Turn risk assessments into a practical, step-by-step process to identify, evaluate, and prioritize risks with confidence
Risk assessments can feel overwhelming-but they don’t have to be! This course breaks down the risk-level risk assessment process into a clear, practical approach that internal auditors can actually use in their day-to-day work.
Participants will learn how to build a risk universe by identifying inherent risks, assess likelihood and impact using structured rating scales, and translate those assessments into meaningful risk ratings. The course walks through how to map risks to internal controls, evaluate control effectiveness, and calculate residual risk-bringing everything together into a complete, end-to-end risk assessment process.
Along the way, learners will explore real-world examples, practical tools, and common challenges-such as interpreting risk scores, applying judgment, and ensuring results actually make sense. The course also covers how to think critically about risk, avoid over-reliance on formulas, and communicate risk insights in a way that drives action.
By the end of this course, participants will have a structured framework for performing risk assessments, stronger confidence in evaluating risk and controls, and practical techniques they can immediately apply to audit planning, execution, and reporting-helping them truly audit smarter, not harder.
Audit Smarter, not Harder - with Elizabeth and Audie the Internal Otteror!
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.
