Effective Use of Teams for IT Audits

Martin Krist

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 1999
• Print ISBN: 9781138436947
• eBook ISBN: 9781135482664
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Cyber Security
• Index: Computer Science

Most organizations find that an empowered team will improve the effectiveness of the IT auditing function. Such a team has the appropriate authority, resources, and skills to perform a project, determine the solution, and implement that solution without outside intervention. Audit management should establish certain guidelines for the teams to foll

Chapter 1: Self Assessing Team Effectiveness

A traditional team is a group of people working together on a project. It includes a team leader (in an audit, that person is usually a senior auditor) and operates under management constraints. This supplement uses the word team to describe empowered teams, defined as a group of people working together on a project who have the necessary authority, resources, and skills to perform that project without intervention from management. Empowered does not mean full authority to do anything. Once given a project to complete or an area of responsibility, the team decides what needs to be done and does it without obtaining additional management consent.

ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEAMS IN AN ORGANIZATION

Many managers believe they have already embraced the team concept when their the teams are not effective. Their misperception is normally associated with their concept of what a team is and how it operates. Most people perceive that a team is a group of people under the direction of a team manager or leader. The team is usually only as good as the team manager because the manager directs and controls its efforts. In some instances, even the team manager cannot make decisions but must present plans and results to higher levels of management for approval.

The self-assessment checklist in Workpaper 1-1 is designed to help auditors evaluate how effectively teams perform in their organizations. This test can be performed by an individual or by a group of individuals using a consensus tool to develop a yes or no response. As a general rule, the use of a group is far superior to having an individual complete the self-assessment.

The self-assessment should be completed next, before reading any further.

EVALUATING THE RESULTS OF THE SELF-ASSESSMENT

This self-assessment tests to see whether an organization uses common practices associated with effective teams. The auditor should total the number of “yes” responses in the evaluation. “Not applicable” responses should be considered “yes” responses, but if an auditor has more than two “not applicable” responses, the assessment guide found in Exhibit 1-1 is probably not valid.

Exhibit 1-1. Self-Assessment Test Evaluation

Number of Yes Responses	Evaluation
13–15	You use empowered teams effectively. Use the materials in this manual to fine-tune your approach.
10–12	Your audit organization has empowered teams in place, but there are opportunities for improvement. Use the materials in this manual to improve your use of teams.
7–9	Your audit organization has implemented some important team concepts, but the teams do not have the necessary authority or resources to be effective. Team results probably vary from very successful to near failure. Current team members and managers should discuss this self-assessment to identify areas of conflict and then use the manual to identify solutions.
4–6	Most likely, your teams have some of the attributes of empowered teams, but management probably retains control adequate to stop the teams from taking action that is unacceptable to audit management. Audit management needs to decide if it wants empowered teams, and if it does, it must delegate the authority and resources necessary to make the teams effective. Management may wish to do this in a pilot effort so that it can see that empowered teams work.
0–3	Your audit organization does not believe in empowered teams. This audit manual explains what empowered teams are and how they operate. It can help your organization decide whether empowered teams should be introduced into your audit function.

Workpaper 1-1. Audit Team Effectiveness Self-Assessment

	Response
Item	Yes	No	N/A	Comments
1. Does audit management believe that team members can and should make the majority of decisions that affect how they do their work?
2. Does audit management believe that team members can suggest and implement improvements to their work without going through several levels of approval?
3. Does management believe that much of the work in audit lends itself to a team-based approach rather than to an individual effort?
4. Does the physical design of your audit workplace lend itself to working in teams?
5. Is it possible to organize audit work and audit process improvement efforts so that teams of auditors can take responsibility for entire jobs?
6. Is the audit staff willing to take the initiative and authority needed to make teams work?
7. Does the overall audit organizational culture, vision, and values support teamwork and empowerment?
8. Is there a history in your audit function of empowering teams to develop their own plans and solutions and implement them without management approval?
9. Are audit managers willing to adjust their responsibilities downward and radically change their role and behavior?
10. Is audit employment secure enough to guarantee a period of relative stability during which teams can develop?
11. Is your auditing function willing to support team activities by providing them with adequate support resources, such as clerical support, and by providing teams with information, coaching, and training?
12. Is audit management willing to invest in the resources and time necessary to develop teams into effective groups?

	Response
Item	Yes	No	N/A	Comments
13. Does your audit function have the systems necessary to provide teams timely information to support their team activities?
14. Does the audit staff have the necessary team skills to be effective operating as team members?
15. Is audit management willing to permit teams to operate witho...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Workpapers
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Self Assessing Team Effectiveness
• Chapter 2: Using Teams Versus Taking a Hierarchical Approach
• Chapter 3: Using Teams for Reviewing IT Audits
• Chapter 4: Using Teams for Process Improvement
• Chapter 5: Selecting, Building, and Managing Teams
• Chapter 6: Building a Team Toolbox
• Appendix A: Team Toolbox: Pareto Principle and Analysis
• Appendix B: Team Tools: Affinity Diagrams
• Appendix C: Surveys and Interviews: What is a Structured Interview, and When Should It Be Used?