Auditing marketing

With reputation frequently ranked among the most significant areas of risk for many organisations, the marketing function and its activities - often partly undertaken by everyone in the organisation - ought to be a key area of internal audit focus.

Senior management and the board should be aware of the importance of brand value and the principle that a reputation takes a long time to build and only minutes (or even moments!) to seriously damage.

Risks - both threats and opportunities - are considerable.

Marketing is an area that internal auditors have not always examined, reviewed or considered. This may be due to a historical reluctance on our part to audit this activity or function, or a similar reluctance upon the part of the marketing folks for our internal audit engagements.

This is changing. As a risk-based approach to internal audit is recognised by us and our key stakeholders as helping to add value and insight, more internal audit teams are turning their attention to this important subject.

If marketing is successful then it can add real, demonstrable value to the organisation and enable the delivery of strategy and supporting objectives. However, a poorly articulated marketing campaign or a miss-timed marketing strategy could spell disaster and a world of pain for the organisation as a whole.

This course will help you consider how best to review an organisation’s marketing function, marketing activity, the associated risks, controls and areas of potential focus. This subject goes far beyond the marketing function itself.

Who should do the course?

• Qualified internal auditors who have may not have reviewed marketing activities before, and therefore need a broad understanding to get them started on a review of the area.
• More senior internal auditors who need to understand marketing systems, activities and risks for the purpose of periodic and engagement planning.

What will I learn?

After completing this course, you will be able to:  

• describe the purposes of marketing functions, their value to organisations, and the activities they undertake;
• better identify the risks and controls associated with marketing activities; and 
• give examples of the assurance and consultancy services internal audit could provide organisations in relation to their marketing activities.

What will I do?

The course comprises three topics and a quiz. You will be recorded as having finished the course when you have completed these components, including achieving a minimum grade of 80% on the final quiz. OYou can download your certificate of completion and a course summary when you have successfully completed the course.

You have 90 days to complete the course; however, it shouldn’t take you more than two hours to complete.

Technical requirements

The course is online so you will need access to an internet-enabled device. The course works best on a laptop or PC with a mouse – some quiz questions are tricky to do on a tablet or touchpad. The course consists of written material.

CPE competency areas covered

• Internal audit delivery
• Business acumen

2 CPE points