Data analytics for auditors
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8 December 2025 9:00am to 9 December 2025 5:00pm
Ready to bring data analytics into your audit work? This course will provide auditors with practical knowledge and skills for embedding data analytics into their audit work.
This newly updated course is designed for internal audit teams ready to move beyond the theory and start using data analytics with confidence. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to embed analytics deeper into your audit process, this course delivers practical skills and real-world techniques you can apply immediately.
You’ll also get access to 2x Analytics Surgeries—live coaching calls where you can bring real challenges and get advice as you start applying what you’ve learned.
Spots are limited to keep the course interactive so book early to secure your place.
Course overview
This course is ideal for internal audit, fraud, risk, and compliance professionals—whether you’re new to analytics or have started using it and want to go further.
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:
- Understand why data analytics is critical for modern audit teams, and where and how to embed it into your audit planning and execution
- Speak the language of data with greater confidence—internally within the team and with organisational stakeholders
- Identify and overcome the common roadblocks to analytics adoption
- Recognise which stakeholders and team roles are key to your success
- Learn the right tools, functions, and steps to extract, clean, analyse, and visualise data
- Document analytics and outputs effectively in your working papers
- Define an analytics audit from your audit plan
- This isn’t a passive theory session—you’ll walk away ready to take action.
- A working knowledge of Excel – Using functions and writing equations; creating and using Pivot tables, LookUps and IF functions.
- A laptop with Excel 2016 or later (including Office 365)
- Energy and curiosity—we’ll supply the rest, including real datasets to work on.
• The case for data analytics in internal audit
• Common barriers—and how to overcome them
• The 3 pillars of analytics success
• What makes a good audit analytics team?
• Key data concepts and terminology for auditors
• Identifying and accessing data sources (including alternative datasets)
• The data analytics lifecycle—cleaning, preparing, analysing
• Exploratory data analysis—spotting outliers and exceptions
• Planning, testing, and reporting in a data-enabled audit process
• Documenting your data work
• Plenty of hands-on Excel activities to embed learning fast.
- Performance (engagement fieldwork)
- Environment (information technology)
- Leadership and Communication (communication)
Presented by: Neil Macdonald
In collaboration with:
Neil brings 20+ years’ experience in audit and data analytics, with a reputation for making complex topics accessible, engaging, and directly relevant to internal audit.