Top ten Web sites for internal auditors

Internal Auditor, August, 1996 by David M. Cottrell, Marshall B. Romney

During the past two years, the number of Internet users almost tripled, from 12.5 million to more than 30 million. Not only is the Internet advancing in terms of the number of users, but its technological capabilities are evolving at an astounding pace.

Amidst the flash and dash surrounding the Internet, many people still ask if this phenomenon isn't more toy than tool. Many businesses have deliberately postponed Internet connections for fear that employees will "surf the Net" on the company's time and dime. Some of the companies that do have Internet access have established precise parameters with regard to how their employees may use it.

Beneath the cosmetic beauty of WWW home pages, some may also wonder whether or not there is anything of practical value for professionals seeking to increase effectiveness and efficiency in job productivity. For internal auditors, the answer is a resounding "YES."

Several excellent information resources on the Internet are available to internal auditors. These resources vary in content from libraries and resource lists referencing other relevant sites to information repositories from which users can access published materials, personal experiences, and corporate documentation.

The following listing of the ten best sites for internal auditors has been developed as the result of a review of all the Web sites that might be relevant to the profession. Six basic categories are included: General Internal Audit, Professional Associations, Audit Programs, On-line Internal Audit Departments, Computer Audit and Security, and U.S. Government. A special pull-out provides a quick reference to the top ten sites, plus others in each category. Many of these Internet resources are WWW sites; but other resource types, such as gopher sites, ftp sites, newsgroups, and E-mail discussion lists, are also included. Software "browsers," such as Netscape, support all of these resources by allowing users to access the Internet, view textual and graphical information, download files, and send and receive E-mail.

* General Internal Audit

The three general resource sites listed below will be helpful to all internal auditors. Each of them provide broad overviews and can lead users to other rich repositories of information.

1. Internal Auditing World Wide Web

http://www.bitwise.net/iawww/IAWWW-HOMEPAGE-CM.HTML

This is one of the most comprehensive web sites for internal auditors. Hot links reference general Internet information, resources applicable to internal auditors, detailed lists and descriptions of professional organizations, industry specific information, subject searches, state information, conferences, and course seminars.

The resources don't end there, either. If you're interested in a particular audit specialty, search resources are available for managerial, financial, operations, and information and knowledge auditing.

Suppose you want to research "fraud," for example. Simply click on the "F" button and a new screen appears with a list of topics beginning with the letter "F." Scroll down to "Fraud" and click on the highlighted text. A new screen appears displaying an article that describes in detail the 12 elements of fraud. If that's not enough, the author's E-mail address is listed.

In short, the IAWWW home page's value is tremendous. This site should be bookmarked by all internal auditors.

2. AuditNet Resources List

http://www.unf.edu/students/jmayer/arl.html

Compiled by Jim Kaplan, the AuditNet Resources List is one of the most comprehensive, descriptive lists of accounting and auditing Internet resources. This page contains the hypertext version of the AuditNet Resources List and is fertile ground for anyone interested in researching the Internet for internal auditing sources. Internet resources are listed alphabetically followed by short descriptions of the corresponding site's contents.

Suppose you want to visit the home pages that address activity-based risk evaluation. Simply scroll down the screen until you find the desired topic. In this case, the user would click on the highlighted text "Activity-Based Risk Evaluation Model of Auditing (ABREMA)" to bring up that home page.

3. AuditNet Accounting, Audit, and Financial Management E-Mail Directory

http://www.cowan.edu.au/mra/home.htm

The AuditNet Accounting, Audit, and Financial Management E-Mail Directory is an international directory designed to facilitate communication among accounting, audit, and financial management professionals. It is a collection of personal E-mail addresses, mailing list information, and any other items of related information that include the use of E-mail. Data fields contained in the directory include, name, E-mail address, occupation, company/organization name, industry title, and mailing address.

For example, to search for Craig Smith's E-mail address, click on the highlighted text "AuditNet Email Directory Search." A new screen will appear, asking you to enter keywords that you wish to use for your search. You can enter first name, last name, or both. If you enter "Craig Smith" as the keywords and hit the return key to start the search, you will quickly have Craig Smith's E-mail address, occupation, employer, location, and areas of interest.