Writing

How to write the executive summary of an internal audit report: who reads it and for how long, the five moves that make up a good summary, the…

Five audit findings, each written first the way findings usually are and then rewritten element by element with the diagnosis between: the condition that editorializes, the cause that…

A recommendation that says “management should ensure controls are strengthened” has never been implemented. This guide gives the six-part anatomy of one that can be, the verbs that…

The consequence is where an audit finding earns its rating and loses its reader. This guide gives the four components of a consequence that lands, the three tenses,…

The cause is the element auditors write last and worst. This guide gives the level a cause must be stated at, the six cause families and the action…

The condition is the only part of an audit finding that is entirely the auditor’s, and it is where findings leak. This guide gives the seven properties of…

An internal audit report is read by four people for four reasons. This guide structures it by altitude: the eleven parts and what each is for, a one-page…

Condition, criteria, cause, consequence, corrective action: what each element must contain, a reference table, five findings dissected weak-against-strong (two from worked engagements), a fifteen-question checklist, and where each…

Why audit reports go unread and how to fix them: the four readers and what each needs, a conclusion-first structure, a 150-word executive summary formula, eight finding headlines…