January 2004
President’s Letter
January 13, 2004
We hope you enjoyed the holiday season and are ready to start a new year.
Here are the highlights from the December report to IIA (called the CAP
report):
- 127 members and guests attended the
December 2nd Fraud seminar at
the Safety Harbor Resort & Spa. We had 4 different speakers who did a
fantastic job of presenting technical information in an interesting and
informative style.
- A $1,000 scholarship was presented to a USF student by Dr. Terry
Engle.
- Your local chapter has achieved 1,374 CAP points through December. A
total of 1,560 points are required to achieve the gold performance
level. We are well on our way to accomplishing this feat for the
eleventh straight year.
The next seminar will be Tuesday, February 3, 2004, at the Hilton Tampa
Airport Westshore. This may be the first governmental seminar our chapter
has ever hosted. Ken Gentile has promised that the speakers will be dynamic
and the subject matter will be applicable to all auditors (not just
government auditors). The Southwest Florida Chapter
is renting a charter bus and sending 30-35 auditors to this seminar. What an opportunity to meet our
fellow members from Ft. Myers.
We are hosting a USF student social
immediately following the seminar. Make plans to stay and relax, enjoy
appetizers, and mingle with future auditors. Be sure to register in advance
at the website so that we know you are coming. This way we can have your
name tag and CPE certificate ready.
Ken announced at the December seminar that our chapter decided not to
pursue the 2005 IIA Regional Conference. This was not a decision made
lightly. We performed due diligence with the assistance of the Convention
and Visitors Bureau for Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Bids and
proposals were received from 22 interested hotels and site visits were made
to several of them. In the end, the dates suggested by IIA simply were not
economically feasible. It was a worthwhile effort and perhaps we may revisit
the issue in the future.
Just a reminder. Please let me know when you make a presentation to a
group on an audit or accounting related subject. Our chapter gets one CAP
point for each CPE hour. This also applies to articles submitted to
professional journals.
The special prizes awarded to speakers and four lucky ticket holders
were, once again, a huge hit! If you did not attend the December seminar,
you really want to make plans now to be at the February governmental
seminar. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn and grow professionally,
meet members from another chapter, mingle with USF students, and win a
fantastic prize.
As you can see, your local chapter is doing its best to meet the training
and professional development needs of its members. As always, your help is
needed and would be greatly appreciated. If you are interested in serving on
a committee, helping out at a single event, etc, then simply contact any of
the officers or committee chairs.
We look forward to seeing you at the February seminar.
Billy Weathers
2003-2004 Chapter President
Governmental Seminar
February 3, 2004
8:00-4:30
Hilton - Tampa Airport Westshore (Map)
2225 N. Lois Avenue (just off I-275)
You are invited to another awesome seminar from the IIA West Coast
Chapter. We have assembled an excellent group of speakers and will be joined
by our colleagues from the Ft. Myers chapter for our first joint
presentation. Although the seminar will have a governmental focus all are
invited as many of the concepts and principles are relatable to all types
audits. The speakers are excellent, the topics are relevant and all that is
missing is you. Register TODAY!!
Following the seminar we will be having a social function. This is an
excellent opportunity to network and learn about each other's programs.
Topics will be delivered in a presentation format in the morning and then
worked through in detail in small group workshops in the afternoon. We are
hoping that this approach will provide tangible benefits for members to take
back to their places of business. Topics will include:
- Performance Standards -
Bob Nelson CFE, CGFM,
CIA Consultant, State of Ohio Treasurer's Office
- Information Technology Auditing in the Small Audit Shop - Beth
Brier, CPA, CISA from the City of Tallahassee
- Peer Review Process - Alan Ash, City of Gainesville
We look forward to a full day of learning and some fun and fellowship to
follow. See you there!!
Please Note: Even if you or your
organization has purchased the "Corporate Advanced Pricing"
package, you still need to RSVP with the specific attendees for each meeting. Please
RSVP by 4:00 ET Friday January 30, 2004.
RSVP Online
View our entire seminar schedule on
our web site.
The Audit Corner
Changes in public law, such as
Sarbanes-Oxley, but also legislation which enables a more "marketplace"
oriented utility environment, changes what regulatory auditors do. So, now,
in addition to monetary "rate cases," where customer rates are set,
regulators audit the annual distribution reliability reports provided by
electric utilities.
Instead of being "dollars and cents"
audits, these assignments are analyses of what electrical operations were
included in the distribution reliability report and did they apply to the
determination of that reliability index. This audit is only one example.
Others apply to gas, water, wastewater and telephone regulation.
 USF
Update
Dawn E. Balliet, CPA was named the second recipient of the Florida West Coast Chapter IIA Merit Award.
She accepted her award from Academic Relations Committee Co-chair Dr.
Terry Engle at the December meeting.
 After working for more than a decade in the banking and construction
industries, Dawn returned to school full time in 1999
to pursue a degree in Accounting. She earned an AA from St. Petersburg
Junior College (maintained 3.95 GPA), a BA from the University of South
Florida (maintained 3.95 GPA), and is currently enrolled in the MBA
program (maintaining a 4.0 GPA). Ms. Balliet attempted and passed the CPA exam in November 2002 and is
licensed in the State of Florida. She is a member of the Florida
Institute of CPAs, the Institute of Management Accountants, and the
Institute of Internal Auditors. Her prior work experience is diversified and includes a seven year
career trading off-balance sheet products in the treasury of two
international banks, which resulted in postings abroad for nearly two
years. After relocating to Florida, Ms. Balliet worked for four years in
the Accounting/Finance department of Taylor Woodrow, an international
home building and real estate development company. She is currently
employed as a Senior Staff Accountant in the Financial Reporting
department of Lincare at the Corporate Headquarters in Clearwater.
Her winning essay, which counted as 40% of the criteria for award,
can be
read on the chapter's web site.
 Antoinette
Lynch, CPA
also met the members at the December meeting. Antoinette was awarded an IIA
Research Foundation grant of $10,000 for a doctoral dissertation titled The Effects of
Team Composition and Creativity Training on Staff Auditor Performance in SAS No 99
Mandated Fraud Assessment Brainstorming Sessions: An Experimental Investigation.
Antoinette is a doctoral candidate from the USF and a member of
the West Coast Florida Chapter of the IIA. She earned a B.S.B.A. at Christopher Newport
University. Her teaching interests include accounting information systems and auditing.
Her research interests include behavioral research in the areas of improving
auditors’ ability to detect fraud and understanding the impact of information
technology on the audit process and individual behavior.
Ms. Lynch will be requiring the help of chapter members to complete her
research. Please provide any assistance you can to help with
Antoinette's efforts. For more on the
award and her research, visit
the chapter's web site.
 West Florida ISACA Invitation
IT Risk Assessment – A base for your annual audit plan
Thursday, January 15, 2004
7:30 A.M. - 9 A.M.
Tampa Club, Tampa, FL
COST: Members (of IIA, ACFE and ISACA) $20
Non-members $30
Student $10
The use and deployment of information technology (IT) is a critical
success factor for most organizations. Designing, implementing, operating
and maintaining an efficient and effective IT solution is a difficult task.
The speed of change, complexity and new requirements in the technology arena
increase the risk for lower customer satisfaction, higher costs, security or
privacy breaches and non-regulatory compliance. It is important for the
Audit department to perform periodic assessments of information technology
exposures in their organizations.
This session will provide a practical approach of how to perform an IT
risk assessment and how it could be used in the development of your annual
audit plan.
The key areas in this session are as follows:
- Methodology
- Risk management
- IT risks (General, industry and specific risks)
- IT risk management requirements/standards (government / private
sector)
- Risk based IT audit plan
- Business Case
- Questions and answers.
Head Instructor – Johan Lidros
Johan Lidros is the founder and President of Transcendent Group.
Transcendent Group provides Technology Risk Management Services in Florida
and Europe. Previously, Johan was the Florida/Caribbean Computer Risk
Management practice leader at Arthur Andersen. He provided service to
clients from the Nordic countries, New York and Florida for over 10 years
before opening his own firm in 2000. He has specialized in providing IT Risk
Management services, IT audit and information security assurance solutions
for the government, financial, and healthcare industries. Johan has
performed several IT risk assessments for large organizations in the US and
Nordic countries.
Register:
http://www.westfloridaisaca.org/Register.asp
Job Openings in Tampa Bay
Click for more information. Stay up to date on our Career page. Our most recent
listings:
Go to our web site, tampabayiia.org,
to contact any of our Chapter
Officers, Committee
Chairs or Board of Governors
members.
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