Audit project management: objectives, audit program, fieldwork, resourcing and independence

Every audit engagement is a small project with a scope, a timeline, staff and deliverables. The CISA outline expects you to apply project management discipline to audits so the work finishes on time, stays in scope, uses the right skills and produces conclusions that a reviewer can trust. Poorly managed audits drift: fieldwork runs long, testing wanders away from the key risks, and the report arrives too late to matter.