HOW ACCURATE AND TIMELY IS THE REPORTED
INFORMATION? Th e best reports are generated
straight from financial and transactional
systems, which improve the
reliability of reporting by reducing human
error. However, the more an organization
relies on financial and transactional systems,
the more important it is for both
internal auditing and management to be
aware of system changes that could affect
report reliability, as well as be cognizant
of changes to processes and how the system
is used.
Although system changes can affect
the accuracy of data in reports, changing
processes and how data is entered and
used influences the meaning of report
data and the metrics themselves. Process
changes should always trigger a reassessment
of reports for management, including
board-level reporting. Although the
overall metrics related to the intended
results may not change, the complementary
metrics, which are vital for assessing
the validity of metrics, could change. If
an organization changes how it conducts
business in a way that changes its risk
profile, the company's key monitoring
metrics also may need to change.