About this learning event

This hands-on hybrid workshop will address the importance of sampling in auditing, provide guidance for audit sampling methodology and showcase related best practices. Participants will be guided through the process of obtaining sufficient, reliable, relevant and useful data, which in turn allow the internal auditor to select an audit sample from a population. We will also examine how to determine an ideal sample size, select samples, and explore different sampling techniques. Case studies will be used to reinforce the discussed subject matters.

How will you benefit       

This hybrid workshop aims to strengthen auditors’ abilities in choosing and applying the appropriate audit sampling methods, tools and techniques toward effective and efficient audits. It will also be based on real case studies from the public sector practice and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing within the region.

By the end of the course, participants will have:

• Reviewed the main concepts of statistical and non-statistical audit sampling
• Identified methods, tools and techniques used for audit sampling including sampling risks
• Discussed when to use sampling and how to apply professional standards in use 
• Evaluations of the results and documentation

Who should attend 

This hybrid workshop has been designed for internal audit professionals of ministries of finance, line ministries and other public institutions from SEE countries.

Participants are expected to take an active part in the workshop activities. The success of the workshop is directly dependent on the participants’ active engagement in the discussions and group work.

In view of the interactive nature of the event, it will be helpful if participants have a good command of the English language as there are no interpretation services planned.

No fee will be charged for officials working in the public sector. Travel and accommodation costs for one participant from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Romania and Ukraine will be covered by the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands. Applications of additional self-funded candidates from the SEE region (and beyond) will be considered, as far as space permits. Candidates will need to be approved by the CEF; selected candidates will be informed a week after the application deadline. Meals and refreshments will be provided during the event.

Faculty

This learning initiative will be delivered under the guidance of :

• Niels van Leeuwen, Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands

Niels holds an MSc degree in international management and postmaster in accounting from Nyenrode Business University. He has 6 years of experience in finance ranging from quality assurance and project controlling to auditing. He has seen a broad spectrum of organizations from SME’s up to large organizations with multibillion euro budgets. Typologies of organizations he worked with extend from real estate development, the medical industry, agriculture and the public sector. For quality assurance he followed a Six Sigma course to get a good understanding of quantitative methods in business. He has a firm understanding of the statistics applied in auditing.

• Robbert van Gelderen,  Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands

Robbert is a certified auditor in the Netherlands and holds a degree in Finance (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and a degree in Accounting, auditing and control (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam). He has more than 8 years of experience in auditing covering many different industries. He has over three years of audit experience at Ernst & Young in the Financial Services sector with industry exposure including global banks and local subsidiaries, in particular extensive involvement with commercial banking, treasury and asset and liability management at large Dutch banks under AFM and PCAOB supervision. Over four years of audit experience at Deloitte in the public, private market and international financial services with Industry exposure including globally (listed) companies and local subsidiaries reporting under Dutch GAAP and IFRS. Experience in the technology industry, hospitality and leisure industry and (semi) public sector. In addition he was member of the steering committees for culture and forensics at Deloitte Netherlands. Since January 2021, he started as audit manager at audit department of the Ministry of Finance in the Netherlands. Member of the steering committees for onboarding new employees and redesigning audit approaches in the Netherlands. Besides work, he enjoys exploring new countries, photography, and sports (tennis, running, cycling).

• Tim van Gelderen, Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands

Tim holds a degree in Finance (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) specialized in finance and accounting, a postmaster in accounting and he is a certified accountant (RA) at The Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants. He has over 7 years of experience and started his career at EY as an Auditor in the region - EMEIA Financial Services Organization (FSO). In this function he gained experience in the real estate industry (e.g. Dutch GAAP and IFRS) with extensive AFM supervision (Dutch supervisory authority financial markets) and in the asset management industry with PCAOB supervision (e.g. US GAAP and IFRS) w.r.t. operational/financial audits, quarterly reviews and ISAE 3402 statements. After a few years he applied for the NWE - Private and Public market at Deloitte in the role of experienced auditor. In this role he joined the human resource and talent committee w.r.t. hiring (experienced) employees, onboarding programs and coaching of less experienced colleagues. He also joined the steering committee of forensic and the culture committee. The sectors related to the (semi)public scientific sector (government funded), charity institutions, public/private education and the hospitality sector. In 2021 Tim joined the Ministry of Finance in the role of audit manager. He is part of the steering committee of redesigning audit approaches. In his spare time he likes to do outdoor activities (e.g. running, cycling, tennis and hiking) and travelling. 

Practical information

The hybrid workshop will take place in the same time face-to-face at the CEF premises in Ljubljana, Slovenia and online.

The training will be 2,5 days long.  Due to COVID-19  pandemic requirements for the face-to-face part of the hybrid workshop we will accept a limited number of applicants, however the main sessions of each day will be available and interactive with the online participants along.

Detailed information on the conditions of entry into the Republic of Slovenia related to COVID-19 pandemic is available on the website: https://www.gov.si/en/topics/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/border-crossing/

 

Partners

This learning initiative was supported by: