About
the
Author
About
the
Author
John McKeever is the President of Contemporary Business Concepts, a company that provides both in-house and public training services for internal auditors, fraud examiners, quality professionals, and business leaders. These programs, developed from years of hands-on business and professional experience, are designed to address the most contemporary needs of business professionals. – see http://www.cbcseminars.com.
John’s previous experience includes Operations Manager, Consultant, Instructor, and Audit Professional. During his fifteen years in the audit department at AT&T, he conducted and led a wide range of audits and consulting projects. These included numerous audits and projects of finance, operations, and information technology processes.
John has trained and advised thousands of auditors and managers while in private practice, at the AT&T School of Business, and The Institute of Internal Auditors. John has developed and delivered a number of business programs that include, Consulting: A Value Added Services, The Tools and Techniques That Make It Work, COSO: The Steps To Success, and Help Your Client Succeed with Control Self-Assessment.
John frequently speaks at public seminars, professional associations, state and federal agencies, and corporations. His work has included developing and delivering risk and control management programs specifically focused for the needs of Senior Executives, Boards of Directors, and Audit Committees.
He is the author of numerous research papers that have addressed the concepts of process improvement in business, employee empowerment, and the management of effective teams. Using these tools, he has guided and encouraged thousands of domestic and international professionals to move toward process and business improvements. For his achievements as a seminar leader, The Institute of Internal Auditors has awarded John the designation of Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Member.
John has degrees in Business Administration and Management from Northeastern University, a Masters of Science Degree in Management from Stevens Institute of Technology, and a graduate Certificate in Total Quality Management from the University of Phoenix. He is an American Society for Quality Certified Quality Auditor, a Certified Fraud Examiner, A Certified Business Manager, and a Certified Professional Consultant. In addition, John holds both a Control Self Assessment Qualification and a Certification in Control Self Assessment.
He is a member of
the
American Society
for Quality, The Institute of Internal Auditors, The Association of
Business Professionals in Business Management, and the Association of
Certified Fraud Examiners.
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****
over 200 CCSA Practice Questions, Answers & Explanations ****
click here for a
demonstration of the CD-ROM and Web portal versions
John combined his experience with the CSA
principles he used to effectively employ CSA as a practitioner to compile
information about current CCSA coverage areas. He then developed
over 200 CCSA
Practice Questions (100+ in the 7 modules and 100+ in a separate
module), Answers & Explanations within a self-study
system that provides the
user an excellent chance to study to both pass the CCSA
certification and to learn to become a CSA practitioner in the
workplace.
The actual CCSA exam questions are confidential. As a result, the material and practice questions in this course are representative of the body of knowledge tested by the CCSA exam. They are not actual questions from current or past CCSA exam. The material has been developed and compiled to the best of the author’s knowledge and information.
The practice questions included in
this material are written in as many possible ways as the author has
been able to compile.
There are often two or more answers
that
could be correct in multiple choice questions. However, one may
be more appropriate than the other. In many cases, the wording of
the questions and answers may be somewhat comprehensive. When
sitting for a multiple-choice exam, it is important to read the
question as it is stated and select the answer which best answers the
question.
Reviewing the answers and the
techniques to answering the questions will help you better understand
and
develop an approach to correctly answer the questions on the CCSA exam
better
and easier.
Since the CCSA exam covers broad
areas of business and auditing using this study system will help you
identify topic areas requiring further study and to supplement
your existing knowledge base.
The CCSA exam is evolving to match
the continual evolvement of CSA in the workplace. The November
2007 exam for example added questions about The IIA Code of Ethics - click
here for a copy in
English.
Candidates studying for the CCSA exam should read and understand this
important document. The
McKeever CCSA Study System 2007 edition does not include questions
about The IIA Code of Ethics but sample questions about this important
item will be incorporated in later editions.
Review courses by themselves are
generally not sufficient to ensure exam success.
In addition, John will be happy to
receive constructive feedback about any related topics, questions, or
concepts about this material. Contact him at cbccourses@att.net.
Module 1 CSA: Course Overview & The Basics
The objective of this module is to acquaint the participant with the concepts of Control Self-Assessment (CSA). The module will demonstrate how the participant may use CSA as a tool to help clients and to gain the confidence in order to train clients so they may help themselves.
At the end of this module, the participant will:
• understand the concepts of Control Self-Assessment.
• understand how other control and risk models work with Control Self-Assessment.
• learn how to present this material so that the client may use it as an ongoing business tool.
• be more comfortable addressing the CCSA exam questions related to basic CSA concepts.
Module 2 Some CSA Tools: Questionnaires and Workshops
The objective of this module is to acquaint participants with some specific tools of Control Self-Assessment (CSA).
At the end of this module, participants will:
• understand the two basic tools of CSA.
• understand the development and use of workshops and questionnaires.
• learn how to use these tools effectively with the clients.
• become more
comfortable addressing the CCSA exam questions related to these basic
CSA tools.
Click here
to review John J.
McKeever's article from the CSA Sentinel
Module 3 Risk Management
The objective of this module is to help participants understand the concepts of risk and risk assessment, known as risk management.
At the end of this module, the participants will:
• have developed an understanding of the elements of risk.
• have developed an understanding of the results of risk.
• understand the components of risk assessment.
• be more comfortable addressing the CCSA exam questions related to risk and risk management.
Module 4 Internal Controls & Control Models
At the end of this module, participants will:
• possess an understanding of the relationship among objectives, risks, and controls.
• possess an understanding of integrated control frameworks.
• possess an understanding of COSO and other control models.
• possess an understanding of the components and objectives of COSO.
• be able to identify how they can help clients succeed using these tools.
• be more comfortable addressing the CCSA questions related to controls and control models.
Module 5 Change: Making It Happen
The objective of this module is to help participants understand how to effect change.
At the end of this module, participants will:
• understand what change is.
• understand the barriers that accompany change.
• understand how to remove the barriers.
• understand how to effect change for improvement.
• be more comfortable addressing the questions on the CCSA exam related to the change concepts.
Module 6 Strategic Planning And The Approach of Management
The objective of this module is to review the concepts of strategic planning and approaches to management. Discussion will be developed around effective business strategies, management styles, and operations including:
• the concept of a strategic plan.
• dealing with competitive strategy.
• developing product and service differentiation.
• product and service life cycles.
• development of effective objectives and the Management By Objectives (MBO) process.
• management styles and their effectiveness.
• a developed understanding of these concepts and a comfort level with the CCSA exam questions related to strategic planning.
Module 7 Project Management: Make It All Come Together
The objective of this module is to familiarize participants with the concepts of project management.
The following topics will be covered:
• the concept of project management.
• the process of project management.
• the employment of project management.
• familiarization with the project management portion of the CCSA exam.
Appendix
CSA Questionnaires Four Steps To Success
Step One: Increase the accuracy of the answers.
Step Two: Increase the accuracy of the answers.
Step Three: Increase the accuracy of the answers.
Step Four: Increase the rate of return.
Suggested References
16 additional references
Application
Questions
Following are
examples of the way that questions are presented within this
self-study system to help you better understand the approach to answer
questions on the CCSA exam:
1) Within each
module questions and answers are presented as follows:
| 1-16
CSA is a
process that allows all employees to assess and address the adequacy of
their controls and risk. It provides an opportunity to enhance
control and risk management at the operational level. Which of
the following are reasons to conduct a CSA process? 1. Employees become part of the risk and control management process. 2. Employees can learn new things. 3. Management will listen to the employees rather than auditors. 4. As owners of risk and control management, employees can better manage this process |
The best
answer is 2. Although the others may be true to some
degree, the foundation of CSA resides in the concepts of 1 & 4. |
| 1-17
The key
element(s) of a CSA process includes: 1. surveys and workshops. 2. enhancing the ownership of employees as process owners. 3. interviews. 4. a combination of conversational interviews and workshops. |
The correct choice is answer 2 because it is the underlying concept of CSA. The other answers are combinations of tools used in the CSA process. |
2) Periodically
throughout the modules you are asked to test your understanding of that
module:
- In
the CD-ROM and Web Portal versions you are presented with a question
like this one:
| 26.
Internal
control
questionnaires are one of the primary tools
used with the Control Self-Assessment process. Often this tool is
used when risk and control information needs to be gathered from a
large group. A disadvantage of this tool is that person to person
communication is minimized. Therefore, it is important to design
the questionnaires for the most effectiveness. A well-designed
questionnaire should: a. encourage simple yes or no responses rather than narrative responses. b. be a sufficient source of data for the evaluation of internal controls. c. identify the internal control system’s strengths and weaknesses. d. be organized by individual functional organizations. e. be independent of the objectives of the Control Self-Assessment process. Click here to check your answer and receive feedback about why the one answer is the best. |
| 26.
Internal control questionnaires are one of
the primary tools
used with the Control Self-Assessment process. Often this tool is
used when risk and control information needs to be gathered from a
large group. A disadvantage of this tool is that person to person
communication is minimized. Therefore, it is important to design
the questionnaires for the most effectiveness. A well-designed
questionnaire should: a. encourage simple yes or no responses rather than narrative responses. b. be a sufficient source of data for the evaluation of internal controls. c. identify the internal control system’s strengths and weaknesses. d. be organized by individual functional organizations. e. be independent of the objectives of the Control Self-Assessment process. The best answer is that questionnaires identify the control system’s strengths and weaknesses. There are a number of variations for the design and function of internal control questionnaires. They can be written for simple yes no answers or in a broader category up to and including narratives. Generally speaking, questionnaires are not and should not be the only source of risk and control information. Interviews are an excellent supplement for questionnaires. Questionnaires do not need to be organized by function or any specific distribution. The key in the question, which could eliminate many of the answers, is that questionnaires are a primary tool for the Control Self-Assessment processes. Questionnaires involve a broader distribution than workshops. They are often supplemented by workshop teams. |
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| 26.
Internal control questionnaires are one of the primary tools used with
the Control Self-Assessment process. Often this tool is used when
risk and control information needs to be gathered from a large group. A
disadvantage of this tool is that person to person communication is
minimized. Therefore, it is important to design the
questionnaires for the most effectiveness. A well-designed
questionnaire should: a. encourage simple yes or no responses rather than narrative responses. b. be a sufficient source of data for the evaluation of internal controls. c. identify the internal control system’s strengths and weaknesses. d. be organized by individual functional organizations. e. be independent of the objectives of the Control Self-Assessment process. |
|
26. Internal control questionnaires are one of
the primary tools used with the Control Self-Assessment process. Often this tool is used when risk and control
information needs to be gathered from a large group. A disadvantage of
this
tool is that person to person communication is minimized.
Therefore, it is important to design the
questionnaires for the most effectiveness. A
well-designed questionnaire should:
The
best answer is
that questionnaires identify the control system’s strengths and
weaknesses. There are a number of
variations for the design and function of internal control
questionnaires. They can be written for
simple yes no answers
or in a broader category up to and including narratives.
Generally speaking, questionnaires are not
and should not be the only source of risk and control information. Interviews
are an
excellent supplement for questionnaires. Questionnaires
do not need to be organized by function or
any specific
distribution. The key in the question,
which could eliminate many of the answers, is that questionnaires are a
primary
tool for the Control Self-Assessment processes. Questionnaires
involve a broader distribution than
workshops. They are often supplemented by
workshop
teams. |
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