Auditing Peoria Spring 2012

[peoriaauditclass]

I plan on staying current with auditing by maybe every once in a while glancing at the tumblr.  I found interest in this class and maybe take an upper level auditing class.  Before taking this class auditing seemed to overwhelming and I'm glad I toke a course to help me better understand things like auditing procedures and the different rules.  This picture shows our class launching off into space teaching aliens about auditing.  

[peoriaauditclass]

Staying Current

I plan on staying current by reading different blogs about accounting. I feel this is a great way to stay current because they are able to be updated daily. It would so convenient to just check the blog once a day during my lunch break at work. I also like how you are able to post many different ways in a blog. You don't always have to read texts to gain information. You are able to watch videos, post different pictures, and even post chats. This gives you more variety in staying current rather than just reading paragraph after paragraph. Another way I plan to stay current is by reading different accounting journals. I probably would not check these daily as they are usually updated monthly. This is a great way to read more in depth about the different changes coming along. This would be how I plan on staying current in the accounting world.

[peoriaauditclass]

This picture doesn't relate entirely to staying current but it was too funny not to post.  Anyhow, I plan to use a variety of texts, media, and of course updated accounting literature to stay current.  I also intend to maximize the availability of current CPA courses, CFE courses, and other auditing and accounting courses.  I may also continue my education after I get my bachelors degree.  

[peoriaauditclass]

I have three methods that I plant to use in order to stay current in accounting. The first is to develop and RSS feed for several useful accounting sites, starting with AICPA. The RSS feeds will provide a central location for checking on updates, without having to visit multiple sites a day.

The second method is by subscribing to a few select professional journals. I still appreciate and learn well from print media. Additionally, I believe it was mentioned in class that the quizzes in some of these journals can count as CPE credit.

I also plan to take advantage of the AICPA's social media offerrings. The AICPA is on LinkedIN, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. I have no intention of using YouTube or Twitter, and no interest in adding the AICPA on Facebook. However, it seems perfectly relevant to subscribe to professional social network on a site like LinkedIn, which is focused on professional networking.

Additionally, I expect that maintaining forty hours per year in CPE should help with staying current.

[peoriaauditclass]

How Will I Stay Current

I will probably look through a few blogs that I find are trustworthy and I enjoy reading as well as subscribing to a few newsletters to have important information and updates emailed to me.  I will definitely check in on a regular basis with a few of the rule making bodies’ websites, such as the AICPA, since they usually have a place for new rules, laws, or other important information.  Like in any other profession you will always need to learn new things, so I may take a few courses or workshops over the years.  If there is anything I am still unsure of, there are many people I can ask for help or advice, and answers can easily be found through Google.  That is how I plan to stay current.

[peoriaauditclass]

I plan to stay current in accounting &/or auditing by looking at the FASB website & checking out different blogs.  This field changes day-to-day it seems like.  I also hope to get a job in the accounting field which will help keep me updated.  One blog I will check out is the Professor's.  I will probably subscribe to a couple newsletters.  I can also stay up-to-date through the accounting group on LinkedIn which I joined about a month ago.  I will also check Google on a regular basis for federal changes as well as individual state changes.  I will look at states besides Illinois just to get a taste for the different rules & regulations.  The media format I learn best from is text.  While video, pictures & audio might all help me understand the concept better, I learn better from being able to actually read the information.

[kfree3-blog]

Staying Current

I plan to stay current on changing accounting topics by subscribing to the many free websites.  Most of them send monthly newsletters and updates of accounting standards. There are also articles on the FASB, IFRS, and AICPA websites about new standards and updates.  I also plan on continuing my education after I get my degree. 

[peoriaauditclass]

Most accounts that I know feel overwhelmed with the constant changes in accounting...Congress can pass one law and everything changes. The CPA we have for our business told me that accounting will turn me in to an old man...That is the reason for the picture.  

I plan to stay current by taking advantage of the many free sites that offer such as  CPA Review for Free.  I also plan on getting Roger CPA review course after I'm done with college.  On the Roger CPA website it has a blog that you can follow the tells you about the changes in the CPA exam. By examining the changes in the CPA exam I can stay current with the ever-changing accounting environment. The site also has a newsletter that is sent via email every month.   I also plan on taking continuing education courses after I become a CPA.  

[peoriaauditclass]

In order to stay current it is important to develop a discipline of lifelong learning and practice your trade. As you can see from the picture above I have token a very lucrative position with Folgers Coffee Co. as their bean counter. All joking aside, to keep up with the always evolving accounting profession one will need to take extra measures.

I have found that social media has made a relatively challenging task into one that can be managed by a few clicks. LinkedIn has a few groups that I like to follow, but surprisingly Facebook is the one I like the most. By simply liking a group you can get updates on events and current happenings.

Check out;

AICPA

CPAexcel CPA Review

CGMA

Becker's CPA Exam Review

AICPA Young Professionals

In researching information about the CPA exam I found that students can join the AICPA for free as a student affiliate. I saw this as an opportunity I couldn't pass on. The student affiliate gave me access to discussion boards, e-mail updates, lists of conferences, and discounts on special offers, amongst others.

This is not an all-encompassing list, but it’s a start to a lifelong learning attitude.

[peoriaauditclass]

How Professor Carol Tries to Stay Current...

My personal learning network consists of trusted colleagues and firms. I subscribe to several newsletters that are available to me from various CPA firms, who send out current updates and digests.  I enjoy certain Linked In groups.  My membership of professional societies helps me stay current.   I enjoy following colleagues' blogs:

Professor Dave Albrecht's The Summa http://profalbrecht.wordpress.com/   is a great blog for accounting students.  He also links to dozens of related blogs.

Professor Ray Schroeder introduced me to blogging years ago & maintains many useful blogs.  http://sites.google.com/site/rayschroeder/   The one most relevant to accounting students is his Techno- News blog. Notice you can receive daily updates from Ray from any of his individual blogs, direct to your email.

One challenge is keeping track of all this information; which was one reason for starting my own blogs.  Now there are social bookmarking sites like diigo that I really like, but I maintain blogs (although brief commentary) for select subjects.

http://aiseducators.blogspot.com/

This was a blog I kept for AIS educators, while I taught in that specialty.

http://governmentalaccountingclass.blogspot.com/

http://auditingclass.blogspot.com/

http://aisclass.blogspot.com/

This was my first blog, and it dates back to 2003.  It started out as an AIS class blog related to student presentation, that morphed from there.   See the little robot image at the bottom right...from an early template of that blog.   Robots for AI, a topic I covered pre-millenium and into the early 2000s (expert systems in AIS).   Eventually AI topics gave way to REA diagrams.  The robot is now just a logo of sorts to preserve memories of good old days.

Blogs have been a great way for me to stay current, reflect, and retrieve data.   It is a challenge to stay current in accounting, in any specialty.   I look forward to seeing what the Peoria audit class will contribute in their final posts to this team class blog, about their plans to create and sustain a Personal Learning Network of their own to go beyond the course.

[peoriaauditclass]

Here is a live link to downloadable software used to calculate the statistical sampling for test of controls last updated April of 2011. This is an Excel-based software program that aids an auditor in achieving greater efficiency when performing standard sampling. Performing such calculations by hand maybe too time consuming. Today's day and age we have the luxury of having computers to do it for us, so finding inexpensive software to perform our audit work is a must.

[peoriaauditclass]

This link goes to an aritlce about the recently revisedAICPA Audit Guide on Audit Sampling.  The articles has frequently asked questions which include major topics covered, materiality, walkthroughs, sample sizes, and whether statistical sampling is required. 

[peoriaauditclass]

This photo explains how the Census Bureau used statistical sampling for unemployment in the 1930s.  The Census Bureau used a process called decennial census in the 1940s which was an extended questionnaire without increasing cost or respondent burden for the respondent.  Census Bureau now conducts over 200 economic and demographic surveys a year to provide a national figure.  I think it is important to keep stats up to date and accurate every year so no faulty information is being exploited to the people. 

[peoriaauditclass]

This is a great picture using sampling in a substantive test.  A population of $800,000 is used with a sample of 32 to achieve a sampling interval.  The data in this statistical sample is cumulative totals, target totals, and balances.  Just one of the many ways statistical sampling can be used in auditing.  

[peoriaauditclass]

This is a table that shows what the size of a statistical sample should be to obtain the desired level of certainty when testing controls.  It also shows when a sample size is too large to be cost-effective for most audits and approximately how many errors are expected.  This is a good chart to give auditors some idea to what the size of the statistical sample needs to be and how many errors will occur when doing a statistical sample.

[peoriaauditclass]

This article isn't specific to audit sampling, but to statistical sampling in general. It is very timely as the 1940 census was just released a few days ago. An interesting note in this article is that they placed the "offensive" question regarding income towards the end of the census form in 1940. Given that they expected the census taker to be kicked out after this question, what would the impact be on the rest of the data collected? Does it stand or is it negated as an incomplete form.

The article also touches briefly on flawed samples, specifically the Literary Digestpoll which predicted the easy victory of Alf Landon (who?) over Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 Presidential Election.

[peoriaauditclass]

This is a great article from The CPA Journal describing statistical sampling. The article first describes how statistical sampling came about. It then goes into detail describing the difference between non-statistical sampling and statistical sampling. It describes when an auditor should use statistical sampling and what risks are associated with it. Lastly, the article provides many different examples about when this process was used.