Auditing Leadership The Professional and Leadership Skills You Need

by Kush, Brian D.

• ISBN13: 9780470450017
• ISBN10: 0470450010
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-07-20
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Auditing Leadership is the only book written for auditors that presents practical tips, insights, and ideas on becoming a leader in the profession. Light on the industry jargon of FASBs, IASBs, etc., this guide instead specifically discusses the so-called "soft skills" often overlooked in order to become a leader in the audit profession. Filled with expert advice that mean the difference between being a good auditor and transforming into an auditing leader, this book equips auditors to relate to the daily interpersonal and leadership challenges in their role.

Author Biography

Brian D. Kush, CPA, CISA, former vice president of AuditWatch and a former auditor at Ernst & Young, is President of Moxie Partners, a professional coaching company that helps accountants and other professionals achieve in self-defined and measurable ways. His clients include accounting firms, internal auditors, entrepreneurs, and other leaders across the country. In his career, he has worked with over 100 CPA firms and provided consulting and/or live instruction to thousands of auditors on best practices, audit technology tools, and audit process reengineering.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
About the Author	p. xiii
Professional Interaction and Reflection Skills	p. 1
Where Are You Going?	p. 3
Your Roles	p. 4
Your Mission	p. 6
Your Core Values	p. 9
Roles, Mission, Values: Tying It All Together	p. 10
Leadership Summary	p. 11
Selling Number One	p. 13
Continuously Selling Yourself	p. 13
Your Brand	p. 16
Branding versus Selling	p. 21
Leadership Summary	p. 22
Feedback Equals Money	p. 23
Sources of Feedback	p. 23
Performance Evaluations	p. 25
Feedback Is Contagious	p. 27
Specific Feedback Rocks!	p. 28
A Feedback Culture Can Start with You	p. 29
Leadership Summary	p. 32
The Audit Cheerleader	p. 33
Belief Is Mandatory	p. 33
Conflict Is Healthy	p. 36
Positivity Is Contagious	p. 40
Enemies Are Counterproductive	p. 45
Leadership Summary	p. 47
Networking Skills	p. 49
Your Social Capital	p. 51
Social Capital	p. 52
Your Circle of Trust	p. 54
Strengthen Your Capital	p. 55
Leadership Summary	p. 56
The First Step in Networking	p. 57
Networking Events	p. 58
Approach Networking as Relationship-Building	p. 59
Leadership Summary	p. 61
Time Management and Personal Productivity Skills	p. 63
The Most Important Word to an Auditor	p. 65
Understand More by Asking "Why?"	p. 65
Teach Why	p. 70
Leadership Summary	p. 72
The Problem with To-Do Lists	p. 73
To-Do Lists Can Create Guilt	p. 73
Create Action Lists	p. 74
Reconcile To-Do Lists with Goals	p. 77
Prioritization of To-Dos-It's Impossible!	p. 78
Leadership Summary	p. 78
The Power of Time-Blocking	p. 79
Schedule Buffer Time	p. 80
Time-Block Commitments, or Say "No!"	p. 82
Planning Your Day by Using Time-Blocking	p. 84
Time-Block Away Distractions	p. 86
Time-Block Yourself	p. 88
Leadership Summary	p. 90
The Power of Routines	p. 91
Routines and Habits	p. 92
Identifying Proactive, Healthy Routines	p. 92
Multi-Fulfilling	p. 98
Give Them a Name	p. 98
Group Routines Require Group Buy-In	p. 99
Create Accountability Related to Your Routines	p. 100
Leadership Summary	p. 103
Do You Train Your People to Interrupt You?	p. 105
Interruption Dependence?	p. 106
Are You Too Accessible?	p. 107
Empower People More So They Interrupt You Less	p. 110
Leadership Summary	p. 111
Do You Have Commitment Issues?	p. 113
Be Aware of All Commitments	p. 114
Habitually Undercommit	p. 117
Leadership Summary	p. 120
Reengineer Your E-mail Practices	p. 121
How Much Are You E-mailing?	p. 121
Challenge E-mails without Substance	p. 123
What's in an E-mail?	p. 124
E-mail Subject Headers	p. 124
E-mail Body	p. 127
E-mail Habits of Others	p. 127
Processing E-mail	p. 129
How Often Should You Check E-mail?	p. 134
Leadership Summary	p. 137
Communication Skills	p. 139
Effective Opining	p. 141
What Is Your Advice Process?	p. 141
Unsolicited Advice	p. 143
Leadership Summary	p. 149
Are You a Filler-holic?	p. 151
Conversation Word Fillers	p. 151
Writing Word Fillers	p. 154
Leadership Summary	p. 156
Why We Love PowerPoint Slides	p. 157
What Is Your Objective in Making a Presentation?	p. 157
Present with the Audience in Mind	p. 158
Preparing a Presentation with Purpose	p. 160
Leadership Summary	p. 161
One Way to Avoid Office Rage	p. 163
Your Confrontation Style?	p. 163
Turn Anger into Problems and Solutions	p. 165
Leadership Summary	p. 167
Client Relationship Skills	p. 169
Who Is the Puppet Master?	p. 171
Who Is Pulling the Strings?	p. 171
The Single Biggest Opportunity to Improve Your Audit?	p. 172
Stop Managing "Clients"	p. 172
The First Step in Client Management	p. 177
Stop "Managing" Clients	p. 179
Leadership Summary	p. 181
What Hat Are You Wearing?	p. 183
How Many Hats Are You Wearing?	p. 183
Audit Your Audits	p. 184
Client Education	p. 184
Leadership Summary	p. 186
Be Memorable	p. 187
Remind Clients of Your Value	p. 187
Create Stories	p. 189
Turn "Messing Up" into "Stepping Up"	p. 190
Let Clients Guide You	p. 193
Be Yourself	p. 195
One Client at a Time	p. 195
Leadership Summary	p. 196
Teambuilding and Reflection Skills	p. 197
Prepare to Be Fired	p. 199
Prepare to Be Fired from the Very Beginning: Leadership Transition	p. 200
Add More Responsibilities	p. 203
They See, They Do	p. 203
Team Accountability	p. 206
Team Chemistry	p. 208
The "Open Door" Leader	p. 209
Teach Your Teams to Seek Complaints	p. 210
Ponder Your Future Often	p. 211
Leadership Summary	p. 213
Now Where Are You Going?	p. 215
Success Is a Mind-Set, Not a Finish Line	p. 215
Awareness Unlocks Who You Are	p. 218
What Are the Leadership Skills You Uncovered and Want to Develop?	p. 219
Your Plan	p. 225
Appendix: You Know You Are an Auditor When...	p. 227
Afterword and Acknowledgments	p. 233
Index	p. 235
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