Day 1: Building the Finding from Evidence to Conclusion

Condition, Criteria, and Evidence

• Determine actual events from working papers
• Choose valid criteria for comparison/judgment
• Avoid generalizing one exception without support
• Write an accurate condition paragraph

Cause and Consequence

• Identify why system allowed the condition
• Separate root causes from temporary explanations
• Estimate objective/risk effects, not impressions
• Review overstated consequence statements

Recommendation and Management Response

• Define outcomes without designing management’s work
• Connect recommendations with specific changeable causes
• Evaluate management's alternative actions objectively
• Draft action plan suitable for follow-up

Day 2: Executive Reporting and Writing Quality

Issue and Message Prioritization

• Distinguish committee-level matters from local improvements
• Group findings sharing same underlying cause
• Present risk and conclusion before details
• Reorder an unnecessarily long report

Professional Language and Precision

• Use verbs; avoid accusation or exaggeration
• Separate facts from interpretation/conclusions
• Explain scope and relevant data limitations
• Edit defensive or ambiguous writing

Executive Summary Development

• State purpose scope and overall conclusion
• Highlight major issues consequences and trends
• Identify matters requiring senior management attention
• Write a one-page executive summary

Day 3: Difficult Meetings and Result Presentation

Discussing Findings with Management

• Share factual evidence before finalizing language
• Consider new evidence changing conclusions
• Maintain criteria absent contrary evidence
• Role-play a disputed audit finding

Closing Practical Meeting

• Focus meeting time on priority issues
• Confirm agreement and disagreement explicitly
• Assign owners/deadlines before closing discussion
• Simulate a complete closing meeting

Audit Committee Presentation

• Condense reports into messages and decisions
• Answer questions about evidence, cause, consequence
• Avoid unnecessary detail unsupported by oversight
• Deliver oral briefing with structured feedback

• Editing realistic findings from concise audit working papers
• Writing clinics reviewing cause consequence and recommendation quality
• Role-play closing meetings involving professional disagreement
• An audit committee briefing testing concision and evidence defense