SmartSuite for the Audit Director

Internal audit. Builds dynamic risk-based audit plans tied to enterprise risk assessments, with an audit universe that holds every auditable entity and its risk and control relationships.

Risk management. Draws on the enterprise risk register for planning so coverage follows risk.

Issues and actions. Tracks open findings, action owners and resolution deadlines with escalation.

Reporting. Provides leadership with dashboards highlighting audit progress and recurring issues.

What does an Audit Director own across the audit function?

The Audit Director owns the risk-based audit plan and the audit universe, resource allocation and capacity across engagements, the audit methodology and its quality checkpoints, and the oversight of open findings to effective remediation. They monitor fieldwork and review cycles, provide leadership with continuous assurance dashboards and deputize for the Chief Audit Executive with committees. In SmartSuite the plan, universe, engagements and findings sit together in Internal Audit Management.

How does SmartSuite help an Audit Director build a risk-based audit plan?

SmartSuite builds dynamic risk-based audit plans in Internal Audit Management, tied to enterprise risk assessments, with an audit universe that holds every auditable entity and its risk and control relationships. The director draws on the enterprise risk register in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) for planning, so coverage follows risk: when a risk rating changes, the entities it relates to are visible and the plan can be revised rather than rebuilt at year end.

How are audit resources and capacity managed across engagements?

Resource Management lets the director allocate auditors across the engagements in the plan and see capacity against commitments, while Internal Audit Management shows fieldwork progress and review cycles for each engagement. Together they answer the two questions the director is asked most, whether the plan is on track and whether the team can absorb an unplanned request, from the same records the Audit Managers update as work proceeds.

How does the director oversee open findings and remediation effectiveness?

Open findings are tracked in Issues Management with action owners and resolution deadlines, and escalation when a deadline passes. The director sees all findings across engagements in one place, with aging and status, so overdue or repeatedly deferred actions surface without a round of emails. Dashboards highlight recurring issues, which is how the director judges whether remediation is effective or the same weakness is being closed and reopened.

How does the Audit Director report to the Chief Audit Executive and leadership?

The Audit Director provides leadership with dashboards from SmartSuite highlighting audit progress and recurring issues, and the Chief Audit Executive reads the same views to prepare for the audit committee. Because Audit Managers, the Audit Analyst and the Audit Quality Assurance Reviewer all work in Internal Audit Management, the director's view of plan status, findings and quality is current without collecting updates. The same view supports work with the Enterprise Risk Director and Head of Internal Controls.

How does SmartSuite fit with the audit function's existing methodology?

The function's own methodology, templates and quality checkpoints are configured into the engagement workflow rather than replaced, so auditors follow the steps the director has set and the Audit Quality Assurance Reviewer can check against them. New customers can start with SmartSuite Onboarding, a guided four-week program around one or two priority workflows. For an Audit Director the first is the audit universe: load it, map it to enterprise risks and bring in the current plan and open findings. Engagements already in progress can be recorded at their current stage.