine. Have been identified the features of the system of taxation of business entities in the restaurant industry. The scope of results’ application are the participants’ assessment of the financial state and fiscal capacity of the enterprise restaurant economy.

  11. A case study of healthcare professional views on the meaning of data produced by hand hygiene auditing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Carolyn H

    2015-11-01

    Measurement of hand hygiene (HH), crucial for patient safety, has acknowledged flaws stemming from methods available. Even direct observation, the World Health Organization gold standard, may lead to behaviour changes which can affect outcome validity. However, it remains important to understand current levels of HH to allow targeted interventions to be developed. This has resulted in wider adoption of auditing processes. This study addressed how healthcare professionals perceive data generated by HH auditing processes. Qualitative study involving participatory observation and semi-structured interviews with 30 healthcare professionals recruited from a large National Health Service (NHS) two-hospital site in England. Healthcare professionals perceived two main problems with HH measurement, both associated with feedback: (1) lack of clarity with regard to feedback; and (2) lack of association between training and measurement. In addition, concerns about data accuracy led the majority of participants (22/30) to conclude audit feedback is often 'meaningless'. Healthcare professionals require meaningful data on compliance with HH to engender change, as part of a multimodal strategy. Currently healthcare professionals perceive that data lack meaning, and are not seen as drivers to improve HH performance. Potential opportunities to change practice and improve HH are being missed.

  12. THE AUDIT OF RECEPTION PROCESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorina MOCUŢA

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The object of study case is to analyze the quality of the logistics department, focusing on the audit process. Purpose of this paper is to present the advantages resulting from the systematic audit processes and methods of analysis and improvement of nonconformities found. The case study is realised at SC Miele Tehnica SRL Brasov, twelfth production line, and the fourth from outside Germany. The specific objectives are: clarifying the concept of audit quality, emphasizing requirements ISO 19011:2003 "Guidelines for auditing quality management systems and / or environment" on audits; cchieving quality audit and performance analysis; improved process performance reception materials; compliance with legislation and auditing standards applicable in EU and Romania.

  13. Oversight Review: Quality Control Review of Naval Audit Service's Special Access Program Audits

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2005-01-01

    .... The Government Auditing Standards (GAS) require that an audit organization performing audits and/or attestation engagements in accordance with GAS should have an appropriate internal quality control system in place and undergo an external...

  14. The Role of Marketing Audit in Evaluation Sustainable Marketing Performance in Romanian Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Serbănică

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available In today`s society, marked by profound changes in consumer attitudes towards the environment and social issues, organizations are forced to behave responsibly, to be oriented towards a sustainable marketing. However the efforts of the organization should be evaluated periodically to see the extent to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which resource consumption leads to results. From the marketing perspective, this can be achieved through marketing audit, which is a tool for evaluating and controlling a marketing organization’s performance. This paper aims, through a documentary study in the first part and an exploratory quantitative research, in the second, to highlight the role and place of the audit of marketing in companies in Romania, to assess the effectiveness of marketing activity undertaken the principles of sustainability. The last part of the paper includes research findings and a series of theoretical and managerial recommendations on the use of marketing audit as a tool for assessing the sustainability of marketing companies in the target group, with the possibility of generalizing to all companies operating on the market in Romania.

  15. The New Generation of Auditors Meeting Praxis: Dual Learning's Role in Audit Students' Professional Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agevall, Lena; Broberg, Pernilla; Umans, Timurs

    2018-01-01

    This paper explores whether and in what way "dual learning" can develop understanding of the relationship between structure/judgement and explores audit student's perceptions of the audit profession. The Work Integrated Learning (WIL) module, serving as a tool of enabling dual learning, represents the context for this exploration. The…

  16. Mutually Beneficial Foreign Language Learning: Creating Meaningful Interactions through Video-Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, Fumie; Spring, Ryan; Mori, Chikako

    2016-01-01

    Providing learners of a foreign language with meaningful opportunities for interactions, specifically with native speakers, is especially challenging for instructors. One way to overcome this obstacle is through video-synchronous computer-mediated communication tools such as Skype software. This study reports quantitative and qualitative data from…

  17. Pengaruh Atribut Perusahaan dan Faktor Audit Terhadap Keterlambatan Audit pada Perusahaan yang Terdaftar di Bursa Efek Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Apriayanti Apriayanti

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Audit delay is interval of days between balance sheet date and audit report date. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of company attributes and audit factors to audit delay. This research uses 611 companies listed in Malaysian Stock Exchange from the period of 2006 until 2011 as sample. The independent variables used are size of the company, debt to equity ratio, profitability, subsidiaries of multinational companies, audit firm size, audit fees, industry type,  age of company, company financial year end, and audit opinion. The method of analysis in this research is multiple linear regressions. The results of this study shows that size of the company, debt to equity ratio, profitability, subsidiaries of multinational companies, audit firm size, audit fees, industry type, age of company, and audit opinion have significant influence on audit delay while financial year end does not have significant influence on audit delay.

  18. 7 CFR 1773.7 - Audit standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... (CONTINUED) POLICY ON AUDITS OF RUS BORROWERS RUS Audit Requirements § 1773.7 Audit standards. (a) The audit must be performed in accordance with GAGAS and this part. The audit must be performed in accordance with GAGAS in effect at the audit date unless the borrower is directed otherwise, in writing, by RUS...

  19. Improving the management of the implementation of tax audits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margarita Konstantinovna Aristarkhova

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, improvement of fiscal control through the introduction of administrative and economic innovations in the monitoring work of tax authorities is reviewed. A management novation is being formed, which contains the composition of tax audit management tools, it allows to create control mechanism for the actions of tax authorities, including innovative control procedures. In the framework of economic novation, an economic-mathematical model of multi-factor regression of the effectiveness assessment of field inspection is created, which allows formalizing the procedure of estimation and level of expert subjectivity of perception. In model construction, the most significant stand out factors which have a serious impact on the effectiveness of tax audits are chosen; an evaluation of the suitability of model engagement in the practice of tax authorities is given. A mechanism of tax audits management is being formed, it is presented in the form of a functional management model. This mechanism allows a targeted study of the structure elements of the control actions to carry out the optimization of its components by providing logical relationships of technological components of a tax audit. The proposed control mechanism integrates the developed methodology of post-verification analysis into the control work of tax authorities.

  20. Audit Internal Universitas X: Suatu Refleksi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Adechandra Ashedica Pesudo

    2017-04-01

      Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menyediakan bukti empiris tentang dinamika beroperasinya fungsi audit internal dalam sebuah universitas swasta dengan mendeskripsikan berbagai faktor yang mempengaruhi keefektifan fungsi audit internal di sebuah universitas. Secara khusus, studi ini mendeskripsikan kondisi berbagai faktor yang mempengaruhi keefektifan fungsi audit internal dalam organisasi nirlaba yang diidentifikasi oleh Ahmad et al.., (2009 dalam suatu konteks organisasi sebuah universitas swasta. Studi ini menggunakan strategi penelitian studi kasus dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif untuk menganalisis data. Wawancara mendalam dengan berbagai pihak yang memiliki pengetahuan tentang kegiatan audit internal di universitas yang menjadi studi kasus menjadi sumber utama data untuk studi ini.  Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa dinamika beroperasinya fungsi audit internal universitas swasta yang menjadi studi kasus dipengaruhi oleh berbagai faktor. Beroperasinya fungsi audit internal di organisasi dipengaruhi oleh sejumlah faktor yang bersifat mendukung  yaitu jumlah staf audit internal, kerjasama dari auditee, kompetensi/pengetahuan tentang teknik audit, tindakan pada temuan audit dan rekomendasi oleh auditee/manajemen, dan pengalaman audit. Sementara itu, sejumlah faktor bersifat tidak mendukung  bagi beroperasinya fungsi audit internal, yaitu komitmen dari manajemen puncak, pelatihan, independensi, perubahan dalam organisasi divisi audit internal, persepsi dari auditee terhadap fungsi audit internal, dan sumber daya.

  1. External audit in radiotherapy dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thwaites, D.I.; Western General Hospital, Edinburgh

    1996-01-01

    Quality audit forms an essential part of any comprehensive quality assurance programme. This is true in radiotherapy generally and in specific areas such as radiotherapy dosimetry. Quality audit can independently test the effectiveness of the quality system and in so doing can identify problem areas and minimize their possible consequences. Some general points concerning quality audit applied to radiotherapy are followed by specific discussion of its practical role in radiotherapy dosimetry, following its evolution from dosimetric intercomparison exercises to routine measurement-based on-going audit in the various developing audit networks both in the UK and internationally. Specific examples of methods and results are given from some of these, including the Scottish+ audit group. Quality audit in radiotherapy dosimetry is now well proven and participation by individual centres is strongly recommended. Similar audit approaches are to be encouraged in other areas of the radiotherapy process. (author)

  2. 10 CFR 603.1295 - Periodic audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Periodic audit. 603.1295 Section 603.1295 Energy... Used in this Part § 603.1295 Periodic audit. An audit of a participant, performed at an agreed-upon... an audit may cover. A periodic audit of a participant differs from an award-specific audit of an...

  3. Comparing short versions of the AUDIT in a community-based survey of young people

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    community-based population of young Australians. Four-item AUDIT variations scored more consistently high across all evaluated statistics compared to three-item combinations. Novel AUDIT versions may be more effective than many established shortened versions as an alternative screening tool to the AUDIT-10 to measure hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption in this population. PMID:23556543

  4. Alternative Auditing Approaches

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kandt, Alicen J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-09-15

    This presentation for the 2017 Energy Exchange in Tampa, Florida, offers information about advanced auditing technologies and techniques including alternative auditing approaches and considerations and caveats.

  5. Psychological context of work meaningfulness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karel Paulík

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available There is a significant shift of approach to the management of organizations and workers in recent decades. This shift in management philosophy is characterized by converting from traditional, conventional (rather bureaucratic management models to rather humanistic/existential oriented models. This transition comes partly from the understanding that human resources are the most promising and effective way for organization development, partly from a shift in the understanding of the role of organizations in society. The key point of these approaches has become a "meaning" or "meaningfulness" in relation to the work and organization. The importance of work meaningfulness is not only in its potential to increase the competitiveness of organizations, but especially in its major (mostly positive impacts on the employee himself and his work (and by that the organization and its performance. Work meaningfulness is strongly connected to the work engagement, which represents the active personal participation in the work process, manifested by vigor, active cooperation, willingness to contribute to the company's success and dedication to work. Work engagement seems to be next important factor affecting work attitudes and achievements of employees. The paper gives an overview of various approaches to work meaningfulness and work engagement, on the basis of which authors propose new model of work meaningfulness with overlap to work engagement. The work meaningfulness is not seen as one-dimensional variable, but consists of complex of interacting factors and processes that define an individual perceived meaning and importance of the work. Meaningful work is influenced by three areas. The first is the organizational culture. This is defined as a specific pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that are often not clearly expressed, but affect the way individuals behave in an organization and how things are done. The second area is the work

  6. KOMISARIS INDEPENDEN, KOMITE AUDIT, INTERNAL AUDIT DAN RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE TERHADAP MANAJEMEN LABA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurika Restuningdiah

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of independency of board commisioner, audit committee,internal audit and risk management comittee to earning management. Regression Analysis of 35 publiccompanies listing in Indonesia Stock Exchange on year 2009 through a random sampling technique indicatedthat there was no significant impact of independency of board commisioner, audit committee, internal auditand risk management comittee to earning management. The implication of this study was relevant to thedecision maker of public companies to consider the skill and expertise of board commisioner, audit committe,internal audit and risk management comittee to support the internal corporate governance mechanism.

  7. The Impact Of Cloud Computing Technology On The Audit Process And The Audit Profession

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yati Nurhajati

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available In the future cloud computing audits will become increasingly The use of that technology has influenced of the audit process and be a new challenge for both external and the Internal Auditors to understand IT and learn how to use cloud computing and cloud services that hire in cloud service provider CSP and considering the risks of cloud computing and how to audit cloud computing by risk based audit approach. The wide range of unique risks and depend on the type and model of the cloud solution the uniqueness of the client environmentand the specifics of data or an application make this an complicated subject. The internal audit function is well positioned through its role as a guarantor function of the organization to assist management and the board of the Committee to identify and consider the risks in using cloud computing technology for internal audit can help determine whether the risk has been managed appropriately in a cloud computing environment. Assesses the current impact of cloud computing technology on the audit process and discusses the implications of cloud computing future technological trends for the auditing profession . More specifically Provides a summary of how that information technology has impacted the audit framework.

  8. Self-Determination and Meaningful Work: Exploring Socioeconomic Constraints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blake A Allan

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This study examined a model of meaningful work among a diverse sample of working adults. From the perspectives of Self-Determination Theory and the Psychology of Working Framework, we tested a structural model with social class and work volition predicting SDT motivation variables, which in turn predicted meaningful work. Partially supporting hypotheses, work volition was positively related to internal regulation and negatively related to amotivation, whereas social class was positively related to external regulation and amotivation. In turn, internal regulation was positively related to meaningful work, whereas external regulation and amotivation were negatively related to meaningful work. Indirect effects from work volition to meaningful work via internal regulation and amotivation were significant, and indirect effects from social class to meaningful work via external regulation and amotivaiton were significant. This study highlights the important relations between SDT motivation variables and meaningful work, especially the large positive relation between internal regulation and meaningful work. However, results also reveal that work volition and social class may play critical roles in predicting internal regulation, external regulation, and amotivation.

  9. Self-Determination and Meaningful Work: Exploring Socioeconomic Constraints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, Blake A; Autin, Kelsey L; Duffy, Ryan D

    2016-01-01

    This study examined a model of meaningful work among a diverse sample of working adults. From the perspectives of Self-Determination Theory and the Psychology of Working Framework, we tested a structural model with social class and work volition predicting SDT motivation variables, which in turn predicted meaningful work. Partially supporting hypotheses, work volition was positively related to internal regulation and negatively related to amotivation, whereas social class was positively related to external regulation and amotivation. In turn, internal regulation was positively related to meaningful work, whereas external regulation and amotivation were negatively related to meaningful work. Indirect effects from work volition to meaningful work via internal regulation and amotivation were significant, and indirect effects from social class to meaningful work via external regulation and amotivation were significant. This study highlights the important relations between SDT motivation variables and meaningful work, especially the large positive relation between internal regulation and meaningful work. However, results also reveal that work volition and social class may play critical roles in predicting internal regulation, external regulation, and amotivation.

  10. Audit Report on the Sacramento Army Depot Internal Review and Audit Compliance Office's "Audits of Warranties, Quality Deficiency Reports, and Reports of Discrepancies"

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1992-01-01

    The Sacramento Army Depot (SAAD) Internal Review and Audit Compliance Office (Internal Review) issued an audit report, "Audit of Warranties, Quality Deficiency Reports, and Reports of Discrepancies," on July 20, 1990...

  11. A PCT-wide collaborative clinical audit selecting recall intervals for patients according to risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannell, P J

    2011-03-26

    This audit was carried out to assess the level to which recall intervals were individually and appropriately selected for patients attending dental practices across a primary care trust (PCT) area in Essex. A retrospective audit was carried out by reference to patient records to assess various criteria, including whether patients were categorised according to risk of oral disease, whether an appropriate recall had been selected and whether a discussion regarding a recall interval had been undertaken. An educational event highlighting the issue of recall intervals was held. Subsequent to this a prospective audit was undertaken to assess relevant criteria. Prospective audit data showed a marked increase in the use of patient risk assessments for caries, periodontal disease, oral cancer and non-carious tooth surface loss (NCTSL). Recall intervals were also more often selected based on a patient's risk status and discussed with the patient compared to that observed in the retrospective audit data. This audit was successful as a tool to bring about change in the behaviour of dentists regarding their determination of appropriate recall intervals for patients. Whether that change in behaviour is long-term or transient requires further investigation.

  12. The internal audit dilemma : The impact of executive directors versus audit committees on internal auditing work

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eulerich, Marc; Henseler, Jörg; Koehler, Annette

    2017-01-01

    Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze how internal audit function (IAF) activities differ, depending on the impact of executive boards (EBs) and audit committees (ACs). Design/methodology/approach This study is based on data collected from the Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) study

  13. Audits of radiopharmaceutical formulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castronovo, F.P. Jr.

    1992-01-01

    A procedure for auditing radiopharmaceutical formulations is described. To meet FDA guidelines regarding the quality of radiopharmaceuticals, institutional radioactive drug research committees perform audits when such drugs are formulated away from an institutional pharmacy. All principal investigators who formulate drugs outside institutional pharmacies must pass these audits before they can obtain a radiopharmaceutical investigation permit. The audit team meets with the individual who performs the formulation at the site of drug preparation to verify that drug formulations meet identity, strength, quality, and purity standards; are uniform and reproducible; and are sterile and pyrogen free. This team must contain an expert knowledgeable in the preparation of radioactive drugs; a radiopharmacist is the most qualified person for this role. Problems that have been identified by audits include lack of sterility and apyrogenicity testing, formulations that are open to the laboratory environment, failure to use pharmaceutical-grade chemicals, inadequate quality control methods or records, inadequate training of the person preparing the drug, and improper unit dose preparation. Investigational radiopharmaceutical formulations, including nonradiolabeled drugs, must be audited before they are administered to humans. A properly trained pharmacist should be a member of the audit team

  14. The ICA Communication Audit and Perceived Communication Effectiveness Changes in 16 Audited Organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, Keith; And Others

    1979-01-01

    Discusses the benefits of the International Communication Association Communication Audit as a methodology for evaluation of organizational communication processes and outcomes. An "after" survey of 16 audited organizations confirmed the audit as a valid diagnostic methodology and organization development intervention technique which…

  15. Control area readiness audit report of the Independent Electricity Market Operator (IMO)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gladish, L.A.; Campoli, G.; Le, Q.; Farrokhpay, S.; Kirby, B.; Penwell, C.; Weaver, S.; Vicini, D.; Wells, M.

    2004-01-01

    The Independent Electricity Market Operator (IMO) is a control area authority that is responsible for the safe and reliable operation of its portion of the bulk electric system in cooperation with neighbouring control areas. This audit by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) reviewed the readiness of Ontario's IMO to meets its responsibilities as a control area operator. NERC recommended specific actions to correct the deficiencies that resulted in the blackout in southeastern Ontario and northeastern United States on August 14, 2003. Initiatives to strengthen compliance with existing standards were also suggested along with longer-term technical initiatives to prevent or mitigate the impacts of cascading blackouts in the future. The audit process included: a self-assessment questionnaire to the control area being audited; a questionnaire to neighbouring control areas; a questionnaire to the reliability coordinator and an on-site audit by a selected audit team. The following issues were reviewed: criteria and compliance, authority, responsibilities in the planning time frame, real time monitoring, system restoration, delegation of reliability coordinator functions, outage coordination, transmission and generation relaying, energy emergency plan, operating policy, line clearances, and nuclear power plant requirements. It was concluded that the IMO has the necessary plans, procedures, processes, tools and trained personnel to respond to emergency events. The audit did not find any major operational problems, but offered a few recommendations for improvement. tabs

  16. 20 CFR 655.180 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 655.180 Section 655.180 Employees... United States (H-2A Workers) Integrity Measures § 655.180 Audit. The CO may conduct audits of applications for which certifications have been granted. (a) Discretion. The applications selected for audit...

  17. Developing leading indicators from OHS management audit data: Determining the measurement properties of audit data from the field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robson, Lynda S; Ibrahim, Selahadin; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Steenstra, Ivan A; Van Eerd, Dwayne; Amick, Benjamin C

    2017-06-01

    OHS management audits are one means of obtaining data that may serve as leading indicators. The measurement properties of such data are therefore important. This study used data from Workwell audit program in Ontario, a Canadian province. The audit instrument consisted of 122 items related to 17 OHS management elements. The study sought answers regarding (a) the ability of audit-based scores to predict workers' compensation claims outcomes, (b) structural characteristics of the data in relation to the organization of the audit instrument, and (c) internal consistency of items within audit elements. The sample consisted of audit and claims data from 1240 unique firms that had completed one or two OHS management audits during 2007-2010. Predictors derived from the audit results were used in multivariable negative binomial regression modeling of workers' compensation claims outcomes. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the instrument's structural characteristics. Kuder-Richardson coefficients of internal consistency were calculated for each audit element. The ability of audit scores to predict subsequent claims data could not be established. Factor analysis supported the audit instrument's element-based structure. KR-20 values were high (≥0.83). The Workwell audit data display structural validity and high internal consistency, but not, to date, construct validity, since the audit scores are generally not predictive of subsequent firm claim experience. Audit scores should not be treated as leading indicators of workplace OHS performance without supporting empirical data. Analyses of the measurement properties of audit data can inform decisionmakers about the operation of an audit program, possible future directions in audit instrument development, and the appropriate use of audit data. In particular, decision-makers should be cautious in their use of audit scores as leading indicators, in the absence of supporting empirical data. Copyright © 2017

  18. Auditing Staff-Management Communication in Schools: A Framework for Evaluating Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tourish, Dennis; Hargie, Owen

    1998-01-01

    Outlines the principles and procedures of an organizational communication audit as a measure of the effectiveness of personnel management in elementary and secondary schools, examining the principal tools used and the benefits that this approach offers to school management teams. (Author/MSE)

  19. 28 CFR 33.51 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Audit. 33.51 Section 33.51 Judicial... Additional Requirements § 33.51 Audit. Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget Circular A-128 “Audits of State and Local Governments,” all grantees and subgrantees must provide for an independent audit of...

  20. Severe acute maternal morbidity and maternal death audit - a rapid ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Severe acute maternal morbidity and maternal death audit - a rapid diagnostic tool for evaluating maternal care. L Cochet, R.C. Pattinson, A.P. Macdonald. Abstract. Objective. To analyse severe acute maternal morbidity (SAMM) and maternal mortality in the Pretoria region over a 2-year period (2000 - 2001). Setting.

  1. Postal audit in dental radiodiagnostics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novak, L.; Kroutilikova, D.

    2001-01-01

    According to Czech laws dental intraoral X-ray machines are classified as s imple sources of ionizing radiation . Consequently , their use is licensed on condition that an adequate quality assurance program is realized. In general, the programme is based on acceptance tests, status tests and constancy tests. The particular methods are specified in the recommendation [1] published by State Office for Nuclear Safety .Both the acceptance and status tests involve in situ measurements to control parameters of the X-ray machine and the developing process. Only persons who were licensed for such handling can do these measurements. The yearly status tests are very detailed and several years ' experience showed it might be advantageous to have a simpler method additionally available for purposes of the state supervision. Such a method is supposed as a postal audit. It should be simple enough to make the operation of the state supervision more effective but it also should provide sufficient information on radiation protection of the patients. Besides it should enable to prolong the period for the status tests ultimately .As for the postal audit, a small package containing a proper dosimetric set would be sent directly to the dentist who would treat it according to instructions. This paper describes such method that was developed in the National Radiation Protection Institute (NRPI) and results of pilot study that was carried out to test the method. The described method will be a helpful tool for the operation of the state supervision in the dental radiodiagnostics. The method will be implemented into the existing system of controls from 2002. Due to its simplicity and a quite rich content of information allows to check a big amount of the dental workplaces at once. It is supposed that one half of all Czech X-ray units will be checked in this way every year performed on state costs. It means 175 audits per month approximately. In this way, the operation of the quality

  2. CONVERGENCE OF INTERNATIONAL AUDIT STANDARDS AND AMERICAN AUDIT STANDARDS REGARDING SAMPLING

    OpenAIRE

    Chis Anca Oana; Danescu Tatiana

    2013-01-01

    Abstract: Sampling is widely used in market research, scientific analysis, market analysis, opinion polls and not least in the financial statement audit. We wonder what is actually sampling and how did it appear? Audit sampling involves the application of audit procedures to less than 100% of items within an account balance or class of transactions. Nowadays the technique is indispensable, the economic entities operating with sophisticated computer systems and large amounts of data. Economic ...

  3. Audit Management System

    CERN Document Server

    Alconada, Federico

    2015-01-01

    In the need of renewing their system, the Internal Audit department has given a proposal for building a new one. Taking into consideration the problems of their system they elaborated a requirement's list with the functionalities and features they were expecting from the new management system. This new system would be primarily for the use of the Internal Audit staff but it would also support the follow-up of internal audit recommendations by potentially all CERN staff members.

  4. A Review on Audit Quality Factors

    OpenAIRE

    Hosseinniakani, Seyed; Inácio, Coelho Helena; Mota, Rui

    2014-01-01

    Audit Quality” is not easy to define because of many diverse factors affecting quality. According to the consultation paper of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), audit quality is the significant issue that requires more considerable attention. Understanding how audit quality is important requires investigating audit quality factors more precisely. So, the present article aims to review and summarize the different audit quality factors, comparing the results ach...

  5. Internal audit assurance or consulting services rendered on governance: How does one decide?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naomi Wilkinson

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The concept of organisational governance maturity and what exactly this entails is still perceived as somewhat of a mystery to most and, as a result, internal auditing find themselves in a dilemma when deciding which services to deliver in this regard. The objective of this article was to develop an organisational governance maturity framework that could be used as a measurement tool to assist internal auditing in this dilemma. A preliminary organisational governance maturity framework was developed based on the most relevant literature. A case study was conducted to obtain feedback on the preliminary framework from key stakeholders in the organisation. The results indicated that the framework significantly contributed to the determining and continuous monitoring of governance maturity; both for management and internal auditing.

  6. CURRENT CONCEPTS ON SELECTION TECHNIQEUS IN FINANCIAL AUDITING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Munteanu Ciprian

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The financial auditor's work evolves around the issue of an independent, professional and objective opinion on the compliance of the client's financial statements with the national accounting rules and principles. At the same time, the auditor will have to express an opinion on the ability of the company to continue its activity. An ideal situation would involve auditing all the components of the yearly accounts, but this would take time, effort and a very high cost. Fortunately, the audit team has some very useful tools for acquiring audit evidence in a fast and conclusive way - selection techniques. These techniques may be used in different phases of the audit and auditors have been using them for a long time, in fact no audit program would function without these techniques. They have become quite common as the auditors make important judgments, such as determining what type of technique to apply, whether to use statistical or nonstatistical techniques, appropriate inputs to determine sample size, and evaluation of results, particularly when errors are detected. This paper aims to theoretically present the main selection techniques, indicating how, why and when to use them. There are six selection techniques and we deal with the most frequent four of them. Our purpose is to present the characteristics and set the limits of these techniques, emphasizing sampling as the most common selection technique currently in use. A commonly held misconception about statistical sampling, for example, is that it removes the need for the use of the professional judgement. While it is true that statistical sampling uses statistical methods to determine the sample size and to select and evaluate audit samples, it is the responsibility of the auditor to consider and specify in advance factors such as materiality, the expected error rate or amount, the risk of over-reliance or the risk of incorrect acceptance, audit risk, inherent risk, control risk, standard

  7. Oversight Review: Quality Control Review of Air Force Audit Agency's Special Access Program Audits

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2005-01-01

    .... The Government Auditing Standards (GAS) require that an audit organization performing audits and/or attestation engagements in accordance with GAS should have an appropriate internal quality control system in place and undergo an external...

  8. 24 CFR 236.901 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 236.901 Section 236.901... AND INTEREST REDUCTION PAYMENT FOR RENTAL PROJECTS Audits § 236.901 Audit. Where a State or local... mortgagor of a mortgage insured or held by the Commissioner under this part, it shall conduct audits in...

  9. Pengaruh Audit Quality, Audit Tenure, Audit Report Lag, dan Profitabilitas terhadap Opini Audit Going Concern pada Perusahaan Manufaktur yang Terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia Periode 2010-2013

    OpenAIRE

    Grace N. Rgg, Hermin

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of audit quality using proxy auditor industry specialization, audit tenure, audit report lag, and profitability using proxy net profit margin ratio on going concern opinion. Population used in this research is manufacturing companies listed in Indonesian Directory Exchange from 2010-2013. This research uses 20 sample companies achieved using purposive sampling. Data used in this research is secondary data are financial statement and indepe...

  10. Audit committee: Some evidence from Malaysia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of senior managers of Malaysian publicly listed companies on issues relating to audit committee authority and effectiveness. Questionnaire survey technique was employed to seek the respondents perceptions on five issues, namely audit committee appoints the auditor, audit committee determines and reviews audit fees, audit committee determines and reviews the auditor’s scope and duties, and audit committee’s reports and meetings. The majority of respondents agreed that auditor would be more effective and independent if audit committee assumed the responsibility to appoint the auditor, determine and review the audit fees, and determine and review the external auditor’s scope and duties. It is also found that disclosure of audit committee report and quarterly meeting would enhance the perceptions of users of financial statement concerning the effectiveness of the committee.

  11. Audits in real time for safety in critical care: definition and pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirgo Rodríguez, G; Olona Cabases, M; Martin Delgado, M C; Esteban Reboll, F; Pobo Peris, A; Bodí Saera, M

    2014-11-01

    Adverse events significantly impact upon mortality rates and healthcare costs. To design a checklist of safety measures based on relevant scientific literature, apply random checklist measures to critically ill patients in real time (safety audits), and determine its utility and feasibility. A list of safety measures based on scientific literature was drawn up by investigators. Subsequently, a group of selected experts evaluated these measures using the Delphi methodology. Audits were carried out on 14 days over a period of one month. Each day, 50% of the measures were randomly selected and measured in 50% of the randomized patients. Utility was assessed by measuring the changes in clinical performance after audits, using the variable improvement proportion related to audits. Feasibility was determined by the successful completion of auditing on each of the days on which audits were attempted. The final verified checklist comprised 37 measures distributed into 10 blocks. The improvement proportion related to audits was reported in 83.78% of the measures. This proportion was over 25% in the following measures: assessment of the alveolar pressure limit, checking of mechanical ventilation alarms, checking of monitor alarms, correct prescription of the daily treatment orders, daily evaluation of the need for catheters, enteral nutrition monitoring, assessment of semi-recumbent position, and checking that patient clinical information is properly organized in the clinical history. Feasibility: rounds were completed on the 14 proposed days. Audits in real time are a useful and feasible tool for modifying clinical actions and minimizing errors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

  12. Audit Fee Determinants and Audit Quality in Ethiopian Commercial ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    auditor derives a high proportion of revenue from a particular client creates economic ... identified in prior bank audit fee studies holds for Ethiopian commercial .... firms as smaller firms have fewer clients and so each client represents a larger ...... higher level of liquid assets relative to their total assets pay lower audit fees.

  13. Local audit of diagnostic surgical pathology as a tool for quality assurance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malami, Sani Abubakar; Iliyasu, Yawale

    2008-01-01

    Internal audit has been rarely done for quality assurance of histology laboratories in Nigeria. We reviewed the steps involved in the production of reports with a view to assessing the performance of the histopathology laboratory of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. A randomly selected 2 per cent sample of the total histology workload of the center for the year ending December 2005 amounting to 2877 cases was systematically reviewed. Analysis of the accumulated data showed a concordance rate of 94.8% between the original and review histological diagnoses, comparable to other published studies. Significant defects were observed to be due to missing demographic information on request forms (22.8%), poor technical quality of slide sections (18.4%) and typographical errors by typists (12.3%) In a minority of cases microscopic description was inadequate or inappropriate (7.0%) and some were inaccurate (2.7%). The turnaround time ranged from 2 to 16 days (mean 6.2 days) with results of 75.8 per cent of the specimens completed within 7 days. From the study we have shown that local audit is feasible in Nigerian laboratories and is an excellent method for detecting errors and improving performance in Surgical Pathology to optimize the scarce resources available to patient care in our country.

  14. Normal tissue damage in radiotherapy development of a clinical audit tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrett, A.

    2001-01-01

    approximately 9%. It was possible to link morbidity with specific protocols. Some of these employed large doses per fraction and in some cases these were given in combination with chemotherapy. In the second phase of the study, patients undergoing routine follow-up at the Beatson Oncology Centre were also studied. Forms were completed by the reviewing oncologist and checked and analysed separately by two other radiotherapists. So far a total of 7645 forms have been placed. Of these 4372 have been completed and at routine follow-up 8.9% of these have recorded grade 3 or 4 toxicity. Preliminary analysis of the data suggests again a correlation of large dose per fraction or concomitant chemotherapy with radiotherapy related problems. It is hoped that this study will be completed by December 2000. Comparison of data from different centres will be made. Data from Lyon and Mount Vernon have been extracted from existing databases. It is hoped that there may be some consistency in results which may provide a benchmark for a useful audit tool. This approach will be discussed in relation to the need to develop a simple prospective recording of late morbidity. (author)

  15. Georgia : Accounting and Auditing

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2007-01-01

    This report provides an assessment of accounting, financial reporting and auditing requirements and practices within the enterprise and financial sectors in Georgia. The report uses International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and draws on international experience and good practices in the field of accounting and audit regulation, including in ...

  16. The Effect of Auditor Ethics, Auditor Experience, Audit Fees and Auditor Motivation on Audit Quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yeni Kuntari

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the effect of auditor ethics, auditor experience, audit fees, and auditor motivation on audit quality of public accounting firm in Semarang. The populations in this study were auditors who work on public accounting firm in Semarang. The total population of public accounting firm in Semarang according to Indonesian Institute of Certified Public Accountants in 2016 was 98 respondents from 14 public accounting firms. Questionnaires were distributed to auditors in all those public accounting firm. This study used purposive sampling judgement with criteria of sample were they have worked and experienced in public accounting firm for one year. A total sample of this study is 30 respondents. Using multiple linier regression analysis the results show that auditor ethics had a significant positive effect on audit quality; auditor experience had a significant positive effect on audit quality; audit fees had a significant positive effect on audit quality; and auditor motivation had a significant positive effect on audit quality. Ethics, experience, fees and motivation of auditor had a significant positive effect on audit quality.

  17. Audit Committee Accounting Expert and Earnings Management with “Status” Audit Committee as Moderating Variable

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edy Suprianto

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to analyze the effect of accounting expert of audit committee on earnings management. This research also assesses the role of audit committee on earnings management with audit committee status as moderating variable. The population is all of firm’s which listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Purposive sampling is used to collect data. Data used financial statements and annual report companies from Indonesia Stock Exchange website. Moderated regression analysis (MRA is used to analyze the hypothesis. The result shows that accounting expert of audit committee has negative effect on earnings management. Yet, variable of audit committee status cannot moderate the relationship between accounting expert of audit committee and earnings management in Indonesia.

  18. Relationship between gender in the board of directors and the audit committee with the audit delay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Antonio Lay

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The study verified the relationship between the gender in the composition of the board of directors and the audit committee with the audit delay. The survey sample consisted of 75 companies belonging to the IBrX 100 index. The variables surveyed were the presence of women on the board of directors and on the audit committee, size of the audit committee, independence of the board of directors, expertise, company size, debt, size of the audit firm and audit fees. Data collection took place in the Reference Form and the Economática® database. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression using SPSS® software. It was found that the presence of women is greater on the board than on the audit committee, with a small number of experienced members. The results showed that the presence of women on the audit committee has a negative and significant association with the audit delay, that is, the presence of women in this organism of corporate governance contributes to the reduction of the period of disclosure of the auditor's report. In addition, the size of the company and the independence of the board of directors were also important in the final model in relation to the audit delay. The presence of women on the board of directors was not significant with the delay in the audit.

  19. Developing a concept for external audits of psychosocial risks in certified occupational health and safety management systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helbo, Anne; Hasle, Peter

    2017-01-01

    management measures and expected outcomes. Another important tool is the qualitative interview, which is the primary method for data collection. The concept has important implications for the dominant audit practice and auditor competencies. It leads to an expanded knowledge base and a broader concept...... of audit evidence that further presupposes considerable auditor resources, and changes the required knowledge base and skills of auditors....

  20. 29 CFR 96.12 - Audit requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    .... (b) The audit requirements contained in 29 CFR part 99 shall be followed for audits of all fiscal... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Audit requirements. 96.12 Section 96.12 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND OTHER AGREEMENTS Audits of States, Local...

  1. Internal audit consider the implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgartner, Grant D; Hamilton, Angela

    2004-06-01

    Internal audit can not only allay external and internal concerns about appropriateness of business operations, but also help improve efficiency and the bottom line. To get an internal audit function under way, healthcare organizations need to obtain board buy-in, form an audit committee of the board, determine resources needed, perform a risk assessment, and develop an internal audit plan.

  2. Computer Assisted Audit Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenia Iancu

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available From the modern point of view, audit takes intoaccount especially the information systems representingmainly the examination performed by a professional asregards the manner for developing an activity by means ofcomparing it to the quality criteria specific to this activity.Having as reference point this very general definition ofauditing, it must be emphasized that the best known segmentof auditing is the financial audit that had a parallel evolutionto the accountancy one.The present day phase of developing the financial audithas as main trait the internationalization of the accountantprofessional. World wide there are multinational companiesthat offer services in the financial auditing, taxing andconsultancy domain. The auditors, natural persons and auditcompanies, take part at the works of the national andinternational authorities for setting out norms in theaccountancy and auditing domain.The computer assisted audit techniques can be classified inseveral manners according to the approaches used by theauditor. The most well-known techniques are comprised inthe following categories: testing data techniques, integratedtest, parallel simulation, revising the program logics,programs developed upon request, generalized auditsoftware, utility programs and expert systems.

  3. Assessment of paediatric clinical audit.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Perrem, L M

    2012-02-01

    Consultant paediatricians in Ireland were surveyed to evaluate their perceptions of the hospital audit environment and assess their involvement in the audit process. Eighty nine (77%) replied of whom 66 (74%) had an audit department and 23 (26%) did not. Sixteen (18%) felt their hospital was well resourced for audit and 25 (28%) felt the culture was very positive but only 1 (1%) had protected time. For 61 (69%) consultants audit was very important with 38 (43%) being very actively involved in the process. The most frequent trigger for audit was non consultant hospital doctor (NCHD) career development, cited by 77 (87%). The new Professional Competence Scheme and the National Quality and Risk Management Standards will require the deficiencies identified in this survey be addressed.

  4. Setting the standard, implementation and auditing within haemodialysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, J

    1997-01-01

    With an ever increasing awareness of the need to deliver a quality of care that is measurable in Nursing, the concept of Standards provides an ideal tool (1). Standards operate outside the boundaries of policies and procedures to provide an audit tool of authenticity and flexibility. Within our five Renal Units, while we felt confident that we were delivering an excellent standard of care to our patients and continually trying to improve upon it, what we really needed was a method of measuring this current level of care and highlighting key areas where we could offer improvement.

  5. 29 CFR 99.230 - Audit costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Audit costs. 99.230 Section 99.230 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor AUDITS OF STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Audits § 99.230 Audit... years ending after December 31, 2003) and is thereby exempted under § 99.200(d) from having an audit...

  6. 32 CFR 37.1325 - Periodic audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Periodic audit. 37.1325 Section 37.1325 National... TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS Definitions of Terms Used in This Part § 37.1325 Periodic audit. An audit of... awards. Appendix C to this part describes what such an audit may cover. A periodic audit of a participant...

  7. Industrial Energy Audit Guidebook: Guidelines for Conducting an Energy Audit in Industrial Facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasanbeigi, Ali; Price, Lynn

    2010-10-07

    Various studies in different countries have shown that significant energy-efficiency improvement opportunities exist in the industrial sector, many of which are cost-effective. These energy-efficiency options include both cross-cutting as well as sector-specific measures. However, industrial plants are not always aware of energy-efficiency improvement potentials. Conducting an energy audit is one of the first steps in identifying these potentials. Even so, many plants do not have the capacity to conduct an effective energy audit. In some countries, government policies and programs aim to assist industry to improve competitiveness through increased energy efficiency. However, usually only limited technical and financial resources for improving energy efficiency are available, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Information on energy auditing and practices should, therefore, be prepared and disseminated to industrial plants. This guidebook provides guidelines for energy auditors regarding the key elements for preparing for an energy audit, conducting an inventory and measuring energy use, analyzing energy bills, benchmarking, analyzing energy use patterns, identifying energy-efficiency opportunities, conducting cost-benefit analysis, preparing energy audit reports, and undertaking post-audit activities. The purpose of this guidebook is to assist energy auditors and engineers in the plant to conduct a well-structured and effective energy audit.

  8. From joint to single auditsAudit quality differences and auditor pairing background

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Claus; Thinggaard, Frank

    A recent EU regulation incentivises the use of joint audits. Concerns motivating this regulation imply that a B4 audit firm is paired with a NB4. However, in the first theoretical study of joint audits Deng et al. (2014) predict that adding a firm with lower technological efficiency to form a joi...

  9. SOCIAL AUDIT OF THE MUNICIPAL SYSTEM OF GENERAL EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. I. Zerchaninova

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the theory and practice of social audit of the municipal system of general education. The authors have developed a conceptual model of social audit to accurately identify both the short- and long-term development prospects of the given system. The paper describes the social audit procedures in Berezovsky municipal district of Sverdlovsk region including four stages: the content analysis of municipal documents concerning the development strategy of the general education system, diagnosis of the current conditions and problems, effectiveness evaluation of the municipal system of general education, and practical  recommendations for improving the education quality. The above mentioned audit demonstrates that the indices of education development are unsystematically tracked, obstructing therefore the adjustment process. To solve the given problems the following measures are recommended: personnel policy development, creating the regional managerial reserve and organizing management workshops, informing the teachers about the modern educational tools, and updating the municipal program of the «Educational System Development of Berezovsky Municipal District for 20011–20015». However, the above suggestions target only the current problems disregarding the challenges of tomorrow which require the advancing strategy. In authors’ opinion, the main emphasis should be re-placed on the quality improvement of the municipal educational services instead of the infrastructure reinforcement. 

  10. SOCIAL AUDIT OF THE MUNICIPAL SYSTEM OF GENERAL EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. I. Zerchaninova

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the theory and practice of social audit of the municipal system of general education. The authors have developed a conceptual model of social audit to accurately identify both the short- and long-term development prospects of the given system. The paper describes the social audit procedures in Berezovsky municipal district of Sverdlovsk region including four stages: the content analysis of municipal documents concerning the development strategy of the general education system, diagnosis of the current conditions and problems, effectiveness evaluation of the municipal system of general education, and practical  recommendations for improving the education quality. The above mentioned audit demonstrates that the indices of education development are unsystematically tracked, obstructing therefore the adjustment process. To solve the given problems the following measures are recommended: personnel policy development, creating the regional managerial reserve and organizing management workshops, informing the teachers about the modern educational tools, and updating the municipal program of the «Educational System Development of Berezovsky Municipal District for 20011–20015». However, the above suggestions target only the current problems disregarding the challenges of tomorrow which require the advancing strategy. In authors’ opinion, the main emphasis should be re-placed on the quality improvement of the municipal educational services instead of the infrastructure reinforcement. 

  11. A new quality assurance package for hospital palliative care teams: the Trent Hospice Audit Group model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunt, J; Keeley, V L; Cobb, M; Ahmedzai, S H

    2004-07-19

    Cancer patients in hospitals are increasingly cared for jointly by palliative care teams, as well as oncologists and surgeons. There has been a considerable growth in the number and range of hospital palliative care teams (HPCTs) in the United Kingdom. HPCTs can include specialist doctors and nurses, social workers, chaplains, allied health professionals and pharmacists. Some teams work closely with existing cancer multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) while others are less well integrated. Quality assurance and clinical governance requirements have an impact on the monitoring of such teams, but so far there is no standardised way of measuring the amount and quality of HPCTs' workload. Trent Hospice Audit Group (THAG) is a multiprofessional research group, which has been developing standards and audit tools for palliative care since the 1990s. These follow a format of structure-process-outcome for standards and measures. We describe a collaborative programme of work with HPCTs that has led to a new set of standards and audit tools. Nine HPCTs participated in three rounds of consultation, piloting and modification of standard statements and tools. The final pack of HPCT quality assurance tools covers: policies and documentation; medical notes review; questionnaires for ward-based staff. The tools measure the HPCT workload and casemix; the views of ward-based staff on the supportive role of the HPCT and the effectiveness of HPCT education programmes, particularly in changing practice. The THAG HPCT quality assurance pack is now available for use in cancer peer review.

  12. A survey of community child health audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, N J; Penlington, E

    1993-03-01

    Community child health medical audit is established in most districts surveyed. A minority have integrated audit with hospital paediatric units. Very few districts use an external auditor. Subject audit is preferred to individual performance audit and school health services were the most common services subjected to medical audit. The need for integrated audit and audit forms suitable for use in the community services is discussed.

  13. Communication of Audit Risk to Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alderman, C. Wayne; Thompson, James H.

    1986-01-01

    This article focuses on audit risk by examining it in terms of its components: inherent risk, control risk, and detection risk. Discusses applying audit risk, a definition of audit risk, and components of audit risk. (CT)

  14. THE ROLE OF SELF-REGULATORY AUDITING ASSOCIATIONS IN ARRANGEMENT OF AUDIT ACTIVITIES QUALITY CONTROL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zinaida P. Arharova

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The role of self-regulatory organizations in audit activities quality control is revealed in this article. Creation of a united audit association is the basis of certain regulating and auditing functions transfer from the government to the public sector.

  15. Auditing wildlife

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B.K. Reilly

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Reilly B.K. and Y. Reilly. 2003. Auditing wildlife. Koedoe 46(2: 97–102. Pretoria. ISSN 0075-6458. Accountants and auditors are increasingly confronted with the problem of auditing wildlife populations on game ranches as their clients' asset base expands into this industry. This paper aims to provide guidelines on these actions based on case study data and research in the field of wildlife monitoring. Parties entering into dispute on numbers of animals on a property often resort to their auditors for advice. This paper tracks a method of deciding on whether or not to audit the population based on wildlife value and an initial sample count. This will act as a guideline for the accounting profession when confronted by this problem.

  16. Methodology to Assess No Touch Audit Software Using Field Data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cai, Jie [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Braun, James E. [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Langner, M. Rois [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-10-01

    The research presented in this report builds upon these previous efforts and proposes a set of tests to assess no touch audit tools using real utility bill and on-site data. The proposed assessment methodology explicitly investigates the behaviors of the monthly energy end uses with respect to outdoor temperature, i.e., the building energy signature, to help understand the Tool's disaggregation accuracy. The project team collaborated with Field Diagnosis Services, Inc. (FDSI) to identify appropriate test sites for the evaluation.

  17. Criteria for clinical audit of women friendly care and providers' perception in Malawi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van den Broek Nynke

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There are two dimensions of quality of maternity care, namely quality of health outcomes and quality as perceived by clients. The feasibility of using clinical audit to assess and improve the quality of maternity care as perceived by women was studied in Malawi. Objective We sought to (a establish standards for women friendly care and (b explore attitudinal barriers which could impede the proper implementation of clinical audit. Methods We used evidence from Malawi national guidelines and World Health Organisation manuals to establish local standards for women friendly care in three districts. We equally conducted a survey of health care providers to explore their attitudes towards criterion based audit. Results The standards addressed different aspects of care given to women in maternity units, namely (i reception, (ii attitudes towards women, (iii respect for culture, (iv respect for women, (v waiting time, (vi enabling environment, (vii provision of information, (viii individualised care, (ix provision of skilled attendance at birth and emergency obstetric care, (x confidentiality, and (xi proper management of patient information. The health providers in Malawi generally held a favourable attitude towards clinical audit: 100.0% (54/54 agreed that criterion based audit will improve the quality of care and 92.6% believed that clinical audit is a good educational tool. However, there are concerns that criterion based audit would create a feeling of blame among providers (35.2%, and that manager would use clinical audit to identify and punish providers who fail to meet standards (27.8%. Conclusion Developing standards of maternity care that are acceptable to, and valued by, women requires consideration of both the research evidence and cultural values. Clinical audit is acceptable to health professionals in Malawi although there are concerns about its negative implications to the providers.

  18. Internal Audit Charter, Mar2018

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Jessica Perkins

    2018-03-02

    Mar 2, 2018 ... authorizes the Finance and Audit Committee to oversee IDRC's Internal ... reassignment, or dismissal of the Chief Audit Executive. ... Audit Executive's duties as the Senior Officer for disclosure pursuant to the Public Servants.

  19. E-Commerce Audit Judgment Expertise: Does Expertise in System Change Management and Information Technology Auditing Mediate E-Commerce Audit Judgment Expertise?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jagdish PATHAK

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available A global survey of 203 E-commerce auditors was conducted to investigate the perceptions about the potential determinants of expertise in E-commerce audits. We hypothesize and find evidence indicating that information technology and communication expertise are positively related to expertise in E-commerce audit judgment. We also find that system change management expertise and information technology audit expertise mediate this relationship.

  20. Auditing the quality of immunization data in Tunisia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Kouni Chahed

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To carry out a data quality audit for the consistency and quality of immunization monitoring in Kasserine governorate in Tunisia, where immunization coverage rates more than 100%, negative dropout and conflicting coverage rates had been reported. Methods: In a randomly selected sample of 12 primary health care facilities in 2 districts all files used to record immunization data were checked to verify the accuracy of the reported 3rd dose of diphtheriatetanus-pertussis vaccine during a calendar year. Results: The results found frequent overreporting or under-reporting of doses being administrated in all health facilities. The regional verification factor was estimated as 85% and quality index was 55%. Conclusions: Data quality audit provides a effective tool for self-assessment implementation and developing a critical analysis of the quality of routine immunization data at all levels of health service.

  1. Meaningful work, work engagement and organisational commitment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madelyn Geldenhuys

    2014-03-01

    Research purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships amongst psychological meaningfulness, work engagement and organisational commitment and to test for a possible mediation effect of work engagement on the relationship between psychological meaningfulness and organisational commitment. Motivation for the study: Managers have to rethink ways of improving productivity and performance at work, due to the diverse, and in some instances escalating, needs of employees (e.g. financial support to uphold their interest in and enjoyment of working. Research approach, design and method: A quantitative approach was employed to gather the data for the study, utilising a cross-sectional survey design. The sample (n = 415 consisted of working employees from various companies and positions in Gauteng, South Africa. Main findings: The results confirmed a positive relationship between psychological meaningfulness, work engagement and organisational commitment. Further, psychological meaningfulness predicts work engagement, whilst psychological meaningfulness and work engagement predict organisational commitment. Practical/managerial implications: Employers identifying their employees’ commitment patterns and mapping out strategies for enhancing those that are relevant to organisational goals will yield positive work outcomes (e.g. employees who are creative, seek growth or challenges for themselves. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the literature through highlighting the impact that meaningful work has on sustaining employee commitment to the organisation.

  2. [Internal audit in medical laboratory: what means of control for an effective audit process?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Hejl, Carine; Chianéa, Denis; Dedome, Emmanuel; Sanmartin, Nancy; Bugier, Sarah; Linard, Cyril; Foissaud, Vincent; Vest, Philippe

    2013-01-01

    To prepare the French Accreditation Committee (COFRAC) visit for initial certification of our medical laboratory, our direction evaluated its quality management system (QMS) and all its technical activities. This evaluation was performed owing an internal audit. This audit was outsourced. Auditors had an expertise in audit, a whole knowledge of biological standards and were independent. Several nonconformities were identified at that time, including a lack of control of several steps of the internal audit process. Hence, necessary corrective actions were taken in order to meet the requirements of standards, in particular, the formalization of all stages, from the audit program, to the implementation, review and follow-up of the corrective actions taken, and also the implementation of the resources needed to carry out audits in a pre-established timing. To ensure an optimum control of each step, the main concepts of risk management were applied: process approach, root cause analysis, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA). After a critical analysis of our practices, this methodology allowed us to define our "internal audit" process, then to formalize it and to follow it up, with a whole documentary system.

  3. The quality of dental radiography in the Czech Republic - Results of a TLD and film postal audit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novak, L.

    2006-01-01

    Since 2002, the postal audit in dental radiography has been supplementing standard quality control (QC) tools for dental intraoral X-ray machines. An aim of the audit is to check basic X-ray machine parameters (field size, exposure reproducibility), and a quality of the whole process of diagnostic imaging (entrance surface air-kerma measurement, a check of film processing and an image quality evaluation). The standard QC tests, performed by private companies, check mainly the X-ray unit. Conversely, the audit gives better information about the patient examination practices. During the period of January 2002 to May 2004 ∼4000 audits were performed. The results confirmed that main problems in dental radiography are due to incorrect film processing, non-optimised setting of the exposure parameters and use of obsolete X-ray machines. Only ∼30% of performed audits were satisfactory with respect to all checked parameters. (authors)

  4. 25 CFR 39.410 - What qualifications must an audit firm meet to be considered for auditing ISEP administration?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... considered for auditing ISEP administration? 39.410 Section 39.410 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS... qualifications must an audit firm meet to be considered for auditing ISEP administration? To be considered for auditing ISEP administration under this subpart, an independent audit firm must: (a) Be a licensed...

  5. E-health internationalization requirements for audit purposes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouhbi, Sofia; Fernández-Alemán, José Luis; Carrillo-de-Gea, Juan Manuel; Toval, Ambrosio; Idri, Ali

    2017-06-01

    In the 21st century, e-health is proving to be one of the strongest drivers for the global transformation of the health care industry. Health information is currently truly ubiquitous and widespread, but in order to guarantee that everyone can appropriately access and understand this information, regardless of their origin, it is essential to bridge the international gap. The diversity of health information seekers languages and cultures signifies that e-health applications must be adapted to satisfy their needs. In order to achieve this objective, current and future e-health programs should take into account the internationalization aspects. This paper presents an internationalization requirements specification in the form of a reusable requirements catalog, obtained from the principal related standards, and describes the key methodological elements needed to perform an e-health software audit by using the internationalization knowledge previously gathered. S Health, a relevant, well-known Android application that has more than 150 million users in over 130 countries, was selected as a target for the e-health internationalization audit method and requirements specification presented above. This application example helped us to put into practice the proposal and show that the procedure is realistic and effective. The approach presented in this study is subject to continuous improvement through the incorporation of new knowledge originating from additional information sources, such as other standards or stakeholders. The application example is useful for early evaluation and serves to assess the applicability of the internationalization catalog and audit methodology, and to improve them. It would be advisable to develop of an automated tool with which to carry out the audit method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. How is feedback from national clinical audits used? Views from English National Health Service trust audit leads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Angelina; Neuburger, Jenny; Walker, Kate; Cromwell, David; Groene, Oliver

    2016-04-01

    To explore how the output of national clinical audits in England is used by professionals and whether and how their impact could be enhanced. A mixed-methods study with the primary recipients of four national clinical audits of cancer care of 607 local audit leads, 274 (45%) completed a questionnaire and 32 participated in an interview. Our questions focused on how the audits were used and whether barriers existed to using the audits for local service improvement. We described variation in questionnaire responses between the audits using chi-squared tests. Results are reported as percentages with their 95% confidence intervals. Qualitative data were analysed using Framework analysis. More than 90% of survey respondents believed that the audit findings were relevant to their clinical work, and interviewees described how they used the audits for a range of purposes. Forty-two percent of survey respondents said they had changed their clinical practice, and 56% had implemented service improvements in response to the audits. The degree of change differed between the four audits, evident in both the questionnaire and the interview data. In the interviews, two recurring barriers emerged: (1) the importance of data quality, which, in turn, influenced the perceived relevance and validity of the audit data and therefore the ability to make changes based on it and (2) the need for clear presentation of benchmarked local performance data. The perceived authority and credibility of the professional bodies supporting the audits was a key factor underpinning the use of the audit findings. National cancer audit and feedback is used to improve services, but their impact could be enhanced by improving the data quality and relevance of feedback. © The Author(s) 2016.

  7. Audits as a Vaccine or Just Aspirin?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jagrič Timotej

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the impact of audits on voluntary tax compliance in the area of value added tax in Slovenia. The analyses argues that audited taxpayers with additional tax assessments as the result of an audit display a higher level of tax compliance within the year of the audit as within the year before audit, while audited taxpayers with no irregularities on the basis of an audit do not change their behavior significantly within the same period. However, regarding the longterm effect, the results reveal the possibility of worsening tax compliance with respect to audits where an additional tax assessment was imposed and where no irregularities were discovered during an audit.

  8. Performance audit procedures for opacity monitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plaisance, S.J.; Peeler, J.W.

    1987-04-01

    This manual contains monitor-specific performance audit procedures and data forms for use in conducting audits of installed opacity continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS). General auditing procedures and acceptance limits for various audit criteria are discussed. Practical considerations and common problems encountered in conducting audits are delineated, and recommendations are included to optimize the successful completion of performance audits. Performance audit procedures and field-data forms were developed for six common opacity CEMS: (1) Lear Siegler, Inc. Model RM-41; (2) Lear Siegler, Inc. Model RM-4; (3) Dynatron Model 1100; (4) Thermo Electron, Inc. Model 400; (5) Thermo Electron, Inc. Model 1000A; and (6) Enviroplan Model D-R280 AV. Generic audit procedures are included for use in evaluating opacity CEMS with multiple transmissometers and combiner devices. In addition, several approaches for evaluating the zero-alignment or clear-path zero response are described. The zero-alignment procedures are included since the factor is fundamental to the accuracy of opacity monitoring data, even though the zero-alignment checks cannot usually be conducted during a performance audit

  9. Continuous Audit: Implementasi dan Pengendalian Berbasis Teknologi Informasi dalam Menjalankan Fungsi Audit yang lebih Efektif dan Efisien

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Elda Hiererra

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Information Technology (IT continues to transform how organizations function, communicate and do business with customers, partners and agents. Directors, audit committee, management and stakeholders sincerely hope their auditors more adept at using technology both in the field of audit (Audit Leveraging Technology to develop a thorough understanding of how they control the company's processes and internal controls. The research methodology to be used is quantitative observation methodology, by collecting data from various data sources such as journals and literature on Continuous Auditing, both best practice (Practical Approach as well as theoretical and raw concept of Continuous Auditing (Teorical Approach. Impact on the internal audit process and methodology by using Continuous Audit will be very revolutionary and a major impact on the development of the company's business and also the audit function which is run by the company.

  10. A computer-aided audit system for respiratory therapy consult evaluations: description of a method and early results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kester, Lucy; Stoller, James K

    2013-05-01

    Use of respiratory therapist (RT)-guided protocols enhances allocation of respiratory care. In the context that optimal protocol use requires a system for auditing respiratory care plans to assure adherence to protocols and expertise of the RTs generating the care plan, a live audit system has been in longstanding use in our Respiratory Therapy Consult Service. Growth in the number of RT positions and the need to audit more frequently has prompted development of a new, computer-aided audit system. The number and results of audits using the old and new systems were compared (for the periods May 30, 2009 through May 30, 2011 and January 1, 2012 through May 30, 2012, respectively). In contrast to the original, live system requiring a patient visit by the auditor, the new system involves completion of a respiratory therapy care plan using patient information in the electronic medical record, both by the RT generating the care plan and the auditor. Completing audits in the new system also uses an electronic respiratory therapy management system. The degrees of concordance between the audited RT's care plans and the "gold standard" care plans using the old and new audit systems were similar. Use of the new system was associated with an almost doubling of the rate of audits (ie, 11 per month vs 6.1 per month). The new, computer-aided audit system increased capacity to audit more RTs performing RT-guided consults while preserving accuracy as an audit tool. Ensuring that RTs adhere to the audit process remains the challenge for the new system, and is the rate-limiting step.

  11. Archaeology audit program final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2009-04-15

    In order to review oil and gas companies' archaeological management systems, the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) introduced its archaeology audit program (AAP) in April 2008. As part of this audit, twenty six oil and gas companies were selected for an office documentation review and a corresponding field audit. This document presented and described these audit results. The purpose of the final audit report was to provide information to assist oil and gas companies to improve their management systems by increasing the emphasis of the preservation of cultural resources. This report presented an overview of the AAP scope and methodology and provided examples from the audit of both good management practices encountered and practices in which opportunities for improvement to archaeological management systems could be implemented. Recommendations to address improvement opportunities were also discussed. It was concluded that the oil and gas companies subject to the audit were found to have met or exceeded OGC expectations for maintaining archaeological management systems. 2 tabs., 7 figs.

  12. Nurses' participation in audit: a regional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheater, F M; Keane, M

    1998-03-01

    To find out to what extent nurses were perceived to be participating in audit, to identify factors thought to impede their involvement, and to assess progress towards multidisciplinary audit. Qualitative. Focus groups and interviews. Chairs of audit groups and audit support staff in hospital, community and primary health care and audit leads in health authorities in the North West Region. In total 99 audit leads/support staff in the region participated representing 89% of the primary health care audit groups, 80% of acute hospitals, 73% of community health services, and 59% of purchasers. Many audit groups remain medically dominated despite recent changes to their structure and organisation. The quality of interprofessional relations, the leadership style of the audit chair, and nurses' level of seniority, audit knowledge, and experience influenced whether groups reflected a multidisciplinary, rather than a doctor centred approach. Nurses were perceived to be enthusiastic supporters of audit, although their active participation in the process was considered substantially less than for doctors in acute and community health services. Practice nurses were increasingly being seen as the local audit enthusiasts in primary health care. Reported obstacles to nurses' participation in audit included hierarchical nurse and doctor relationships, lack of commitment from senior doctors and managers, poor organisational links between departments of quality and audit, work load pressures and lack of protected time, availability of practical support, and lack of knowledge and skills. Progress towards multidisciplinary audit was highly variable. The undisciplinary approach to audit was still common, particularly in acute services. Multidisciplinary audit was more successfully established in areas already predisposed towards teamworking or where nurses had high involvement in decision making. Audit support staff were viewed as having a key role in helping teams to adopt a

  13. Audit in small and medium business

    OpenAIRE

    Marešová, Edita

    2009-01-01

    The subject of this thesis is a theoretical introduction to audit of the financial statements. The main part is the audit process, particularly the implementation of procedures to assess the adoption of a new contract, the design's overall performance audit, risk assessment, conducting a further audit procedures, analyzing the information obtained, and finally preparing the auditor's report. The last chapter is devoted to the audit program for fixed assets.

  14. Findings From a Nursing Care Audit Based on the Nursing Process: A Descriptive Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poortaghi, Sarieh; Salsali, Mahvash; Ebadi, Abbas; Rahnavard, Zahra; Maleki, Farzaneh

    2015-09-01

    Although using the nursing process improves nursing care quality, few studies have evaluated nursing performance in accordance with nursing process steps either nationally or internationally. This study aimed to audit nursing care based on a nursing process model. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which a nursing audit checklist was designed and validated for assessing nurses' compliance with nursing process. A total of 300 nurses from various clinical settings of Tehran university of medical sciences were selected. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including frequencies, Pearson correlation coefficient and independent samples t-tests. The compliance rate of nursing process indicators was 79.71 ± 0.87. Mean compliance scores did not significantly differ by education level and gender. However, overall compliance scores were correlated with nurses' age (r = 0.26, P = 0.001) and work experience (r = 0.273, P = 0.001). Nursing process indicators can be used to audit nursing care. Such audits can be used as quality assurance tools.

  15. Environmental audits: A lawyer's perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walls, S.K.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of using environmental compliance audits to help detect potential environmental violations and/or potential problems. The paper focuses on the legal issues inherent in this type of audit. The primary purpose of conducting such an audit is to determine the suitability of a facility or a site prior to a transaction or to determine a company's own compliance before a regulatory agency identifies it. The paper discusses how to set up a compliance audit and then reviews how various government agencies view voluntary environmental audits. These voluntary actions are perceived by most agencies as commendable and result in significant decreases in penalties and assessments

  16. The use of safety audits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waldram, I.M.

    1991-01-01

    It is now widely recognized that implementation of an effective safety policy must include arrangements for auditing and feedback to the policy maker. In the E and P industry safety audits should cover the whole range of activities, from exploration to production, and including the specialist contractors widely employed. Audit schemes can be developed internally, or purchased as a package. In this paper, the development of a comprehensive audit policy is described, and a range of audit techniques are reviewed. The use of these techniques is described with special reference to drilling, diving and offshore construction in the UK sector of the North Sea

  17. Auditing as Part of the Terminology Design Life Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Hua; Perl, Yehoshua; Chen, Yan; Halper, Michael; Geller, James; Wang, Yue

    2006-01-01

    Objective To develop and test an auditing methodology for detecting errors in medical terminologies satisfying systematic inheritance. This methodology is based on various abstraction taxonomies that provide high-level views of a terminology and highlight potentially erroneous concepts. Design Our auditing methodology is based on dividing concepts of a terminology into smaller, more manageable units. First, we divide the terminology’s concepts into areas according to their relationships/roles. Then each multi-rooted area is further divided into partial-areas (p-areas) that are singly-rooted. Each p-area contains a set of structurally and semantically uniform concepts. Two kinds of abstraction networks, called the area taxonomy and p-area taxonomy, are derived. These taxonomies form the basis for the auditing approach. Taxonomies tend to highlight potentially erroneous concepts in areas and p-areas. Human reviewers can focus their auditing efforts on the limited number of problematic concepts following two hypotheses on the probable concentration of errors. Results A sample of the area taxonomy and p-area taxonomy for the Biological Process (BP) hierarchy of the National Cancer Institute Thesaurus (NCIT) was derived from the application of our methodology to its concepts. These views led to the detection of a number of different kinds of errors that are reported, and to confirmation of the hypotheses on error concentration in this hierarchy. Conclusion Our auditing methodology based on area and p-area taxonomies is an efficient tool for detecting errors in terminologies satisfying systematic inheritance of roles, and thus facilitates their maintenance. This methodology concentrates a domain expert’s manual review on portions of the concepts with a high likelihood of errors. PMID:16929044

  18. POSITIONINGS AND DELIMITATIONS CONCERNING THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT

    OpenAIRE

    Victoria FIRESCU

    2014-01-01

    The objectives of the present research are related to the approaches concerning the “performance audit” concept in the specialized literature and practice as well as the clear delimitation of this concept of financial audit and internal audit. For a clear emphasis of the objectives and principles of the performance audit, I highlighted the similarities and differences among the three types of audit by means of several criteria such as: audit standards, audited subjects, nature of the audit ev...

  19. Auditor human capital and audit firm survival - The Dutch audit industry in 1930-1992

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brocheler, [No Value; Maijoor, S; van Witteloostuijn, A; Bröcheler, V.

    2004-01-01

    This paper studies the relationship between auditor human capital and audit firm survival. Specifically, the effects are investigated of the human capital of auditors on the survival chances of newly established audit firms. Human capital is analyzed both at the time of entry of a new audit firm and

  20. The Impact Of Cloud Computing Technology On The Audit Process And The Audit Profession

    OpenAIRE

    Yati Nurhajati

    2015-01-01

    In the future cloud computing audits will become increasingly The use of that technology has influenced of the audit process and be a new challenge for both external and the Internal Auditors to understand IT and learn how to use cloud computing and cloud services that hire in cloud service provider CSP and considering the risks of cloud computing and how to audit cloud computing by risk based audit approach. The wide range of unique risks and depend on the type and model of the cloud soluti...

  1. Auditing of clinical research ethics in a children's and women's academic hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bortolussi, Robert; Nicholson, Diann

    2002-06-01

    . The research audit is a valuable tool in improving research ethics performance but requires considerable resources.

  2. Meaningfulness of Service and Marital Satisfaction in Army Couples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergmann, Jeffrey S.; Renshaw, Keith D.; Allen, Elizabeth S.; Markman, Howard J.; Stanley, Scott M.

    2015-01-01

    The vast numbers of military service members who have been deployed since 2001 highlights the need to better understand relationships of military couples. A unique consideration in military couples is the concept of meaningfulness of service, or the value service members and their partners place on military service in spite of the sacrifices it requires. In a sample of 606 Army couples, we used path analysis to examine how male service members’ and female spouses’ perceived meaningfulness of service added to the prediction of marital satisfaction in both members of the couple, when accounting for service members’ PTSD symptoms. Spouses’ perceived meaningfulness of service was linked with higher marital satisfaction in spouses, regardless of service member’s perceived meaningfulness of service. Service members’ perceived meaningfulness of service was also associated with increased marital satisfaction in service members, but only when their spouses also perceived higher meaningfulness. There were no significant interactions between service members’ PTSD and either partner’s perceived meaningfulness. Implications for enhanced attention to spousal perceptions of meaningfulness of service are discussed. PMID:25046347

  3. Meaningfulness of service and marital satisfaction in Army couples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergmann, Jeffrey S; Renshaw, Keith D; Allen, Elizabeth S; Markman, Howard J; Stanley, Scott M

    2014-10-01

    The vast numbers of military service members who have been deployed since 2001 highlights the need to better understand relationships of military couples. A unique consideration in military couples is the concept of meaningfulness of service, or the value service members and their partners place on military service in spite of the sacrifices it requires. In a sample of 606 Army couples, the authors used path analysis to examine how male service members' and female spouses' perceived meaningfulness of service added to the prediction of marital satisfaction in both members of the couple, when accounting for service members' PTSD symptoms. Spouses' perceived meaningfulness of service was linked with higher marital satisfaction in spouses, regardless of service member's perceived meaningfulness of service. Service members' perceived meaningfulness of service was also associated with increased marital satisfaction in service members, but only when their spouses also perceived higher meaningfulness. There were no significant interactions between service members' PTSD and either partner's perceived meaningfulness. Implications for enhanced attention to spousal perceptions of meaningfulness of service are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Relationship between meaningful work and job performance in nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Ling

    2018-04-01

    The present study was designed to determine the relationship between meaningful work and job performance, and the impact of meaningful work on nursing care quality. Meaningful work has been suggested as a significant factor affecting job performance, but the relationship has never been studied in nurses in China. A descriptive correlational study was designed to assess the level of meaningful work, tasks, and contextual performance as well as their relationships. We used a stratified random-sampling approach to enrol nurses from hospitals. Multivariate regression analysis was applied to determine the relationship between meaningful work and their demographic data. There were significant, positive relationships between meaningful work and task performance and contextual performance. Education level, work unit, and employment type influenced meaningful work. The work motivation score of the nurses was lower than that of the other 2 dimensions, and a negative work motivation score negatively influenced job performance. Improving meaningful work and providing more support and assistance could improve nurse performance, thereby improving the quality of nursing care. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  5. POSITIONINGS AND DELIMITATIONS CONCERNING THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoria FIRESCU

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of the present research are related to the approaches concerning the “performance audit” concept in the specialized literature and practice as well as the clear delimitation of this concept of financial audit and internal audit. For a clear emphasis of the objectives and principles of the performance audit, I highlighted the similarities and differences among the three types of audit by means of several criteria such as: audit standards, audited subjects, nature of the audit evidence, manners of assessment. Within this basically predominant research, I used several research methods and techniques such as: the critical analysis of the bibliographic sources concerning the performance audit, the documentation related to the international audit standards, comparative studies.

  6. Audit Oversight: Followup Review of the Military Department Audit Agencies Peer Review

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2004-01-01

    Government Auditing Standards (GAS) issued in June 2003 by the Comptroller General of the United States require that organizations conducting Government audits and attestation engagements have an appropriate internal quality control...

  7. Audit culture revisited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shore, Cris; Wright, Susan

    2015-01-01

    the financial and the moral meet’ we ask, what new kinds of ‘ethics of accountability’ does audit produce? We build on the work of Mitchell (1999), Trouillot (2001) and Merry (2011) to identify five ways in which the techniques and logics of financial accountancy have notable ‘audit effects...... these new financialized techniques of governance, not least through the work of the ‘Big 4’ accountancy firms, and trace their impact across a number of different fields, from administration and the military to business corporations and universities. Following Strathern’s observation that audit is ‘where...

  8. 24 CFR 511.74 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 511.74 Section 511.74... CLEARANCE AND URBAN RENEWAL RENTAL REHABILITATON GRANT PROGRAM Grant Administration § 511.74 Audit. The... audits in accordance with 24 CFR part 44. ...

  9. Software Engineering Reviews and Audits

    CERN Document Server

    Summers, Boyd L

    2011-01-01

    Accurate software engineering reviews and audits have become essential to the success of software companies and military and aerospace programs. These reviews and audits define the framework and specific requirements for verifying software development efforts. Authored by an industry professional with three decades of experience, Software Engineering Reviews and Audits offers authoritative guidance for conducting and performing software first article inspections, and functional and physical configuration software audits. It prepares readers to answer common questions for conducting and perform

  10. 7 CFR 3052.230 - Audit costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Audit costs. 3052.230 Section 3052.230 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AUDITS OF STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Audits § 3052.230 Audit costs...

  11. 38 CFR 41.230 - Audit costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Audit costs. 41.230 Section 41.230 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) AUDITS OF STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Audits § 41.230 Audit costs. (a) Allowable...

  12. AUDIT plan documenting method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cornecsu, M.

    1995-01-01

    The work describes a method of documenting the AUDIT plan upon the basis of two quantitative elements resulting from quality assurance program appraisal system function implementation degree as established from the latest AUDIT performed an system function weight in QAP, respectively, appraised by taking into account their significance for the activities that are to be performed in the period for which the AUDITs are planned. (Author) 3 Figs., 2 Refs

  13. Clinical audit of leg ulceration prevalence in a community area: a case study of good practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hindley, Jenny

    2014-09-01

    This article presents the findings of an audit on venous leg ulceration prevalence in a community area as a framework for discussing the concept and importance of audit as a tool to inform practice and as a means to benchmark care against national or international standards. It is hoped that the discussed audit will practically demonstrate how such procedures can be implemented in practice for those who have not yet undertaken it, as well as highlighting the unexpected extra benefits of this type of qualitative data collection that can often unexpectedly inform practice and influence change. Audit can be used to measure, monitor and disseminate evidence-based practice across community localities, facilitating the identification of learning needs and the instigation of clinical change, thereby prioritising patient needs by ensuring safety through the benchmarking of clinical practice.

  14. The New Architecture for Auditing Standards

    OpenAIRE

    Sorin-Sandu Vînătoru; Sorinel Domnişoru; Daniela Giurescu

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to challenge the conceptual basis upon which the current auditing standards are based. The paper critically appraises the Auditors’ Code published by the Auditing Practices Board and containing the nine fundamental and enduring principles upon which current auditing standards are based. It is argued that the nine enduring principles should be replaced by seven enduring tensions – the fault lines of auditing - so as to rethink the conceptual basis of auditing stand...

  15. Harmonisation of Audit Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sormunen, Nina; Klarskov Jeppesen, Kim; Sundgren, Stefan

    2013-01-01

    The study uses a sample of 2,941 bankrupt firms from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in the period 2007 to 2011, and investigates the harmonisation of audit behaviour in terms of going-concern reporting. Even though the Nordic countries have similar legal systems and, for all practical purposes......, identical audit requirements regarding going-concern reporting, the study findings show significant differences in going-concern reporting before bankruptcy between the Nordic countries. One key result is that Danish and Norwegian companies get a going-concern opinion prior to bankruptcy more frequently...... and Norway compared to Sweden and Finland. Finally, the study findings also indicate that differences in audit reporting behaviour are moderated by international audit firm networks....

  16. 10 CFR 950.41 - Monitoring/Auditing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Monitoring/Auditing. 950.41 Section 950.41 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY STANDBY SUPPORT FOR CERTAIN NUCLEAR PLANT DELAYS Audit and Investigations and Other Provisions § 950.41 Monitoring/Auditing. The Department has the right to audit any and all costs associated...

  17. 7 CFR 1948.96 - Audit requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Program § 1948.96 Audit requirements. (a) Audit requirements for Site Development and Acquisition Grants will be made in accordance with FmHA Instruction 1942-G. (b) Audits for planning grants made in... 7 Agriculture 13 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Audit requirements. 1948.96 Section 1948.96...

  18. 9 CFR 149.4 - Spot audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Spot audit. 149.4 Section 149.4... LIVESTOCK IMPROVEMENT VOLUNTARY TRICHINAE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM § 149.4 Spot audit. (a) In addition to regularly scheduled site audits, certified production sites will be subject to spot audits. (1) Random spot...

  19. INCODE-DK 2014. Classification of cause of intrauterine fetal death – a new approach to perinatal audit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maroun, Lisa Leth; Ramsing, Mette; Olsen, Tina Elisabeth

    on a national level as described in the national guideline for IUFD. Multidisciplinary perinatal audit is an important tool in the evaluation of stillbirth, however, the establishment of the C-IUFD has until now been hampered by the lack of a recommended classification system. Material and methods...... on the perinatal audit system in use as introduced by K. Vitting Andersen. The scheme is adapted to INCODE in main categories and allows grading and coding of C-IUFD. INCODE –DK and INCODE perinatal audittabel are available in an updated version of the IUFD guideline 2014, as well as in a separate excel file...... of the working group that the new audit scheme in combination with the new national classification system will improve the uniformity and quality of perinatal audits on a national level....

  20. Auditing as method of QA programme evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilhelm, H.

    1980-01-01

    The status and adequacy of a quality assurance programme should be regularly reviewed by the cognizant management. The programme audit is an independent review to determine the compliance with respective quality assurance requirements and to determine the effectiveness of that programme. This lecture gives an introduction of the method to perform audits under the following topics: 1. Definition and purpose of quality audits. 2. Organization of the quality audit function. 3. Unique requirements for auditors. 4. Audit preparation and planning. 5. Conduct of the audit. 6. Reporting the audit results. 7. Follow-up activities. (RW)

  1. Pengaruh Kinerja Keuangan Perusahaan Dan Opini Audit Tahun Sebelumnya Terhadap Opini Audit Mengenai Going Concern

    OpenAIRE

    Setiyanti, Sri Wiranti

    2010-01-01

    Companies that receive a going-concern opinion in the previous year wen more likely to receive the same opinion on the current year. Ramadhani (2004) proved that the going-concern audit opinion received the previous year positive impact on acceptance going-concern audit opinion for the year. If previous years the auditor has issued a going-concern audit opinion, the auditors will be more likely to issue going concern audit opinions again next year.Kata kunc...

  2. Internal Audit and Risk Management

    OpenAIRE

    Constantin Nicolae Vasile; Alexandru Georgiana

    2011-01-01

    Internal audit and risk management have the same goal: the control of risk. There are various roles for the internal audit in respect of risk management. The main limitations of internal audit in respect of risk management regards assuming risk management tasks. One of the main issues regarding risk management is to make sure that the key risks are taken into consideration and that the management and the board of the organization take action as needed. Internal audit could give advice to mana...

  3. The New Statutory Audit Framework in Europe: Implications for the Provision of Non-audit Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Claus

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The individual EU Member States have options on how they implement the new statutory audit framework in Europe. They may introduce stricter rules or apply certain exemptions where deemed appropriate. Denmark exemplifies Member States with a traditionally high level of non-audit services...... provided by its auditors. The aim of this study is to contrast the minimum implementation rationale observed in the Danish implementation process with an ex ante examination of fee dependency. Design/methodology/approach: The audit reform introduces a cap on non-audit fees which implies a regulator......-determined condition of non-independence. The cap is applied as a treatment effect on the ex ante relationship between audit fees and non-audit fees. In a sample with 3,238 observations, Denmark is compared with Finland, Germany, Sweden and the UK in order to determine whether the new measure will have different...

  4. 24 CFR 92.506 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 92.506 Section 92.506 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM Program Administration § 92.506 Audit. Audits of the participating...

  5. 29 CFR 99.200 - Audit requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Audit requirements. 99.200 Section 99.200 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor AUDITS OF STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Audits § 99.... Guidance on determining Federal awards expended is provided in § 99.205. (b) Single audit. Non-Federal...

  6. 21 CFR 820.22 - Quality audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Quality audit. 820.22 Section 820.22 Food and... QUALITY SYSTEM REGULATION Quality System Requirements § 820.22 Quality audit. Each manufacturer shall establish procedures for quality audits and conduct such audits to assure that the quality system is in...

  7. Komisaris Independen, Komite Audit, Internal Audit Dan Risk Management Committee Terhadap Manajemen Laba

    OpenAIRE

    Restuningdiah, Nurika

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of independency of board commisioner, audit committee,internal audit and risk management comittee to earning management. Regression Analysis of 35 publiccompanies listing in Indonesia Stock Exchange on year 2009 through a random sampling technique indicatedthat there was no significant impact of independency of board commisioner, audit committee, internal auditand risk management comittee to earning management. The implication of this stu...

  8. AUDIT – ASSESSMENT, INSPECTION OR CONTROL?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CONSTANŢA IACOB

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The emergence audit concept has created a lot of confusion, on the one hand between its manifestations, on the other hand between it and the indigenous concepts that are more suggestive and at the same time more explicit. Both theory and practice show that the abolition of auditors within companies that have been subject to financial audit was the result of confusion created between the audit and statutory audit. On the other hand, long it was considered that if was set up internal audit do not need control, something which has to be seen from another perspective given that fact in reality internal control includes internal audit. These are the considerations which, in this article we try to sit concepts in their natural order and to emphasize the implications of corporate governance codes on the audit function.

  9. GENERAL METHOD OF STOCKS AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iryna Galushchak

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the organization and methodology of accounting and auditing inventory enterprises. Suggestions for improvement of accounting permit to raise processing and presenting economic information to a higher level for making the economic and management decisions. Theory and practice problems of stocks audit were investigated. The basic directions of improvement of  stock audit were defined. The auditor can form an opinion about the state of business transactions of accounting of goods, define shortcomings in its organization and possible directions of elimination of violations and abuses. Program of audit of operations accounting with stocks should include the investigation of the preservation of property, valuation and posting costs, correct evaluation of purchased tangible assets, using of stocks in production. It is worth  to use techniques and methods of verification such as inventory, comparative control,  comparison of documentary evidence, counter check, check arithmetic for  audit of goods. Keywords: audit, stocks, activities of the company.

  10. A clinical audit programme for diagnostic radiology: The Approach adopted by the international atomic energy agency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faulkner, K.; Jaervinen, H.; Butler, P.; McLean, I. D.; Pentecost, M.; Rickard, M.; Abdullah, B.

    2010-01-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a mandate to assist member states in areas of human health and particularly in the use of radiation for diagnosis and treatment. Clinical audit is seen as an essential tool to assist in assuring the quality of radiation medicine, particularly in the instance of multidisciplinary audit of diagnostic radiology. Consequently, an external clinical audit programme has been developed by the IAEA to examine the structure and processes existent at a clinical site, with the basic objectives of: (1) improvement in the quality of patient care; (2) promotion of the effective use of resources; (3) enhancement of the provision and organisation of clinical services; (4) further professional education and training. These objectives apply in four general areas of service delivery, namely quality management and infrastructure, patient procedures, technical procedures and education, training and research. In the IAEA approach, the audit process is initiated by a request from the centre seeking the audit. A three-member team, comprising a radiologist, medical physicist and radiographer, subsequently undertakes a 5-d audit visit to the clinical site to perform the audit and write the formal audit report. Preparation for the audit visit is crucial and involves the local clinical centre completing a form, which provides the audit team with information on the clinical centre. While all main aspects of clinical structure and process are examined, particular attention is paid to radiation-related activities as described in the relevant documents such as the IAEA Basic Safety Standards, the Code of Practice for Dosimetry in Diagnostic Radiology and related equipment and quality assurance documentation. It should be stressed, however, that the clinical audit does not have any regulatory function. The main purpose of the IAEA approach to clinical audit is one of promoting quality improvement and learning. This paper describes the background to

  11. A clinical audit programme for diagnostic radiology: the approach adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faulkner, K; Järvinen, H; Butler, P; McLean, I D; Pentecost, M; Rickard, M; Abdullah, B

    2010-01-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a mandate to assist member states in areas of human health and particularly in the use of radiation for diagnosis and treatment. Clinical audit is seen as an essential tool to assist in assuring the quality of radiation medicine, particularly in the instance of multidisciplinary audit of diagnostic radiology. Consequently, an external clinical audit programme has been developed by the IAEA to examine the structure and processes existent at a clinical site, with the basic objectives of: (1) improvement in the quality of patient care; (2) promotion of the effective use of resources; (3) enhancement of the provision and organisation of clinical services; (4) further professional education and training. These objectives apply in four general areas of service delivery, namely quality management and infrastructure, patient procedures, technical procedures and education, training and research. In the IAEA approach, the audit process is initiated by a request from the centre seeking the audit. A three-member team, comprising a radiologist, medical physicist and radiographer, subsequently undertakes a 5-d audit visit to the clinical site to perform the audit and write the formal audit report. Preparation for the audit visit is crucial and involves the local clinical centre completing a form, which provides the audit team with information on the clinical centre. While all main aspects of clinical structure and process are examined, particular attention is paid to radiation-related activities as described in the relevant documents such as the IAEA Basic Safety Standards, the Code of Practice for Dosimetry in Diagnostic Radiology and related equipment and quality assurance documentation. It should be stressed, however, that the clinical audit does not have any regulatory function. The main purpose of the IAEA approach to clinical audit is one of promoting quality improvement and learning. This paper describes the background to

  12. Computer Assisted Audit Techniques

    OpenAIRE

    Eugenia Iancu; Mihaela Tulvinschi; Veronica Grosu

    2007-01-01

    From the modern point of view, audit takes intoaccount especially the information systems representingmainly the examination performed by a professional asregards the manner for developing an activity by means ofcomparing it to the quality criteria specific to this activity.Having as reference point this very general definition ofauditing, it must be emphasized that the best known segmentof auditing is the financial audit that had a parallel evolutionto the accountancy one.The present day pha...

  13. Short Report. Audit of Conscious Sedation Provision in a Salaried Dental Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Stephen G

    2016-01-01

    Clinical audit is a tool that may be used to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients in a health care setting as well as a mechanism for clinicians to reflect on their performance. The audit described in this short report involved the collection and analysis of data related to the administration of 1,756 conscious sedations, categorised as standard techniques, by clinicians employed by an NHS Trust-based dental service during the year 2014. Data collected included gender, age and medical status of subject, the type of care delivered, the dose of drug administered and the quality of the achieved sedation and any sedation-related complications. This was the first time that a service-wide clinical audit had been undertaken with the objective of determining the safety and effectiveness of this aspect of care provision. Evaluation of the analysed data supported the perceived view that such care was being delivered satisfactorily. This on-going audit will collect data during year 2016 on the abandonment of clinical sessions, in which successful sedation had been achieved, due to the failure to obtain adequate local anaesthesia.

  14. "We actually care and we want to make the parks better": A qualitative study of youth experiences and perceptions after conducting park audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallerani, David G; Besenyi, Gina M; Wilhelm Stanis, Sonja A; Kaczynski, Andrew T

    2017-02-01

    This study explored youths' experiences and perceptions about community engagement as a result of participating in a community-based data collection project using paper and mobile technology park environmental audit tools. In July 2014, youth (ages 11-18, n=50) were recruited to participate in nine focus groups after auditing two parks each using paper, electronic, or both versions of the Community Park Audit Tool in Greenville County, SC. The focus groups explored the youths' experiences participating in the project, changes as a result of participation, suggested uses of park audit data collected, and who should use the tools. Four themes emerged related to youths' project participation experiences: two positive (fun and new experiences) and two negative (uncomfortable/unsafe and travel issues). Changes described as a result of participating in the project fell into four themes: increased awareness, motivation for further action, physical activity benefits, and no change. Additionally, youth had numerous suggestions for utilizing the data collected that were coded into six themes: maintenance & aesthetics, feature/amenity addition, online park information, park rating/review system, fundraising, and organizing community projects. Finally, six themes emerged regarding who the youth felt could use the tools: frequent park visitors, community groups/organizations, parks and recreation professionals, adults, youth, and everyone. This study revealed a wealth of information about youth experiences conducting park audits for community health promotion. Understanding youth attitudes and preferences can help advance youth empowerment and civic engagement efforts to promote individual and community health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. 28 CFR 70.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... organizations (including hospitals) shall be subject to the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act..., and Non-Profit Organizations.” (b) State and local governments shall be subject to the audit... hospitals not covered by the audit provisions of revised OMB Circular A-133 shall be subject to the audit...

  16. 45 CFR 2543.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... (including hospitals) shall be subject to the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act Amendments..., and Non-Profit Organizations.” (b) State and local governments shall be subject to the audit... hospitals not covered by the audit provisions of revised OMB Circular A-133 shall be subject to the audit...

  17. 29 CFR 99.510 - Audit findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Audit findings. 99.510 Section 99.510 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor AUDITS OF STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Auditors § 99.510 Audit... schedule of prior audit findings prepared by the auditee in accordance with § 99.315(b) materially...

  18. Audit Information Management System

    Data.gov (United States)

    US Agency for International Development — USAID/OIG has initiated its new Audit Information Management System (AIMS) to track OIG's audit recommendations and USAID's management decisions. OIG's in-house...

  19. The development of interdepartmental audit methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thwaites, D.I.; Allahverdi, M.

    1995-01-01

    The UK Radiotherapy Physics Audit Network is now well-established, with seven network groups and co-ordinated by the IPSM. It is based on visits, using ion chambers as the measurement method, and auditing at least machine calibration, single field parameters and simple multi-field planned irradiations. In addition procedural audit of dosimetry and quality control procedures, and records is incorporated. The general approach has been to use interdepartmental audit involving mutual co-operation with peer professionals from other centres. The different groups have evolved at different paces and in rather different directions. However the IPSM coordinating role ensures a basic common minimum to the system. The Scottish+ group has developed a semi-anatomical phantom to use in audit stages following on from the basic single field and geometric phantom dosimetry audit levels. This has been evaluated experimentally in one department before wider use. The Scottish+ audit system is briefly described. Results from levels 1 and 2 are summarised and the design and testing of the semi-anatomical phantom are discussed. The current and future development of the audit system is presented

  20. 20 CFR 638.809 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 638.809 Section 638.809 Employees... THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT Administrative Provisions § 638.809 Audit. (a) The Secretary of Labor... purpose of making surveys, audits, examinations, excerpts, and transcripts. (b) The Secretary shall, with...

  1. 24 CFR 590.27 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 590.27 Section 590.27... COMMUNITY FACILITIES URBAN HOMESTEADING § 590.27 Audit. (a) Access to records. The Secretary, the... funds or property transferred under this part, for the purpose of making surveys, audits, examinations...

  2. Evaluating and operationalizing an environmental auditing program: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Laura; Bruce, Natalie; Suh, Kathryn N; Roth, Virginia

    2014-07-01

    Environmental auditing is an important tool to ensure consistent and effective cleaning. Our pilot study compared an alcohol-based fluorescent marking product and an adenosine-5'-triphosphate bioluminescence product for use in an environmental auditing program to determine which product was more practical and acceptable to users. Both products were tested on 15 preselected high touch objects in randomly selected patient rooms, following regular daily cleaning. A room was considered a "pass" if ≥80% of surfaces were adequately cleaned as defined by manufacturers' guidelines. A qualitative survey assessed user preference and operational considerations. Using fluorescent marking, 9 of 37 patient rooms evaluated (24%) were considered a "pass" after daily cleaning. Using adenosine-5'-triphosphate bioluminescence, 21 of 37 patient rooms passed (57%). There was great variability in results between different high touch objects. Eighty percent of users preferred the alcohol-based fluorescent marking product because it provided an effective visual aid to coach staff on proper cleaning techniques and allowed simple and consistent application. Environmental auditing using translucent, alcohol-based fluorescent marking best met the requirements of our organization. Our results reinforce the importance of involving a multidisciplinary team in evaluating and operationalizing an environmental auditing program. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. 29 CFR 99.220 - Frequency of audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Frequency of audits. 99.220 Section 99.220 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor AUDITS OF STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Audits § 99.220 Frequency of audits. Except for the provisions for biennial audits provided in paragraphs (a) and...

  4. 24 CFR 84.26 - Non-Federal audits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... education or other non-profit organization (including hospitals) shall be subject to the audit requirements... 84 shall comply with the audit requirements of revised OMB Circular A-133, “Audits of States, Local... subject to the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.C. 7501...

  5. Multicentre validation of IMRT pre-treatment verification: Comparison of in-house and external audit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jornet, Núria; Carrasco, Pablo; Beltrán, Mercè; Calvo, Juan Francisco; Escudé, Lluís; Hernández, Victor; Quera, Jaume; Sáez, Jordi

    2014-01-01

    Background and purpose: We performed a multicentre intercomparison of IMRT optimisation and dose planning and IMRT pre-treatment verification methods and results. The aims were to check consistency between dose plans and to validate whether in-house pre-treatment verification results agreed with those of an external audit. Materials and methods: Participating centres used two mock cases (prostate and head and neck) for the intercomparison and audit. Compliance to dosimetric goals and total number of MU per plan were collected. A simple quality index to compare the different plans was proposed. We compared gamma index pass rates using the centre’s equipment and methodology to those of an external audit. Results: While for the prostate case, all centres fulfilled the dosimetric goals and plan quality was homogeneous, that was not the case for the head and neck case. The number of MU did not correlate with the plan quality index. Pre-treatment verifications results of the external audit did not agree with those of the in-house measurements for two centres: being within tolerance for in-house measurements and unacceptable for the audit or the other way round. Conclusions: Although all plans fulfilled dosimetric constraints, plan quality is highly dependent on the planner expertise. External audits are an excellent tool to detect errors in IMRT implementation and cannot be replaced by intercomparison using results obtained by centres

  6. Evaluation of the Defense Contract Audit Agency Audit Coverage of Tricare Contracts

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Brannin, Patricia

    2000-01-01

    Our objective was to evaluate the adequacy of the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit coverage of contracts for health care provided under TRICARE and the former Civilian Health Care and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services...

  7. 28 CFR 31.201 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Audit. 31.201 Section 31.201 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OJJDP GRANT PROGRAMS Formula Grants General Requirements § 31.201 Audit. The State must assure that it adheres to the audit requirements enumerated in the “Financial and...

  8. 24 CFR 954.503 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 954.503 Section 954.503 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF... PROGRAM Program Administration § 954.503 Audit. Audits of the grantee and subgrantees must be conducted in...

  9. Neoliberalism, Audit Culture, and Teachers: Empowering Goal Setting within Audit Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rinehart, Robert E.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, I discuss the concepts of neoliberalism and audit culture, and how they affect teaching culture. Moreover, I propose a form of goal setting that, if used properly, will hopefully work to combat some of the more onerous aspects of neoliberalism and audit clture in education.

  10. AUDIT BISNIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulius Jogi Cristiawan

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of financial audit is to give opinion that the financial statement present fairly, in all material respect, the financial position, the result of operation and cash flow in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. In this case, the focus of financial audit is financial statement. A Independent Auditor do not consider that the financial statement is the reflections of company business transaction that result from accounting process. In the accounting process, the distorsion information could be happened in business transaction. For examples the finished good must be presented at historical cost at financial statement, but if, the competitor could sell with the lower price or there are any substitutes, its presentation must be adjusted. A financial statement could not present the information about the competitors. Hence the auditor must be understand all aspects of client business. A conceptual framework for understanding client business will be presented in this article. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Audit atas Laporan Keuangan (Financial Audit bertujuan untuk memberikan pendapat apakah laporan keuangan suatu entitas menyajikan sejara wajar atau tidak posisi keuangan, hasil operasi dan arus kas sesuai dengan prinsip akuntansi yang berlaku umum. Disini jelas terlihat bahwa fokus audit adalah laporan keuangan. Auditor lupa bahwa laporan keuangan merupakan suatu laporan transaksi bisnis perusahaan yang telah mengalami proses akuntansi (dengan suatu asumsi-asumsi tertentu sehingga menjadi laporan keuangan. Selama proses akuntansi tersebut suatu transaksi bisnis kadang mengalami distorsi informasi. Contoh: suatu persediaan barang jadi yang secara fisik masih baik akan dilaporkan di dalam laporan keuangan sebesar cost-nya, tetapi kalau secara bisnis bisa dibuktikan bahwa atas barang tersebut pesaing bisa menjual barang dengan harga lebih murah atau telah ada barang pengganti maka atas barang tersebut harus disesuaikan

  11. A comparison of patients' perceptions and an audit of health promotion practice within a UK hospital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cook Gary A

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background UK hospitals are required to monitor the health promotion services they provide for patients. We compared the use of audit and patient questionnaires as appropriate tools for monitoring whether patients are screened for modifiable risk factors (smoking, alcohol use, obesity, diet, and physical activity, whether staff correctly identify risk factor presence and deliver health promotion when a risk factor is identified. Methods We sent a questionnaire post-discharge to 322 hospitalised adult patients discharged alive between January and March 2006, and audited their hospital case notes for evidence of screening for risk factors, identification of risk factors, and delivery of health promotion to change risk factors. Agreement between the audit and questionnaire findings was assessed by Kappa statistic. Results There was little relationship between what was written in the case notes and what patients thought had happened. Agreement between the audit and questionnaire for screening of risk factors was at best fair. For the delivery of health promotion agreement was moderate for alcohol, poor for exercise, and no different from chance for smoking and diet. Agreement on identifying risk factors was very good for obesity, good for smoking, and moderate for alcohol misuse. The identification of diet quality and level of physical activity was too low in the audit to allow statistical comparison with self-reported diet and activity. Conclusion A direct comparison of data gathered in the audit and patient questionnaires provides a comprehensive picture of health promotion practice within hospitals. Poor screening agreement is likely to be due to errors in patients' recall of screening activities. Audit is therefore the preferred method for evaluating screening of risk factors, but further insight into screening practice can be gained by using the questionnaire in conjunction with audit. If a patient does not recognise that they received

  12. 24 CFR 941.209 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 941.209 Section 941.209... HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PHA Eligibility and Program Requirements § 941.209 Audit. All PHAs that receive funds under this part for the development of low-income housing shall comply with audit requirements in 24 CFR...

  13. 24 CFR 574.650 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 574.650 Section 574.650... COMMUNITY FACILITIES HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS Other Federal Requirements § 574.650 Audit... must provide for audits in accordance with 24 CFR part 44. A nonprofit organization that is a grantee...

  14. 24 CFR 884.124 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 884.124 Section 884.124... HOUSING PROJECTS Applicability, Scope and Basic Policies § 884.124 Audit. (a) Where a State or local..., receiving financial assistance under this part, the audit requirements in 24 CFR part 44 shall apply. (b...

  15. 28 CFR 100.18 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Audit. 100.18 Section 100.18 Judicial... ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1994 § 100.18 Audit. (a) General. In order to evaluate the accuracy, completeness, and... examine and audit all of the carrier's supporting materials. (1) These materials include, but are not...

  16. 24 CFR 882.124 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 882.124 Section 882.124...) SECTION 8 MODERATE REHABILITATION PROGRAMS Applicability, Scope and Basic Policies § 882.124 Audit. PHAs receiving financial assistance under this part are subject to audit requirements in 24 CFR part 44. [50 FR...

  17. 24 CFR 214.500 - Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audit. 214.500 Section 214.500... PROGRAM Other Federal Requirements § 214.500 Audit. Housing counseling grant recipients and subrecipients shall be subject to the audit requirements contained in 24 CFR parts 84 and 85. HUD must be provided a...

  18. The effect of occupational meaningfulness on occupational commitment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Itai Ivtzan

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Existing research lacks a scholarly consensus on how to define and validly measure ‘meaningful work’ (e.g., Rosso, Dekas & Wrzesniewski, 2010. The following correlational study highlights the value of investigating meaningfulness in the context of occupational commitment. The study hypothesizes that occupational commitment is positively correlated with occupational meaningfulness, where meaningfulness is defined as the extent to which people’s occupations contribute to personal meaning in life. One-hundred and fifty-six full-time office based UK workers completed an online questionnaire including 18 questions measuring levels of occupational commitment (Meyer, Allen & Smith, 1993, in addition to six novel items measuring occupational meaningfulness. The results supported the hypothesis and also showed that the affective sub-type of occupational commitment had the highest correlation with occupational meaningfulness. Such results exhibit the importance of finding meaning at work, as well as the relevance of this to one’s level of commitment to his or her job. This paper argues that individuals should consider OM before choosing to take a specific role, whereas organizations ought to consider the OM of their potential candidates before recruiting them into a role. Possible directions for future research directions are also discussed.

  19. Defense Contract Audit Agency Compensation Audits

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1999-01-01

    .... The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) assists the administrative contracting officer in accomplishing that responsibility by determining whether the contractor's compensation system is sound, reliable, consistently applied, and results...

  20. Did the waste management audit failures signal lower firm-wide audit quality at Arthur Andersen?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cahan, S.; Zhang, W.; Veenman, D.

    2011-01-01

    This study investigates Arthur Andersen’s audit quality in the decade before the collapse of Enron. Andersen’s involvement in the Waste Management audit failures — which relate to audits of the company’s 1992- 1996 financial statements — led the SEC to accuse Andersen of issuing false and misleading