Milestone Three Guidelines and Rubric

Auditing is a valuable skill in accounting and business, as the odds are very high that you or your organization will be subject to a compliance, federal, IRS, internal, government, or revenue audit at one point in your career. Accountants are required to make professional judgments on both the financial accounting issues and internal accounting forecasts within their organization. The auditor must provide fair, unbiased, materially correct information for investors, employers, employees, and independent stakeholders. This course will help you navigate the relevant processes to provide that unbiased, accurate information. For Milestone Three, you will submit a draft of your memos to upper management. First, you will prepare a memo to be reviewed by the chief financial officer (CFO) of your chosen company that summarizes the audit process conducted. Then, you will assume the role of CFO of the company and prepare a memo to the Board of Directors as to what potential issues the external audit team might find and what the company’s response should be. Prompt: Prepare memos with your recommendations to upper management using the findings from your audit report. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: A. Prepare a memo to be reviewed by the chief financial officer (CFO) that summarizes the audit process. 1. Explain any sampling or other audit work that could be done, and if you would recommend the company pursue this additional work. Justify your response. 2. Make recommendations to the CFO on how to mitigate potential risk factors for major business transactions identified in the audit report. B. Assume you are now the CFO. Prepare a memo to the Board of Directors as to what potential issues the external audit team might find and what the company’s response should be. 1. Evaluate the findings from the audit report. Be sure to view these findings from the CFO’s point of view. 2. Develop a strategy to mitigate risks identified in the audit report. 3. Describe how the company might implement the strategy based on the findings from the audit report. 

Guidelines for Submission: Each memo should be a 1–3-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and at least three sources cited in APA format.