Auditing with data: for Performance Auditors and Internal Auditors that use (or want to use) data

49 episodes listed below

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Putting data to work inside performance and internal audit.

The gist

Conor McGarrity and Yusuf Mulla talk about how auditors use data. Sometimes it is just the two of them, and sometimes they have guests such as algorithm auditor Cathy O'Neil and KNIME data scientist Maarit Widmann. The show has now ended, and its archive covers practical topics like profiling data, testing hypotheses and building tools that auditors can maintain themselves.

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About Auditing with data: for Performance Auditors and Internal Auditors that use (or want to use) data

Auditing with Data is a podcast about how data is used in performance audit and internal audit. It was previously known as the Assurance Show. Conor McGarrity and Yusuf Mulla host. The conversations are plain and practical, and they focus on what auditors do with data once they have it. Sometimes the two hosts talk on their own. In '54. Analysis' they try to settle what the word 'analysis' means in data analysis, because people often understand that stage of audit data work differently. They cover the patterns they expect to see in transactions, early profiling, rules that test a hypothesis, the difference between matching and blending, and checking exceptions until only true anomalies remain. Other episodes have guests from quite different backgrounds. Cathy O'Neil is introduced as a mathematician turned quant turned algorithm auditor, and as the author of Weapons of Math Destruction. Her point is that most algorithm auditing is human work: working out what could go wrong, how bad it would be and who it would affect. The technical part comes last. One example is inferring gender or race when an insurance algorithm never collected either. That episode was also released as a joint special with the Performance Audit Report. KNIME comes up more than once. Maarit Widmann, a data scientist at KNIME, talks about time series analysis and how much of it is data access, pre-processing and deciding what to do about a missing week of data. She also says to explore the data first, then check whether a model adds anything beyond what exploration already shows. Michael Drechnowicz, head of internal audit at TK Elevator, who previously worked in internal audit at DHL, talks about KNIME as a user. He values having the data, the reconciliations and the findings in one place, so completeness, accuracy and traceability are clear to an external quality audit. He also says KNIME's community portal often had answers to his problems before he ran into them. Erica Toelle, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Records Management and InfoGov at Microsoft, talks about compliance in Microsoft 365 and her book The Compliance Guide for Microsoft 365. Her background is in consulting on records management, including work with the team that designed SharePoint's records features. An episode titled '58. The final episode' explains the decision to stop: Conor McGarrity moved on to a new role, and Risk Insights, which produces the show, shifted its focus toward independent audits and away from internal audit. The same episode includes a passage about a COVID tracker. A central team built it together with an auditor whose R skills were rusty, and that auditor could then maintain the tool inside the audit team. The goal described there is tools any auditor can pick up with minimal training. The show is now a finished archive rather than an ongoing feed.

Made for: Suits an internal or performance auditor who wants to use more data in audit work. It also suits a listener curious how algorithm auditing, KNIME and Microsoft 365 records management look from an audit perspective.

What sets it apart: It keeps data work tied to audit concerns: traceability, completeness and accuracy, and telling ordinary exceptions apart from true anomalies. Its guests include people from KNIME and Microsoft, as well as a head of internal audit and an algorithm auditor.

In their own words

The podcast for performance auditors and internal auditors that use (or want to use) data. Produced by Risk Insights.

Why you'd press play

A flagged transaction isn't a finding; Conor and Yusuf make you check assumptions before writing it up.

Press play if you want

  • to tell a real exception from a bad assumption about your transaction data
  • to see how KNIME can make an audit finding traceable to its source data
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
what analysis means in audit data workKNIME in audit and data sciencealgorithm auditingdata profiling, exceptions and anomaliestraceability of audit findingstime series and missing dataMicrosoft 365 records management and compliancebuilding data skills within audit teams

Talks about

Best episodes of Auditing with data: for Performance Auditors and Internal Auditors that use (or want to use) data

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

58. The final episodeAug 27, 2024

A practical farewell about auditor training, data self-sufficiency, and the algorithm work ahead.

The last Auditing with Data episode works as both a sign-off and a handoff. Connor's move into the BDO partnership in Australia changes the hosting shape, while Risk Insights' turn toward independent audits explains why the show is giving way to Algorithm Integrity Matters, a…

57. Michael Drechnowicz, Head of Internal Audit, TK ElevatorDec 13, 2023

A grounded look at how TK Elevator's internal audit team uses KNIME for traceable, repeatable analytics.

Internal audit is treated as a working system here, not a narrow compliance function. The episode follows Michael from his finance and accounting background into the broader remit of his team at TK Elevator, where audit work touches business processes from sales to purchasing,…

56. Cathy O'Neil, Algorithm Auditor, Author of WMathDFeb 28, 2023

Algorithm auditing begins with naming possible harm and who bears it, before the statistical test arrives.

Algorithm auditing is framed here as an exercise in judgment before it becomes a matter of measurement. The episode follows an auditor’s shift from finance during the credit crisis into the practical work of asking what might go wrong in an automated system, how serious the harm…

55. Data Science and KNIME with Maarit WidmannMar 21, 2022

A grounded look at low-code workflows, missing data, and the judgment behind time series analysis.

Data science is framed here through the practical choices that decide whether an analysis deserves trust. Marit Vidman, a data scientist at NIME, explains how visual programming can support data science work without coding, then moves into time series analysis: missing weeks,…

Podcasts like Auditing with data: for Performance Auditors and Internal Auditors that use (or want to use) data

Episodes

  1. 1

    58. The final episode

    Hidden gem

    Auditing with Data closes with Yusuf Mullah saying Connor McGarrity has moved to a partnership role at BDO in Australia, while Risk Insights shifts toward independent audits and a new podcast, Algorithm Integrity Matters.

    Aug 27, 2024·44m·3 clips
  2. 2

    57. Michael Drechnowicz, Head of Internal Audit, TK Elevator

    Hidden gem

    Michael Drechnowicz, head of internal audit at TK Elevator, describes a 16-auditor team spread across South America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and China, covering about 100 entities.

    Dec 13, 2023·35m·3 clips
  3. 3

    66. Hassan Jan, Senior Audit Manager, Fidelity Canada

    Nov 8, 2023·36m
  4. 4

    65. Snippets from a discussion with NYC Deputy Comptroller for Audit - Maura Hayes-Chaffe

    Mar 7, 2023·7m
  5. 5

    56. Cathy O'Neil, Algorithm Auditor, Author of WMathD

    Hidden gem

    ["Cathy O'Neil says algorithm auditing starts with a plain-English question: does the system work as expected, and who does it fail?", "She traces her skepticism to the 2007 credit crisis, then to data science jobs where her models sorted people by money first, then gender and race.", "The episode connects FICO scores, welfare fraud systems in the Netherlands and Australia, and the UK A-level grading algorithm to the same problem of automated harm.", "She argues that regulators, not just companies, need standards for credit, insurance, housing, and hiring so algorithms can be measured without making the metrics gameable."]

    Feb 28, 2023·44m·3 clips
  6. 6

    63. Clips from a discussion with Michael Pickup, Auditor-General of British Columbia (Canada)

    Nov 23, 2022·16m
  7. 7

    62. Clips from a discussion with Patrick Barr, Director, Northern Ireland Audit Office

    Oct 26, 2022·7m
  8. 8

    61. Clips from a discussion with Kelsey Thompson, Assistant City Auditor, Austin TX

    Sep 28, 2022·6m
  9. 9

    60. Clip from a discussion with Mike Scott, an audit leader

    Sep 22, 2022·3m
  10. 10

    59. (From "The Rundown") Evaluating the Kansas Department of Labor’s Response to COVID-19 Unemployment Claims (Part 2)

    Aug 21, 2022·31m
  11. 11

    58. Clips from a discussion with Mark Funkhouser - Performance Auditor, Mayor and Educator

    Aug 9, 2022·5m
  12. 12

    57. Clips from a discussion with Scott Frank, Director of Performance Audit and IT Audit, Washington State Audit Office

    Aug 8, 2022·12m
  13. 13

    55. Data Science and KNIME with Maarit Widmann

    Hidden gem

    ["The Assurance Show episode 55 focuses on KNIME's visual programming model and why Marit Vidman says it helps data scientists, business analysts, and auditors share one workflow.", "Hosts Conor McGarrity and Yusuf Mullah speak with Marit Vidman, a KNIME data scientist and education team member who writes courses, gives presentations, and teaches users.", "Marit discusses a book she is writing on codeless time-series analysis, including Arima, seasonality, stationarity, and missing-data decisions.", "She says new users can start at knime.com through events, learning pages, online courses, webinars, books, and the open-source download."]

    Mar 21, 2022·21m·1 clip
  14. 14

    54. Analysis

    The Assurance Show's 2022 discussion examines why "analysis" remains ambiguous in data work for performance and internal auditors.

    Jan 24, 2022·19m·1 clip
  15. 15

    53. The Data-Confident Internal Auditor

    Yusuf Moola and Connor McGardy wrote The Data Confident Internal Auditor for non-technical auditors facing an “avalanche” of data expectations.

    Dec 12, 2021·24m·2 clips
  16. 16

    52. Simplicity

    Nov 16, 2021·16m
  17. 17

    51. Performance Audit Mini-Series #4: Conduct/Fieldwork

    Oct 14, 2021·14m
  18. 18

    50. Performance Audit Mini-Series #3 Planning with data

    Sep 28, 2021·18m
  19. 19

    49. Performance Audit Mini-Series #2 Work Program Balance

    Sep 7, 2021·16m
  20. 20

    48. Performance Audit Mini-Series #1 Forward Work Planning

    Aug 18, 2021·18m
  21. 21

    47. Three practical ways to fast-track the data cleansing process

    Aug 1, 2021·10m
  22. 22

    46. Combining data to create risk indicators for audits and risk monitoring/exploration

    Jul 18, 2021·15m
  23. 23

    45. How ANAO uses data in performance audits - with Xiaoyan Lu and Christine Chalmers

    Jun 20, 2021·20m
  24. 24

    44. ESG and Sustainable Investing with Tiina Landau

    Jun 6, 2021·29m
  25. 25

    43. Microsoft 365 Compliance with Erica Toelle

    An interview with Erika Telly, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft, discussing her book on compliance for Microsoft 365 and her background in records management.

    May 23, 2021·25m
  26. 26

    42. Michael DeCero, a Data Professional at TDS with an Internal Audit background

    An interview with Michael DeCero, internal audit analytics manager at TDS, discussing his career path and the role of data analytics in internal auditing.

    May 9, 2021·26m
  27. 27

    41. Steve Rummel, Senior IA Analytics Manager at CVS Health

    An interview with Steve Rommel, a senior analytics manager, discussing his career journey and the use of data analytics in internal audit.

    Apr 25, 2021·35m
  28. 28

    40. A CIO/CRO perspective on risk, security and internal audit with Ari Levien

    An interview with Ari Levian, CIO and CRO of Peregrine Investment Managers, discussing his dual role and the changing risk landscape.

    Apr 12, 2021·26m
  29. 29

    39. Four Quality Assurance Steps - Data in Audit

    Mar 28, 2021·11m
  30. 30

    38. Why We Should Spend Time Preparing Our Data and Checking Quality

    Mar 14, 2021·13m
  31. 31

    37. Using data in performance audit with Gemma Diamond and Morag Campsie (Audit Scotland)

    An introduction to Audit Scotland and its role in public sector auditing, with a focus on performance audits and data use.

    Feb 28, 2021·36m
  32. 32

    36. Why the audit objective should drive our use of data

    Feb 14, 2021·20m
  33. 33

    35. Stephen McAteer, Performance Audit Data Scientist at VAGO

    Jan 31, 2021·33m
  34. 34

    34. Taka Ariga, GAO's Chief Data Scientist & Innovation Lab Director

    Jan 17, 2021·36m
  35. 35

    33. Ten common areas to focus on when using data for audits

    Jan 10, 2021·15m
  36. 36

    32. Data visualization with Alli Torban

    An interview with data visualization expert Ali Torban about using data visualization in audit fieldwork, risk assessments, and audience-ready reports.

    Jan 3, 2021·35m
  37. 37

    31. Wrapping 2020 Up - learnings, listener feedback, what's coming in 2021

    Dec 13, 2020·14m
  38. 38

    30. John Moore - CTO of Queensland Audit Office

    Dec 6, 2020·20m
  39. 39

    29. Machine Learning Assurance with Andrew Clark - CTO of Monitaur

    An interview with Andrew Clark, CTO of Monitor, discussing machine learning integrity and data analytics for auditors.

    Nov 29, 2020·29m
  40. 40

    28. David Haylor - specialist Internal Audit search and selection

    Nov 22, 2020·29m
  41. 41

    27. Improve reporting by answering these questions about your audience

    Nov 15, 2020·15m
  42. 42

    26. Carlos Phoenix on cyber and audit

    Nov 8, 2020·30m
  43. 43

    25. An introduction to Yusuf Moolla

    Nov 1, 2020·11m
  44. 44

    24. Discovery exercises can help de-risk internal audits and performance audits

    Oct 18, 2020·20m
  45. 45

    23. Maximize the benefits of using data within audit

    This episode discusses the principle of maximizing benefits from data use in audit, addressing challenges like access, low-value analysis, superficiality, timing, and false positives.

    Oct 4, 2020·23m
  46. 46

    22. Josam Watson - CRO of Tyme and ex-CAE

    Sep 27, 2020·39m
  47. 47

    21. Four ways to approach the use of data for internal audits and performance audits

    Sep 20, 2020·31m
  48. 48

    20. Data related terminology that is commonly misused

    Sep 6, 2020·27m
  49. 49

    19. An introduction to Conor McGarrity

    Aug 23, 2020·12m