On the lighter side: Auditland

Internal Auditor, June, 2005 by J. Michael Jacka

The global impact of fraud truly comes to life in It's a Global Audit World. Riding in small boats, visitors float from country to country while small dolls representing auditors throughout the world raise their pencils in salute as they count inventory, interrogate clients, and input data. Global Audit World's enchanting theme song plays throughout the entire ride:

"It's a world of findings that slip through holes. It's a world of
errors and a lack of controls. There's so much that goes wrong with the
frauds and the cons. It's a global problem after all."

AUDITING RUN AMUCK

Consultantland is a place where normal audit practices are ignored and the customer is king. It's the home of Honey, I CSA'd the Audience, a 3-D film that makes guests feel like they're right in the middle of a self-assessment, and Auditopia, a ride that lets everyone drive their own little audit program around the audit universe--just remember, no bumping and no scope creep.

The theater-in-the-round concept is turned upside down with the Carousel of Audits--the centerpiece of Consultantland. In this show house, the audience revolves around the stage, instead of vice versa. The performance begins with a reenactment of the history of auditing from the dawn of time. Cavemen make stone tools, grind corn, and discover fire, while the prehistoric auditors look over their shoulders to ensure flint chip counts, kernel usage, and exposure to heat are all appropriately recorded and controlled. Each subsequent scene then reveals the gradual evolution of auditors into consultants. The performance concludes with a depiction of auditing's future, where all people are auditors and everyone can control themselves.

STEP ABOARD THE ENTERPRISE

After experiencing the joys of consulting, even risk-averse guests will want to visit ERM World, Auditland's most enterprising area. For audit thrill-seekers, ERM World offers the high-speed adventures of Sarbox Mountain. From the start of their journey, riders feel a sense of disorientation as they twist and turn through the lightless void. Then, the attraction reveals a glimmer of hope as light becomes visible at the ride's summit. This hope proves false, however, as the coaster then plunges back into the darkness. Along the way, irate audit clients appear from dark corners, attempting to snatch the riders from successfully completing their journey. Upon their return to the station, guests will have experienced the heights and depths of Sarbox Mountain.

ERM World also features a unique seafaring experience--Auditors of the Caribbean. What starts as a pleasant boat trip through a quiet audit shop takes an unexpected turn as guests head down a deserted passageway. A disembodied voice begins to explain that the company may have problems with offshore entities. Suddenly, the boat slides down the slippery embankment that leads to offshore corporations. Guests will feel as if they've been transported to a small Caribbean island as they sail past lifelike re-creations of auditors raiding an offshore company to discover where the profits have really gone. The auditors break into a room where some nefarious scheme is being hatched. Bankers in tailor-made three-piece suits appear to be jumping out the windows as auditors in off-the-rack bargain attire break the doors down with their computers in hand. In another scene, a banker sits with a scrub bucket and dollar bills attached to a line of rope. Yes, the auditors have discovered a money-laundering scheme. Next, the auditors are seen selling off the assets of the closed company to the highest bidders. At the ride's conclusion, the chief executive officer proclaims the auditors heroes as they give a 21-slide Power-Point presentation demonstrating their accomplishments.