Put the Glass Down!

I don't usually share non-technical stuff, but I am going to make an exception for the below story that was shared with me via email. It serves as a good reminder for all of us on how to deal with stress management :

"A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything."

"Remember to put the glass down"

Ps.Unfortunately, I couldn't find out who the original author of the story is in order to give him/her the credit for it. If you happen to know, please share it with the rest of us.

Can You Audit What You Can't See?

Last week I shared a New York Times post on the "Assurance Careers & News " Group on LinkedIn covering the FIFA corruption scandal. The discussion was entitled “Corruption in FIFA? Its Auditors Saw None”. The post generated a few comments, one of which read as follows:

                                            You can't audit what you can't see...

I am familiar with the phrase “you can’t audit what you don’t understand “, but this one was new to me. While I don’t exactly understand what the comment author meant by “see” (I am assuming sarcasm!), I can’t imagine how the auditors did not see the red flags! You may not see corruption physically, but you can smell it in the air!

I hope this case serves as a good reminder of the importance of professional skepticism for both external and Internal Auditors, and with this, I leave you with a self-explanatory paragraph from A 2004 CPA Journal Article:

 “Our auditing standards require us to maintain “professional skepticism” for a reason. Human nature is still subject to temptations such as greed. As CPAs, we are neither to assume that management is dishonest nor assume unquestionable honesty. Moreover, we are required to obtain “persuasive evidence” to support any belief in management’s honesty as it regards any business issue or activity. And we are to do so each and every audit, for each and every issue.”

Please share your thoughts

Picture Source:http://www.supplychaindigital.com through Google Search