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Courses/Audit & Assurance/Internal Audit

Audit Smarter, not Harder: Audit Universes & Entity Risk Assessments

Transform your audit strategy by building dynamic audit universes and performing entity risk assessments to maximize efficiency and identify high-risk areas

Created byElizabeth McDowellworkspace_premium
BeginnerUpdated Jul 6, 2026
Audit Smarter, not Harder: Audit Universes & Entity Risk Assessments

What You'll Learn

check_circleDefine and establish a complete audit universe for an organization.
check_circleApply a consistent methodology to evaluate inherent and residual risk across various entities.
check_circleMap internal controls to specific sub-entities to determine control effectiveness.
check_circleDevelop an audit frequency schedule based on calculated residual risk levels.
check_circleUtilize Excel to build a scalable, repeatable risk assessment template.

About This Course

Internal audit departments face constant pressure to deliver maximum value with limited resources, making strategic focus and efficiency essential. This course explores how to transform traditional, labor-intensive audit planning into a highly optimized, risk-driven process. It provides a comprehensive overview of developing, structuring, and maintaining an accurate audit universe that reflects the full scope of an organization's operations. Building upon this foundational mapping, the course delves into the mechanics of entity risk assessments, illustrating how to evaluate, score, and monitor risks across diverse business units and functions. By aligning the audit universe with dynamic risk environments, this overview demonstrates how audit teams can intelligently prioritize their efforts, allocate resources to high-impact areas, and execute a more agile, strategic, and effective audit plan.

Your Instructor

Elizabeth McDowell
Elizabeth McDowell

Audit Smarter, not Harder - with Elizabeth and Audie the Internal Otteror!

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Elizabeth McDowell, CPA, CIA has over 20 years of audit experience and is the founder of Audit Forward, an innovative internal audit consulting and training firm. Elizabeth is passionate about advancing and advocating for the internal audit profession and was recognized as one of the 2023 Internal Audit Beacons by Richard Chambers. Elizabeth makes auditing and training fun (no, really!) with the help of her mascot, Audie the Internal Otteror. Elizabeth’s most recent industry experience was at Achieve, where she was Sr. Director, Audit Strategy; prior to that, she held internal audit leadership roles at Elevations Credit Union, Fidelity Investments, and Xcel Energy after first starting her career at Ernst & Young.

Credit Information

Is this course eligible for my CPD requirements as a Canadian CPA?

Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.

Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.

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Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 327+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 29 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.