There are two primary schools of thought in developing an audit approach:
* One viewpoint is to assume that everyone is looking for ways to “beat the system”; therefore, the auditors devise audit steps that focus on finding evidence of wrongdoing.
* The other approach is to assume that most people take pride in their work and want to do the right thing—they just need to know what is expected of them and have the proper training and tools available to allow them to successfully carry out their responsibilities. In this case, the auditor’s approach is to examine areas of high risk and focus on ways these risks can be most effectively mitigated.
The latter is the philosophy and progressive approach we have chosen to adopt in the Internal Audit Department of Lone Star College System.