CPE Quiz: August - Continuing Professional Education

Internal Auditor, Oct, 2003

The CPE Quiz is a convenient and cost-effective way to earn three continuing professional education (CPE) hours by reading Internal Auditor articles and answering questions about issues or procedures included in them.

To answer the following questions, please refer to the articles in the AUGUST 2003 issue of Internal Auditor. This quiz expires August 30, 2005. Current quizzes--including the one for this issue--and an answer sheet can be found by visiting The IIA's Web site at www.theiia.org and clicking "Publications," "Bookstore," and "CPE Quiz."

1. When determining software needs, Tim McCollum and David Salierno indicate it's tempting for audit managers to think:

A. Outside the box.

B. Software engineers on staff usually have the time to work on audit tools.

C. Buying software will solve their problems.

D. The best way to get data is by simple spreadsheets.

2. According to "Choosing the Right Tools," before audit departments can determine their audit software needs, they must first define all but which one of the following:

A. The risks.

B. The level of training required.

C. The technology environment.

D. The types and scopes of audits.

3. "ERM in Practice" says that participation in ERM activities can represent--for internal auditing.

A. Knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.

B. A dynamic focus.

C. Stronger opinions on risk.

D. A complex undertaking.

4. "Early Warning System" defines this as the act of revealing inappropriate activities to parties outside an organization:

A. Whistleblowing.

B. Protocol establishment.

C. Monitoring systems.

D. Sarbanes-Oxley.

5. Which is not one of the four phases Hernan Murdock mentions in association with effective whistleblower programs?

A. Program release.

B. Getting the job done.

C. Building.

D. Assessment.

6. What does Robert McDonald tell us is a major risk?

A. Unacceptable staff skill level.

B. All unforeseen challenges.

C. Lack of commitment to continuing professional education.

D. Poor communication.

7. In "Principles, Not Rules," we learn that South Africa's response to King I and II has been:

A. Exactly as predicted.

B. Quite different than predicted.

C. Positive.

D. Negative.

8. According to "Where Auditors Fear to Tread," earnings management is:

A. Often encouraged.

B. Often ignored.

C. More accepted than fraud.

D. All of the above.

9. As stated in the article by Paul M. Clikeman, what action is always preferable to detecting and correcting earnings management?

A. Preventing.

B. Accepting.

C. Ignoring.

D. Encouraging.

10. According to Hans Nieuwlands, what do chief audit executives need to ensure is on the board's agenda of corporate governance issues?

A. Banana Standards and Indicators.

B. Social responsibility.

C. Better rules.

D. Flexibility.

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