shifting away from our main responsibilities.

Gentlemen
Did you notice that the work of the audit department expanded a great deal. The focus is not on the regular audits any more. The audit review and approve procedures, investigate frauds, review and approve new products, start staff awareness programs, involve in various committees etc.

I would like your comments on the above. Do you think we are shifting away from our main responsibilities?

Joe, it would be nice if someone would define main responsibility of any department now-days, especially in smaller banks where everyone wears multiple hats.

Products, processing, boundaries, regulations and controls have changed. As an auditor many years ago, we counted cash at every branch audit. Now, internal controls takes care of it. We now review the controls to ensure they are in effect and effective.

Consider yourself lucky that you are on committees. That in itself raises the awareness of the importance of audit and the controls. It also ensures that the needs are implemented in the development of products and systems instead of after the fact patchwork.

On the fraud and training issues, who would be better than an auditor? Auditors are the only people in the bank paid to mind everyone else’s business. If there is a fraud, auditors can cross departmental lines to determine the breakdown and implement procedures to prevent re-occurrence. As auditors generally review all aspects of banks, senior auditors usually have a birds-eye perspective of departmental interrelationships only afforded to executive management.

Are auditors lucky for the change? It sure beats counting cash and ticking on a 10-column pad.

Joe,

I'll get back to you with an answer as soon as I am out of the Management Committee and Compliance Committee meetings (No, I do not have any voting authority and I am there for advisement only - so I say.), provide regulatory info on satisfaction fees to a manager, help decode a mortgage document for the same manager, compile a list of hot exam topics for management, tell a clerk that I have no idea why her computer will not print landscape, advise management on a perfection of security question, check with my assistant to see where she stands with her Freddie Mac loan review and finally finish an audit report today.

What do you mean auditing has changed?

Joe-

Just a good natured comment, there are lady auditors out there as well.

I agree that responsibilities of audit depts have expanded, perhaps shifted away, but I believe the tasks are somewhat related. Disaster Recovery fell into our audit dept, as did Record Retention, SAS70 reviews, Vendor Management, BSA, etc.

Fortunately or Unfortunately, our audit function was outsourced. Leaving enough work, without true audits, for two full time individuals. We have since converted to Risk Management and joined Legal and Compliance under one roof.

If it doesn't have a home, or nobody wants to own it, it becomes audit (or risk mgmt).

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Gentlemen
Did you notice that the work of the audit department expanded a great deal. The focus is not on the regular audits any more. The audit review and approve procedures, investigate frauds, review and approve new products, start staff awareness programs, involve in various committees etc.

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I think that, if you have a management structure that wants audit included in review of policies/procedures and products, on committees, educating employees, etc., that's a good thing. Why put a policy, procedure, or product in place that has obvious problems and wait for an audit to find it sometime down the road? That's not risk management. Having an independent set of eyes look at it and point out weaknesses prior to roll out is a good thing. We aren't "shifting away from our main responsibilities", we are increasing our "main responsibilities".