When someone has a career spanning 30 years in business auditing and consulting and ranks as one of the founding members of a major player in the industry like Protiviti, it comes as no surprise they’ve been inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Audit Practitioners. Protiviti’s senior managing director, Bob Hirth, had both those credentials and more on his illustrious resume when he talked with Big4.com just after the induction ceremony, which was held at this year’s IIA General Audit Management conference in Las Vegas.

He started the conversation by telling us about the beginnings of his present company.

Bob Hirth

“I’m an alumnus from Arthur Andersen and spent more than 25 years there,” he said, adding that he started working there when there were eight large accounting firms. Hirth’s road to prominence in the profession also had an international leg when he went to Melbourne to work before returning to the United States in 1991 to California.

“I had about a 10-year stint here in the U.S. after my three years in Australia before the firm ‘ceased operations’ as we sometimes say in 2002, and we formed Protiviti,” he said.

New Venture

Of course, more than just a timeline and some circumstances went into the new venture. Hirth was also happy to talk about the motivation that steered what was a fledgling operation and helped to carve out its path to prominence.

“The absolute number one motivation for everybody in founding Protiviti was the philosophy that the status quo was not an option.”

He went on to say that everyone working at Arthur Andersen at the time understood their current jobs were soon coming to an end, and what needed to be done became quite clear.

“Survival is an important emotion or instinct,” he said, giving a nod to the practical side of the transformation.

Positive Drivers

There were other factors as well, and Hirth went on to explain some of the underlying, positive drivers.

“We had a value at Arthur Andersen called stewardship,” he said. “The idea being that when you became a partner at our firm you agreed to try to make it stronger before you left than what you had inherited.”

Hirth said although the concept changed slightly when it became apparent to everyone they needed to find another place to work, there was a general consensus that the idea of stewardship needed to follow Arthur Andersen’s ex-employees wherever they went.

“I like to suggest then that the founding of Protiviti became a group event,” he said. “I would say that for every night in the early part of 2002, conference calls were held with a regular group of people trying to figure out how we could demonstrate this value of stewardship and possibly take our Business Process Risk Consulting (BPRC) practice somewhere.”

So, on May 22^nd 2002, Hirth and a group of his fellow partners and colleagues were employees of Arthur Andersen, and on the next day, 650 people started what was first called Newco since the new firm didn’t have a name as yet. The philosophy behind what was to become Protiviti was one of the first priorities.

“There were some words surrounding values we wanted to bring forward,” Hirth said, “and those values were around words like professionalism, productivity, objectivity, integrity, creativity and the like.”

Branding Efforts

The branding efforts that followed resulted in Newco’s name transforming to Protiviti.

Hirth’s internal auditing presentations have brought him international recognition and he’s written or published numerous articles, white papers, resource guides and research studies. He has served as the San Francisco IIA chapter president and multiple terms on the San Francisco chapter of The IIA Board of Governors, as well as other volunteer positions for IIA organizations. His insights into the challenges faced by the internal auditing profession today are highly valued.

He categorized the pace of change, emerging risks and global operations under one heading.

“Because of technology, primarily, the rate of change is a lot faster,” he said. “Things can happen in minutes or almost seconds today and ripple across the globe.” He went on to say the pace of change creates the emerging risks mentioned, and these risks can impact all companies, even those that don’t think of themselves as global in nature.

Finally, among the highlights in his illustrious career, Hirth includes the people he’s met and the ability to mentor them at the top.

“Like any coach, there’s been satisfaction in seeing people grow, mature, fail a little bit, but ultimately succeed,” he said.

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Thomas J. Watson has joined the Chicago office of Protiviti (www.protiviti.com), a global consulting firm, as a managing director.

With more than 25 years experience in accounting and consulting globally and across industries, Watson has strong expertise and background in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations’ financial functions.

Watson has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Illinois State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Previously, Watson was a managing director for finance solutions at Alvarez & Marsal, a professional services firm. He also spent 15 years with a Big Four firm in Chicago, and led its finance effectiveness practice. Before that, he worked for Keebler and spent eight years with Arthur Andersen.

In his new role, Watson serves as the lead for finance optimization services in the north central region of the United States, as part of Protiviti’s Business Performance Improvement solution.

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that helps companies solve problems in finance, technology, operations, governance, risk and internal audit. Through its network of more than 70 offices in over 20 countries, Protiviti has served more than 35 percent of FORTUNE® 1000 and Global 500 companies.

from Protiviti news releases

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Protiviti Survey

According to the 2013 Internal Audit Capabilities and Needs Survey Report  released by global consulting firm Protiviti, internal audit professionals are adjusting rapidly to new challenges in a changing business environment and prioritizing social media, fraud risk, and data analysis tools as key areas for improvement in the year ahead.

What may be the most striking result from the survey is that more than half (51 percent) of organizations do not address social media risk as part of their risk assessment process, with 45 percent indicating that they have no plans to do so in the coming year’s audit plan.

Brian Christensen, executive vice president, global internal audit, at Protiviti comments:

“The survey findings are surprising in that they show how many businesses are either inadequately prepared or altogether inactive in putting effective processes and policies in place around social media,” he said. “From a risk management perspective, this poses significant potential problems for businesses that can range from reputational risk to IT infrastructure risk as a result of unchecked exposures to customer, vendor and company information.”

Continuous auditing was the top priority in terms of audit process knowledge in 2011 and 2012, but dropped down to #18 in the 2013 rankings.  Concerns among chief audit executives were generally aligned with the broader sampling of respondents.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Bob Hirth, a senior managing director with Protiviti (www.protiviti.com), a global consulting firm, has been inducted by The Institute of Internal Auditors (The IIA) into the Hall of Distinguished Audit Practitioners.

Hirth’s career has spanned more than 30 years of business auditing and consulting. He has worked with a broad range of global, public and private organizations to assess and improve their risk management, reporting, controls and governance.

A founding member of Protiviti, Hirth served as executive vice president of global internal audit for the last several years. He has performed internal audit services and consultation to more than 100 organizations, including start-up and transformation, quality assurance reviews, operations audits, audit committee support, fraud investigations and risk assessment.

His contributions to the internal auditing profession include serving as the San Francisco IIA chapter president and multiple terms on the San Francisco chapter of The IIA Board of Governors, as well as other volunteer positions for IIA organizations.

“Bob has unquestionable ethical values and a tireless work ethic,” said Joseph Tarantino, Protiviti president and CEO. “He has consistently demonstrated the delivery of high-value internal audit services, fulfilling the mission of The IIA. He is a role model that any IIA professional would want to emulate, and we congratulate him for this exceptional achievement.”

The induction ceremony of the eight Hall nominees took place on Monday, March 18 at The IIA’s 2013 General Audit Management Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Protiviti Promotions

Protiviti recently announced that seven of its current directors, including Tyler Chase and Andy Willis (Houston), David Lehmann (Stamford, Conn.), KG Purushothaman (Bangalore, India), Brad Rachmiel (Chicago), Ryan Rubin (London) and Andrew Struthers-Kennedy (Baltimore/Washington), have been promoted to the position of managing director.

KG Purushothaman has provided business risk consulting to companies in the telecom, real estate, infrastructure and media industries for more than 14 years. David Lehmann has more than 14 years experience as an IT audit and risk management professional and Ryan Rubin joined Protiviti in 2007 and leads the IT Consulting Security and Privacy practice in the U.K.

“Our new managing directors are representative of the deep skills and top talent that Protiviti has within the firm,” said Joseph Tarantino, president and CEO of Protiviti. “They have each made significant contributions to our overall goals, and continue to serve our clients by helping them solve critical business problems in their respective areas of expertise.”

Protiviti  is a global consulting firm that helps companies solve problems in finance, technology, operations, governance, risk and internal audit. Through its network of more than 70 offices in more than 20 countries, Protiviti has served more than 35 percent of FORTUNE® 1000 and Global 500 companies. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half International is a member of the S&P 500 index.

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According to a new survey about IT risk factors for 2013 published by global consulting firm Protiviti, IT professionals will be expected to handle a growing list of functions with only average competency levels.

When asked to assess their competency in key areas of IT technical knowledge on a scale of one to five, with one being the lowest and five being the highest for Protiviti, nearly 200 CIOs, chief technology officers, chief security officers, and IT vice presidents/directors reported a 2.8 average rank for social media security, social media integration, mobile commerce security, mobile commerce integration, and mobile commerce policy.

Among 21 areas of technical knowledge, survey respondents identified social media security and mobile commerce security as the areas needing most improvement. CIOs and their staffs indicated that they intended to strengthen their cyber security capabilities in order to tackle the growing threat of breaches   and potential incident response procedures   as well as ensuring their compliance with the increasing number of state and federal information security requirements.

The Protiviti  2013 IT Priorities Survey was fielded during the third and fourth quarters of 2012, and respondents answered more than 100 questions in three categories: Technical Knowledge, Process Capabilities and Organizational Capabilities

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Protiviti Inc. (www.protiviti.com) a global consulting firm, announced that it has purchased the assets of SusQtech Inc., a move to meet the needs of Protiviti’s client base – as well as that of parent company Robert Half’s staffing client base – and the market demand for Protiviti’s Microsoft technology-based consulting services.

SusQtech, with offices in the greater Washington, D.C. area and Chicago, is a leading provider of SharePoint implementation, design, integration, training and customer support services. Protiviti’s IT Consulting solutions provide clients with a broad range of software services. The addition of the SusQtech team strengthens Protiviti’s SharePoint experience and enhances the firm’s ability to deliver Microsoft technology-based consulting services using the agile software development method that includes information architecture, design, configuration, development and deployment.

Privately held SusQtech was founded in 2005 and has 58 employees. A 12-time Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, SusQtech is the organizer of the annual SharePoint Conference .ORG and the creator of TheSUG.Org, an online SharePoint user community. Protiviti plans to retain SusQtech’s employees and will continue to serve its key clients.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Innovation is one of the keys for successful enterprises and solving real-world governance, risk and compliance (GRC) challenges are just one of the issues modern business faces daily. Helping today’s enterprise cope with the ever-changing GRC landscape was the topic of conversation when Big4.com spoke with Scott Wisniewski, Managing Director of Risk Technology Solutions for Protiviti about his company’s latest solution, the Protiviti Governance Portal 4.0.

Wisniewski started the discussion by talking about one of the major focuses this latest version of the portal is moving in.

“One of the key values that the GRC packages have to promote is enterprise accountability,” he said referring to simplified functionality, which is one of the goals the Protiviti Governance Portal 4.0. strives for. “The thing is if it’s not useable, the thing never really achieves its promise because no one can interact with it and get into it.”

Central GRC Efforts

He added that one of the key focuses has been making the portal more graphically usable with, among other benefits, the ability to centralize GRC efforts across multiple domains. Wisniewski also mentioned there were several different ways to implement the necessary features.

“There’s usability for the project team that has to do a lot of stuff in the system and then there’s usability for real end users (business users) who might be coming in periodically to provide some inputs into it.”

He went on to say that what Protiviti had done from a “power user” perspective was install some of the latest navigational tools that will help business users to get to any point without multiple clicks. Wisniewski also mentioned that much of the drill down was eliminated and that information was readily available from single, simple to use areas. Icons that made the entire system more user friendly were also added that complemented Protiviti’s overall goal.

Wizard Driven Interfaces

“If you can give the business user a series of wizard driven interfaces that lead them through a series of things they have to provide, without having to understand all of the underlying complexity, then you start getting really good feedback while empowering your business people to provide that feedback in intuitive an format,” he said.

He also stresses the new Protiviti Governance Portal 4.0 takes into account that GRC needs to look at several different functions.

“There are multiple different types of projects that teams need to execute within a GRC context.  The most common project is execution of audits against risks and controls documented in the GRC register.  You might also need to execute different types of projects such as an investigation related to a fraud, or a regulatory project related to regulatory change, or an IT project related to an IT directive” he said noting there were a variety of other projects and assessments as well as work flow capabilities. He added one of the benefits to be derived comes from the fact that GRC is broken down into capabilities that span whatever business needs to do.

“What we do is mash those capabilities together into solutions,” he said. He finished up by talking a bit about the overall philosophy behind the Protiviti Governance Portal 4.0. and what Protiviti was trying to accomplish in the market.

“I think the key to what we’re trying to do is really two-fold. Number one, we feel that different ways of communicating with business are critical to GRC, and we follow the motto of  ‘What gets tracked gets done,’ he said, adding that the second important point was about taking divergent input to form a central hub and consolidation to promote convergent GRC.

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Protiviti Governance Portal 4.0 is a major milestone in the development of GRC platforms, featuring a new user interface and new communication, collaboration and reporting capabilities that simplify GRC tasks and support business intelligence, data analysis and Big Data initiatives. The easy-to-deploy, easy-to-use online solution also supports extensive and flexible options, dubbed “Your GRC,” that enable business users to work in their own functional areas—including enterprise performance and risk management, compliance, internal audit, IT governance and others — while still collaborating on a centralized, enterprise-wide GRC effort. The flexibility, simplicity and reporting capabilities of the Governance Portal make it easier for forward-thinking organizations to execute on GRC strategy while supporting improved business performance.

Scott Wisniewski, managing director, Risk Technologies, Protiviti comments:

“The latest version of the Governance Portal changes the way GRC platforms are used,” he said. “To date, GRC systems have mostly been used as assurance tools. Effective GRC, though, is about proactively moving your business forward in an ethical manner. The Governance Portal 4.0 promotes communication and collaboration across the enterprise and enables individuals to rally around corporate strategies while fully understanding related strategies and tolerances. Recognizing the complexity of our customers’ businesses, the new version of the Governance Portal allows stakeholder groups to tailor their individual approach while still aggregating up to a holistic corporate picture. We are pleased to present to our customers a tool that is more than a good assurance tool; it is a platform that will help our customers manage business performance.”

Protiviti Governance Portal 4.0 provides out-of-the-box templates for common GRC functional areas, allowing clients to implement the system and achieve results quickly. New configuration options also enable the system to accommodate different stakeholder requirements while still allowing for the aggregation of results into a single, holistic GRC view.

Interactive dashboards, based on a published reporting model, allow clients to easily develop new reports without coding. The dashboards provide composite views of GRC information with the ability to drill-down into details. Ad hoc analysis can now be scheduled to allow lines of business to generate reports without impacting system performance.

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Jim DeLoach, a managing director with the global consulting firm Protiviti (www.protiviti.com), was named to the National Association of Corporate Directors’ (NACD) Directorship 100 list in the Governance Professionals and Institutions category. This annual list recognizes people who significantly influence leading practices in corporate board performance and oversight, including directors, corporate governance experts, journalists, regulators, academics and counselors.

With more than 35 years of professional experience, DeLoach helps companies integrate risk management with strategy-setting and performance management.

NACD Directorship 100 honorees are selected by a group that includes the previous year’s honorees, an advisory panel of judges, and NACD Directorship readers and staff. This year’s honorees will be recognized during a gala dinner at the sixth annual NACD Directorship 100 Forum on Nov. 27, in New York City. The full list of the 2012 NACD Directorship 100 honorees can be found at www.NACDonline.org/2012-D100-Honorees.

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Protiviti has teamed with Morrison & Foerster to add Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) rule maps and work plan guidance to the Protiviti Governance Portal for Regulatory Reform.

Based on content in Morrison & Foerster’s FrankNDodd database, the enriched content in the Governance Portal for Regulatory Reform provides organizations with a framework to map DFA rules across business lines and product areas, as well as detailed steps the organization must take to become compliant. The rules, updates, mapping and work plan guidance incorporated into the Governance Portal help to enable organizations to manage their compliance project efficiently while also giving them a tool to maintain compliance.

Scott Wisniewski, managing director, Risk Technologies, Protiviti commented:

“One of the key challenges our clients face is managing overlapping rules that affect various business lines, products, geographically dispersed legal entities, processes, policies, and IT systems,” he said. “Incorporating work plan guidance into our Governance Portal for Regulatory Reform helps our clients manage this complex effort while driving accountability across relevant stakeholders.”

Announced in July of 2011, Morrison & Foerster and Protiviti partnered to integrate Morrison & Foerster’s proprietary FrankNDodd database and tracking system into Protiviti’s Governance Portal for Regulatory Reform software, creating the only system that brings together compliance and governance technology with real-time Dodd-Frank Act-related rulemaking information and guidance.

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In a move that will meet the expanding needs of Protiviti’s client base and the growing market demand for IT security and privacy services, the firm obtained strategic assets and staff of the U.S. business of Arsenal Security Group, Inc. recently.

With the addition of Arsenal’s U.S. business team, Protiviti will provide expanded offerings in: incident response; security strategy; regulatory compliance; architecture, design and implementation services; and Payment Card Industry (PCI) consulting and remediation.

Arsenal’s current CEO Mark Lippman and President Michael Walter will become Protiviti managing directors. Lippman has more than 15 years of experience leading security organizations at IBM, Cybertrust and L3 (formerly SMA, Inc.) prior to starting Arsenal. He served as the managing principal for IBM Global Services’ Security & Privacy Practice leading a management team that served eight of the largest 10 financial institutions in the U.S. Lippman received his MBA at Wharton and is a certified Quality Security Assessor (QSA) for the PCI data security standards.

Joseph Tarantino, president and CEO of Protiviti commented:

“Protiviti has seen sizeable growth in our security and privacy practice over the past four years,” he said. “Arsenal Security Group fuels the growth of our expanding global IT Consulting practice by adding talent and client relationships.”

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BREAKING NEWS

Protiviti, in partnership with Morrison & Foerster, have announced the addition of Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) rule maps and work plan guidance today. As many companies struggle to distill the Dodd-Frank Act’s lengthy narrative and changing timelines into actionable steps, content in Morrison & Foerster’s FrankNDodd database enriched with the Protiviti Governance Portal for Regulatory Reform provide organizations with a framework to map DFA rules across business and product lines, to provide detailed information about how to become and remain compliant.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Scott Wisniewski, is animated when we talk to him on the phone about the approaching anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) and what that will mean for IT and business.

“IT will have to find a way to regulate the cascading effect of change,” the Managing

Director of Risk Technology Solutions for Protiviti told Big4.com by phone on Friday. He sounds confident when he describes what he calls the “daisy chain of impacts” that are still evolving from the implementation of the legislation. According to Wisniewski’s perspective from the IT standpoint, the transition is far from over as even in June there were still 70% of changes in the evolving DFA yet to be finalized.

IT shops will be wise to consider the impact of regulatory change on current priorities; soundness of their data design to support capital modeling as well as more stringent / timely reporting requirements; adequacy of their record retention capabilities; information security requirements; and maturity of their project management processes.  The keys are staying out in front of these changes and establishing infrastructure that can manage current requirements and those yet to be finalized.

Cloud Provider

“We are a cloud provider,” he told Big4.com. “We provide a platform for documenting and managing this effort.  But getting compliant with DFA is much more than a documentation exercise.  Entire business lines may be reorganized.  Product offerings may require restructuring or even be eliminated.  New policies need to be created and existing ones revised.  Processes are being reengineered.  And all of it is supported by IT in some shape or form, so there is a lot of work to do.”

His company is providing the solutions to back up his confident talk with the Dodd-Frank diagnostic tool that helps their clients stay on top of any of the new regulations that can pose challenges and notions on what IT can do to work with the new winds of evolution and change.

“For example, there are new data retention requirements,” he said. “It’s always been important to record data. Now there are new types of data to archive with requirements spanning multiple regulations.  It’s important to view these through a consolidated lens so that a uniform data retention standard can be employed that meets various obligations.”

Regulatory management tool

Currently the regulatory management tool provides information for institutions impacted by the DFA including banking, broker dealers, investment advisory as well as mortgage institutions and Wisniewski is quick to stay focused on the point that he feels central to any new changes. He speaks of the infrastructure Protiviti provides to make sure clients are able to manage sustained compliance as the DFA approaches its second anniversary and beyond.

“In a recent poll we did,” he told Big4.com, “50% of those polled indicated they do not have the appropriate tools in place to effectively and efficiently manage Dodd-Frank compliance.  As we approach DFA’s two-year anniversary, and a host of compliance dates become effective the latter half of this year, companies need to not only quickly come to terms with these changes, but also implement sustainable programs to avoid a do-over in subsequent years.”

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ACME Business Consulting helps organizations achieve specific and critically important business objectives. We are leaders – catalysts, augmenters and force multipliers. ACME teams are comprised of senior-level managers with Big 5 experience, advanced educations and past successes. In other words, it takes a lot to rattle us.

As an ACME Senior Manager, you will tap into your left and right brains. With your left you will bring real-world analytic skill, methodology and planning. From your right you will hone creativity, sensitivity and smarts as you navigate and lead business transformation projects. This position requires strong leadership skills, project management discipline and an understanding of the methods and tools used to achieve success.

http://www.big4.com/jobs/career/39633/Senior-Consultant-Oregon-Or-Portland

As an ACME Senior Consultant, you will be a critical player on large, complex projects. You will excel at bringing real-world analytic skill, methodology and planning to ACME-led engagements. You will be responsible for managing and delivering key components and deliverables on large projects and programs. This position requires strong analytical skills, project management discipline and an understanding of what it takes to be a successful member of a high performing team.

http://www.big4.com/jobs/career/39617/Senior-Manager-External-Reporting-California-Ca-Sunnyvale

Senior Manager, External Reporting Yahoo

Role: Manages and participates in the preparation of all external financial reporting – including earnings releases, annual report and other required SEC filings. Coordinates the information gathering process involving interactions with finance personnel across the organization and also interacts with the Company’s external auditors. Provides technical consulting support to financial management at the corporate and divisional level on the treatment of accounting issues, implementation of new accounting standards, compliance with U.S. GAAP, and SEC regulations. Monitors compliance with U.S. GAAP, SEC and PCAOB regulations in the context of financial reporting. Also, manages and participates in the monthly preparation of internal financial reports.

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Kenneth Guillame, Big4.com Staff Reporter  

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com), a global consulting firm, is pleased to announce that Shaheen Dil has joined the New York office as a managing director in the Risk and Compliance solution.

With 25 years of financial services experience in all aspects of risk management, both domestically and internationally, Dil will lead Protiviti’s Model Risk practice as well as capital management-related services.

Prior to joining Protiviti, Dil spent 15 years with PNC Financial Services Group, most recently serving as an executive vice president and Basel implementation leader.

Dil’s areas of expertise include Basel qualification and compliance; enterprise-wide risk governance and reporting; risk modeling and model validation; credit approvals; and credit portfolio management.

Dill has served on the board of directors of the Risk Management Association and was a founding board member of Concerts for Causes. Currently, Dil is a board member of the Safura Khatun High School for Girls in Bangladesh and Autumn House Press, a non-profit literary publisher.

Dill was also named one of 2011’s “Top Women in Retail and Finance” by Women of Color magazine.

Dil holds a doctorate degree in international relations and a master’s degree in political science from Princeton University; a master’s degree in international relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; and a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Vassar College.

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that helps companies solve problems in finance, technology, operations, governance, risk and internal audit. Through our network of more than 70 offices in over 20 countries, we have served more than 35 percent of FORTUNE® 1000 and Global 500 companies. We also work with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies.

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Kenneth Guillame, Big4.com Staff Reporter  

The Atlanta office of Protiviti Inc., is pleased to announce the addition of Keith Keller as a managing director in the Internal Audit and Financial Controls solution, and Earl Rousseau as a managing director in the Health Care and Life Sciences Industry practice.

Combined with his expertise in financial services, internal audit, enterprise risk management and Sarbanes-Oxley, and more than 15 years experience in the Atlanta marketplace, Keith Keller will lead Protiviti’s Internal Audit and Financial Controls solution in the Atlanta market.

Prior to joining Protiviti, Keller was a managing director serving as the national leader for risk management practices and investment operations evaluation at Duff & Phelps; a managing director and national leader for corporate governance advisory services and group leader for financial services at Huron Consulting Group; in addition to previously held leadership positions at Wachovia, Arthur Andersen and a Big Four firm during his 30 years of professional and financial services industry experience.

A resident of Atlanta, Kellar is a certified financial services auditor (CFSA), certified bank auditor (CBA) and a CPA, as well as a past member of the Board of Governors for The Institute of Internal Auditors, and serves as a trustee of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Georgia.

Also based in Atlanta, and with more than 27 years experience working as a business manager in the health care, managed care, technology and consulting industries, Earl Rousseau will serve as the managing director lead for Protiviti’s Payer practice in the firm’s Health Care and Life Sciences Industry Group.

Before joining Protiviti, Rousseau served as president of Matria Healthcare’s Health Enhancement Division, and held various senior partner leadership positions during his 20 year career with Accenture.

Rousseau’s areas of expertise include business strategy and operations; IT strategy, development and informatics; business turnarounds; program and project management; consumer healthcare initiatives; chronic condition management; and wellness.

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Kenneth Guillame, Big4.com Staff Reporter            

Protiviti “offers a unique perspective in the enterprise GRC market with its strong consulting background, delivering especially impressive technical capabilities in risk and control management and audit management,” according to  a new report from  Forrester.

There are other highlights from the released document:

“Protiviti offers a differentiating value to clients through its combination of risk management expertise and an increasingly competitive GRC platform. Protiviti will continue to build on its core audit, risk, and control management strengths while working on further integration with external and internal systems, including working with partners to deliver regulatory compliance content.”

“The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Governance, Risk, and Compliance Platforms, Q4 2011” (November 30, 2011) by Forrester Research, Inc paper also praises continues to innovate and develop new content-based offerings for its Governance Portal product, which is capable of addressing a variety of GRC requirements for customers. Protiviti offers a differentiating value to clients through its combination of risk management expertise and an increasingly competitive GRC platform.

Protiviti’s Governance Portal is a flexible technology solution that provides the visibility and oversight organizations need to manage enterprise and operational risks, optimize internal audit processes, monitor compliance risk, reduce the cost of financial controls management and improve IT governance.

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that helps companies solve problems in finance, technology, operations, governance, risk and internal audit. Through our network of more than 70 offices in over 20 countries, we have served more than 35 percent of FORTUNE® 1000 and Global 500 companies. We also work with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies.

The post Protiviti: Strong Performer in Enterprise Governance, Risk and Compliance Platforms Cited appeared first on Big4.com.

This week Big4.com brings you KPMG’s financial results on Strong Business Growth Leads To US$22.7 Billion In
Revenues, Ernst & Young’s report on Risk Amid Continued Uncertainty In 2012
For Life Insurers, PwC’s findings that Gaming Revenues To Reach US$182.8
Billion, Accenture’s report on Cities Missing Smart Opportunity To Measure
Hidden Value, Deloitte’s Proposed Reform To Family Justice System, and Ernst
& Young’s analysis of Growth Expected In India’s Media and Entertainment
Industry.

Each week
Big4.com covers key news, events, happenings, opinions and blogs relating to
all the Big Four accounting and consulting firms. You can view this video our
website and on Big4.com’s channel on Youtube. So, let’s start with this week’s
round-up of the top news!

KPMG: Strong Business Growth Leads To US$22.7 Billion In Revenues

KPMG recently announced member firm
combined revenues totaling $22.7 billion for the fiscal year ending September
30, 2011.  The company recorded strong
growth across all functions. Audit revenues rebounded to grow 5.8 percent in
U.S. dollars, or 1.8 percent in local currency terms, to US$10.48 billion
against strong competition in the marketplace and a difficult business
environment. Tax revenues grew 13 percent in U.S. dollars, or 8.5 percent in
local currency terms, to US$4.69 billion. Advisory revenues rose 14.8 percent
in U.S. dollars, and 11.2 percent in local currency terms, to $7.54 billion.

Ernst & Young’s Risk Amid Continued Uncertainty In 2012 For Life Insurers

According to Ernst & Young’s new Global
Insurance Center US Outlook, there are several issues US life and annuity
insurance companies will need to grapple with in 2012. Among these are low
interest rates that should persist until at least 2013, increasing the risk of
spread compression for existing products. Insurers may also be challenged by
future Congressional efforts to reform the federal tax code. Implications exist
here for both corporate-level taxes and policyholder tax issues.

However, life insurers can leverage web technology to develop stronger ties to customers amid these other concerns.

PwC’s Gaming Revenues To Reach US$182.8 Billion

The release of PwC’s new annual report
“Global Gaming Outlook: The casino and online gaming market to 2015″ has some
interesting findings including the fact that spending in the US will rise by
5.0 per cent from US$57.5 billion in 2010 to US$73.3 billion in 2015.

Future casino upgrades and a
new casino licence will enhance the South African casino market as well, but
compared with the prior decade—when a number of new casinos opened—there will be relatively little growth from new casinos during the forecast period.

Accenture: Cities Missing Smart Opportunity To Measure Hidden Value

A new report published by
The Climate Group, Accenture, Arup
and Horizon Digital Economy Research at The University of Nottingham states
that cities are missing the opportunity to turn unused data and infrastructure
into new low carbon solutions and services.

The report Information
Marketplaces: The new economics of cities, indicates that while cities are using
information and communications technology (ICT) to improve their sustainability
and efficiency, they are not recognizing or measuring the full value of smart
initiatives. The report suggests cities should start with a common set of
metrics that can be translated into financial and non-financial values.

Deloitte: Proposed Reform To Family Justice System

Building
on the recommendations set out by the Family Justice Review panel in November
2011, Deloitte has proposed a new
model of service integration in the family court service.

These recommendations include Data analytics being used to measure service
effectiveness and predict when outcomes for children or young people may be
compromised by the system, enabling the organisation to be accountable to local
children, young people and citizens and commissioned targeted services on
behalf of a region with alternative financing vehicles for funding implemented.
Ernst & Young: Growth Expected In India’s Media and Entertainment Industry

A new study by Ernst & Young shows that India’s
growing digital media consumption and favorable demographics are key drivers
for future growth in the country’s media and entertainment industry.

With registered revenues of US$16.3 billion in 2010,
the Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is expected to see
revenues in excess of US$25 billion over the next four years according to the
report, ‘Spotlight on India’s Entertainment Economy’. The report notes India’s increasing per capita income,
growing middle class and working population are generating huge domestic demand for leisure and entertainment.

The post Check out the latest Big Four video (Dec 2011-2) appeared first on Big4.com.

Protiviti has just released the results of its IT Auditing Benchmarking Survey — conducted every year. The survey focuses on how companies implement programs to protect their IT resources. The survey involves input from 500 professionals all over the world. Protiviti hopes its findings can help organizations develop more effective audits and improve security.

The results were concerning considering how much emphasis these companies place on IT services. A large number of companies never conducted any IT risk assessment. That figure includes 25% of companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion.

Another concern is the number of companies which have implemented audit plans cannot follow through with. Almost half of all companies say they cannot implement their audit plan due to budgetary constraints.

Bob Hirth, executive vice president with Protiviti, oversaw the survey and commented on the risks associated with developing new technologies. Hirth cautions, many companies are taking advantage of the opportunity to expand their operations using these technologies, but aren’t doing enough to address the risks. 

Protiviti also found that many organizations aren’t aware of the dangers present in an IT environment. Approximately 42% of all companies with annual revenues under $100 million don’t have an IT audit function.

Protiviti managing director David Brand warns that companies need to be thinking much more about implementing risk assessment models to keep their companies safe. “The increased use of and demand for technology and data compel companies to review how these technologies are being leveraged and the risks they are creating.”

The post Protiviti Finds Some Companies Not Doing Enough To Fight IT Risks appeared first on Big4.com.

By Kalen Smith, Big4.com Blogger

Companies are becoming increasing concerned over the use of social media in the workplace. According data collected by Webtitan, social media can cost companies an estimated $65,000 a year. This assumes that many employees are using social media up to 20 minutes a day.

This study’s findings were difficult to verify. However, a new study from Protiviti suggests the use of social media in the workplace may be more serious than originally thought. In their study, 51% of employees admitted to using social media at work.

This raises even more concerns for employers. According to this study, over half of the work force is getting paid to spend time on social networking sites instead of doing their jobs. However, it raises a number of other issues many companies don’t consider.

Social media can be a serious security threat. Potentially confidential information may be leaked. Viruses, Trojans and other malware may also be installed on company computers. Employees may also be targeted by online criminals attempting to defraud the company.

Companies must also be wary of their employees’ behavior on social networking sites. An employee may carelessly make a damaging statement that could have a devastating impact on the company. If that statement went viral, it could permanently damage the firm’s reputation.

Taken into consideration, all of these threats can easily cost companies much more than $65,000 a year. The Protiviti study highlights the need for companies to establish guidelines and policies for their employees. Many employees aren’t aware of their companies’ social media policy.

According to Debra Logan, VP and analyst at Gartner, the only companies that have social media policies are those required to have them. She says it is essential for companies to come up with a policy for social media. The policy involves setting terms for using social media, who will be responsible for enforcing them and the consequences for violating those terms.

Bradley Anstis is a VP of technical security at M86 Security. He says companies need to establish simple policies and make sure they are enforced.

The post Protiviti Study Highlights Need for Social Media Governance appeared first on Big4.com.

By Kalen Smith, Big4.com Blogger

Many employers have expressed concerns over the use of social networking in their organizations. Many businesses are going so far as to block access to social networking sites. Their concern isn’t just keeping employees on task, they also concerned about protecting privacy.

One of the major reasons companies are implementing changes is because of concerns raised by vendors. Vendors have released their reports highlighting their greatest security concerns. These reports listed social networking sites as one of the biggest threats to their business. The people in charge of company’s security programs have become aware of these concerns and many have blocked access to social networking sites.

However, it is not just vendors that are worried. Surprisingly, employees have also listed social networking sites as something that concerns them at work.

A study by Protiviti found that many UK employees feel social networking sites pose a real threat to corporate security. The study found that 17% of employees feel it can compromise the organization’s security.

Companies are struggling to come up with a solution. They face two major challenges. First of all, many people feel it is unfair to block access to social networking sites. Young adults feel that social networking sites are privileges that shouldn’t be easily revoked.

A bigger issue is that marketers and many other employees actually need to use social networking sites to do their work. Cutting off their access to social networking sites would lead to people being unable to perform their work.

The Protiviti study identifies a major concern. Both businesses and employees understand they are facing a new threat to their security. Unfortunately, none of them know how to respond to it. Companies are likely to implement new policies and safeguards restricting access to social networking sites. These actions are likely to create tension with marketers and researchers who are trying to leverage the sites to their advantage.

The post Protiviti Study Identifies Concerns Over Social Networking appeared first on Big4.com.