Inspired by "Delight is in the details" by Shawn Blanc The nascent public sector problem Here's the problem: a lot of public sector organisations have been forced to shed a lot of what has long been considered their bloated structures. This often takes the form of personnel reductions. Some of these are retirees that do … Continue reading Delightful internal control processes in public sector organisations
Time budgeting: a thousand no’s
Brian's question Brian made the excellent point in this question that it wasn't clear to him whether putting in the time to time-budget was not more of a waste of time than a benefit. His question is highly relevant. It would make no sense if I would do this exercise without it bringing me some … Continue reading Time budgeting: a thousand no’s
Working papers: it’s not about you …
It seems obvious, but it isn't One of the key requirements of quality working papers is that they contain neither irrelevant information nor personal, subjective statements or opinions. It seems obvious, but during a recent external file review I was taken aback by what I found: personal observations, none too flattering, of an auditor on … Continue reading Working papers: it’s not about you …
Concluding on working papers
So what? I sometimes review a working paper and think by myself: "So what?" Not in a derogatory, dismissive manner, rather in a silent sigh about an unfulfilled expectation. A well written working paper without a good conclusion is like a good short story without a proper ending. It leaves me wanting more but not … Continue reading Concluding on working papers
Time budgeting: more follow-up
A reader made an excellent observation in this reaction on LinkedIn ... Time budget not used today will expire. I fully agree, which actually cements me in my conviction that the only way I'm going to relevantly and usefully spend my time is by ensure that I have, in advance, a clearly defined use for … Continue reading Time budgeting: more follow-up
Time budgeting: a follow-up
Using Timeful for a couple of hours Based on the feedback from some readers with respect to this article, I've been playing around a bit with Timeful, an interesting iOS application developed with the support of Prof. Dr. Dan Ariely. Some of you suggested it may provide some answers to my issues with time budgeting … Continue reading Time budgeting: a follow-up
Clearly written working papers
A quick stroll down memory lane Let me take you on a quick stroll down my memory lane. I was a young auditor, fresh out of university, working on my second or third audit. I was a high potential, as I had already achieved mastery of those skills essential to a young staff assistant: I … Continue reading Clearly written working papers
Productivity budgeting: the missing personal productivity component
Limitatons of personal productivity tools Modern productivity methods and tools go a long way towards optimizing our focus on areas and things that really matter to us. GTD, for example, provides us with an elaborate basis for identifying what we need to do next, depending on our context but also on our overall priorities, expressed … Continue reading Productivity budgeting: the missing personal productivity component
The relation between audit reports and working papers
Audit reports tend to be overly long I've mentioned before I don't like overly long audit reports. The length usually does not add relevant information for the audit committee and only aims to prove to the audience how much time and effort the internal auditor put in that specific audit. While commendable this is not … Continue reading The relation between audit reports and working papers
Quick tip – learn to use your tools
I've recently taken a close look at the application folder on my Mac. If you sort your applications by "date last opened", you may be in for a surprise. More than 70% of the applications I have installed had not been opened in the past 30 days. Including some applications I consider essential and would … Continue reading Quick tip – learn to use your tools
Exploring The Black Box 