Writing Effective Audit Reports

At the end of this workshop training, Participants will be able to learn the following:

• • The Deming quality management concept as it applies to report writing
  • The five components of a well-written audit reports
  • Writing to achieve results in audit reports
  • The six most common editing problems
  • The six most useful editing techniques
  • Common errors in an audit report

CONTENT

Issue Prewriting

•              Plotting the report at the beginning of fieldwork

•              Methods for consistent client communication

•              What an audit issue describes

•              writing formula and the air: key elements in any issue

Issue Writing: Supporting the Issue

•              Key differences between causes, conclusions, and evidence

•              The sweet spot of supportive detail: not too much and not too little

Assessing the Root Cause

•              Steps to effective root cause analysis (RCA)

•              The difference between issue, symptom, and root cause

•              Strategies in RCA

•              When and how to engage the client in RCA

•              Reporting root causes: positive vs. negative wording

Writing Strong Business Risks

•              Purpose of a business risk

•              Keeping common risks convincing (LIVe)

•              Using action verbs to create change

Developing Effective Issue Statements: A Formula

•              Title of an audit

•              What an issue statement describes

•              The 5-sentence burst

•              Writing the issue statement

Developing Effective Recommendations

•              Keeping recommendations SMART

•              Using recommendations for issue follow-up

Clean Out the Junk and Get to the Issue

•              Paragraphing and formatting

•              Bullet lists, headings, fonts

•              Passive voice

•              Wordiness

•              Ambiguity

•              Negative wording

•              Non-parallel structure

•              Punctuation

Perfecting Writing: Writing Effective Emails

•              Timing Your Communication

•              Title

•              Body

•              Closing

•              Final Email Writing Tips And Exercise

Improving Tone in Writing

•              The Chicken Little Dilemma

•              Connotations of Words

•              Placement of Negation

•              Sequence of Negation

•              Relative Information

•              How to Change Tone

Design Elements

•              Instructional Design

•              Graphics & Fonts

•              Layering

•              Using Sidelines and Flow

•              Executive Summary Redesign Challenge

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

The training methodology combines lectures, discussions, group exercises and illustrations. Participants will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics. The emphasis is on the practical application of the topics and as a result participant will go back to the workplace with both the ability and the confidence to apply the techniques learned to their duties.