The top audit movies of all time

Internal Auditor, April, 2007 by J. Michael Jacka

What is it that makes a great audit movie? Is it auditing as a metaphor for a life lived uncontrolled? Is it the juxtaposition of auditors in real-world experiences? Or is it a compelling story matched with an exciting profession?

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WE MAY NEVER KNOW THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT WE CAN NOW ANSWER the more pressing question: "What are the top audit movies of all time?" Our crack team of experts, made up of some of the finest critics and auditors from around the world, have looked at your votes, applied their own vast knowledge, and relied on a few statistically valid coin tosses to compile the final results.

Worthy films such as The Sound of Testing, Westside Assurance, Guess Who's Coming to Audit, and the beloved fiscal year-end classic It's a Wonderful Audit Plan all received many votes. Yet, in the end, a list of the five greatest audit movies emerged. Here they are, the movies that led us all to laughter, to tears, and, just maybe, to that decision to become an internal auditor.

5. AUDIT HOUSE

One of the all-time great comedies, Audit House set the standard for all audit comedies. The movie follows the exploits of the members of Iota Iota Alpha--the official fraternity house for auditors. The plot--the Iotas battle Dean Wormer and the stuffed shirt members of Chi Pi Alpha--isn't important to the movie. Instead, its legion of fans can quote, verbatim, whole scenes, including the toga party where spreadsheets are completed in Roman numerals or the road trip where they visit their sister sorority to perform a surprise audit raid. Finally, Dean Wormer puts the Iotas on double secret assurance, a review so rigid it eventually leads to the disbanding of the fraternity. But the Iotas get the last laugh when they audit the homecoming parade and issue a scathing report.

4. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN AUDITORS

No one thought a full-length animated audit film could be successful, but the genius of Walt Disney proved them wrong. Based on the Brothers Grimm audit tale, Snow White and the Seven Auditors is the story of an evil chief executive officer (CEO) who refuses to relinquish power. Every day he asks his magic mirror, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the greatest CEO of all?" One day, the mirror answers that it is the promising new chief financial officer, Snow White. In a rage, the CEO orders the vice president (VP) of human resources to fire Snow White. But the VP can't do it. Instead, she hides Snow White in the audit department. There, with the help of the seven auditors--Jumpy, Creepy, Hopey, Cashfull, Cheesy, Gaapy, and Lock--Snow White begins to learn about risk, controls, and the COSO cube. When the CEO finds she hasn't been fired, he disguises himself as the old guy from the mailroom and delivers a memo abolishing the audit department. But the chairman of the audit committee rides to the rescue, banishing the CEO to head the actuary department and getting Snow White elected as the new CEO.

3. COSOBLANCA

"Of all the audit shops, of all the companies, in all the world, she had to walk into mine." "Round up the usual auditees." "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful pre-audit." The quotes alone bring back the images of Rick, Ilsa, Victor, and how "the problems of three little auditors don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy risk universe." Set in a strife-torn company where information technology's (IT's) powerful reengineering initiative is focused on programs and not controls, Rick is a jaundiced auditor. Into his department come Victor and Ilsa. Victor is a champion of COSO and is the only hope for the battle-weary company. But Rick and Ilsa have a past--a past of late nights alone together checking inventories in France. Which way will Ilsa turn? Will she throw risks to the wind and stay with the only person who ever counted--Rick? Or will she control herself and help Victor overturn the evil IT forces? In the end, it is Rick who does the right thing, helping Victor escape with Ilsa, terminating the vice president of IT for undocumented programming, and getting his audit shop back. (By the way, contrary to popular belief, no one ever says "Test it again, Sam.")

2. AUDITOR KANE

Film historians and chief audit executives (CAEs) alike agree that Auditor Kane is one of the greatest auditor movies. This is the story of a reporter's search to find the meaning of the last words of Charles Foster Kane, one of the most influential and successful auditors in history. The movie begins with Kane's death. We hear his final words, "petty cash," and we see workpapers drop from his hand. Thus begins the reporter's journey. We see Kane's life as told by his business associates and friends. Struggling through the ranks, starting as a lowly staff auditor, he becomes a maverick in the audit world, eventually running his own hugely successful consulting firm. But he always seems to struggle to find true happiness. All his associates agree on two things: He never found what he wanted, and they didn't know the significance of the words "petty cash." The reporter gives up, but in the final shots of the film we see office workers shredding all the workpapers. The camera focuses closer on one set of workpapers. They are dated at the beginning of Kane's career. They are signed by Kane. They are his first audit. Kane was last truly happy when he was just a simple auditor, completing an audit of "petty cash."