Question
Read the following Internal Audit Section of LDC Cloud Sytems Case study and answer the question: INTERNAL AUDIT CFO Arizmendi had hired Scott Tensar during
Read the following Internal Audit Section of LDC Cloud Sytems Case study and answer the question:
INTERNAL AUDIT CFO Arizmendi had hired Scott Tensar during the run-up to the IPO for the purpose of creating and heading the internal audit function, and Tensar had continued to report directly to Arizmendi since that time, with a secondary reporting relationship to the boards audit committee. Tensar, who was well-qualified for the position, was responsible for providing assurance that LDCs major risks were being appropriately addressed including financial, operational, and reporting. This included reviewing LDCs internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) that was designed to address the risk of fraud. Tensar and his team had tested these controls and provided assurance that they were designed and operating effectively. Tensar felt that his internal audit team possessed the skills and experience that were typical for a billiondollar company. The problem he faced, however, was that he had a wide scope of risks to address. Further, LDCs business model was more complex than was typical given the variety of customer payment models the company pursued, and LDC was growing rapidly and engaging with customers in unusual ways because much of what was happening at the intersection of cloud computing and the sharing economy was unchartered territory for any technology company. There were few models for the company to follow. In Tensars view, it seemed like everything his team reviewed was more complicated and took a bit longer than he expected. Tensar had requested a larger budget this past year so he could hire two additional experienced auditors for his team, but Arizmendi denied the request. At the time Arizmendi told Tensar, If the company meets its current year growth targets, I will recommend that internal audit get more people, but then added: With the pressure we are under now, there is no chance that LeDuc will approve more staffing for support functions. Tensar had wanted the larger team so he could keep up with all that was happening and to enable some extra time for training and professional development. At current staffing levels, there was hardly time for him, or members of his team, to catch their breath. Tensar also wanted time to be able to plan ahead. He was sure that LDCs internal audit function was doing the best it could with its resources, but he was concerned that the risks coming from the companys unique business model needed more attention. Tensar recalled a recent conversation with Arizmendi: Tensar: I wish I had more time to stop and think. We complete an annual fraud risk assessment but do we miss anything? If someone wanted to commit accounting fraud here, how would they do it? Are there weaknesses in our accounting systems that I am not aware of? Arizmendi: Because of our business model, our finance and accounting systems are so unusual that most of our own people cant figure them out. I doubt someone could learn enough to commit a material fraud without being detected. Tensar: You could be right, he said, reluctantly agreeing. I have not seen any sign of accounting fraud, but you cant be too careful. By the way, Lester Darnal (audit committee chair) stopped by again last week. I like him. He shows real interest in what we are doing and is always asking good questions. Arizmendi: Yes, Lester knows his stuff and he loves to always know what is going on. Just be careful with what information you volunteer. We need to get our own work done, and the board sometimes has its own agenda.
Question:
Do you think that the internal audit function has the right level of staffing and resources? Why or why not?
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