Introduction
This internal audit will be conducted as an activity to control the use of corporate laptops issued to employees of the enterprise. It will be organized to quickly identify and correct factors that reduce the efficiency and quality of work performed by employees from home. These factors, in turn, can negatively affect financial and economic indicators; therefore, they require control.
Analysis
Determine Goals
- Selection of a team to perform an internal audit task.
- Providing employees with everything necessary for remote operation: equipment, software, and hardware, data protection tools.
- Definition of online tools for communication, document management, and control of tasks performed.
- Tracking the time required for employees to complete tasks and create working time statistics.
- Detection of the use of third-party sites by employees during working hours.
Involve The Right Business Unit Leaders
The executive bodies of the organization’s management – managers – will be responsible for organizing the audit. This is due to the fact that the purpose of this audit is aimed at helping to exercise effective control over various elements of the internal control system (Williams, 2019). Managers’ interest in obtaining control information on numerous issues of interest related to the use of work laptops by employees will determine the effectiveness of these business unit leaders.
Determine The Scope
- Accounting of working hours: the total number of hours worked, the time of the beginning and end of the working shift, productive and unproductive time.
- Chat control in messengers that according to Culot, Fattori, Podrecca, and Sartor (2019), guarantees that an employee does not spend too much time communicating with colleagues instead of performing work tasks.
- Creating a histogram of violations in the workplace: identifying and fixing as violations visits to sites unrelated to work.
Choose The Audit Team
When choosing an audit group, it is necessary to ensure the overall competence of the group, trust, and the possibility of cooperation with the personnel of the audited organization (Harris & Maymi, 2018). Drawing up an audit group of the company’s managers allows to meet these conditions. In addition, technical experts should be included in the audit group. They are necessary to assist in solving issues related to the choice of a program for monitoring employees and the selection of corporate equipment.
Plan The Audit
The auditor’s report must be submitted no later than March 15 for it to be published in the information resource of internal accounting statements no later than April 15. The verification period will be 35 working days; the audit will be conducted in two stages. It will begin 4-5 months before the receipt of the audit report (from October 2021 to March 2021).
Conduct The Audit
The audit report addressed to the head, and the general meeting of the company’s participants will contain detailed information about the audit progress. It will record the identified deviations and violations and other information obtained as a result of the audit, which is the basis for drawing up an audit opinion. The audit report will be signed page by page by the auditors who carried out the audit.
Document The Results
- On October 15, diagnostics of employees ‘ devices is performed to detect software or system errors; on October 17, a reserve testing day is held.
- If software, hardware, or mixed malfunctions are detected, the specialists of the technical department are obliged to correct them before November 1.
- Monitoring of personnel, conducting surveys, collecting statistical data from November 1 to March 1.
- Summarizing the data in a convenient form for analysis, summing up the results until March 15.
Communicate The Results
The head of internal audit will have to bring the task results to the attention of employees; this will be done by sending an e-mail. Within two days, employees will be required to provide a notification of familiarization with their electronic signature.
Summary
Conducting this internal audit will contribute to improving the efficiency of the company’s employees. It is recommended to carry out all the events as planned at the specified time. Following the audit recommendations will prevent the risk associated with the transition of employees to work from home or reduce it to an acceptable level. If any questions, the head of internal audit or the managers of the audit group should be contacted by phone or by e-mail.
References
Culot, G., Fattori, F., Podrecca, M., & Sartor, M. (2019). Addressing industry 4.0 cybersecurity challenges. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 47(3), 79-86.
Harris, S., & Maymi, F. (2018). CISSP all-in-one exam guide. Columbus, OH: McGraw Hill.
Williams, P. (2019). Middle managers as agents of collaboration. Dulles, VA: Marston Book Services.