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Cybersecurity training, Security Training, Soft Skills training, PCAOB Auditing Standards, Accounting Standards, CPE events, internal audit training, internal control training, fraud prevention and detection
The AccountWare Group
The Accountware Group works with Corporate Compliance Seminars (CCS) to created CPE training events and courses. These CPE events focus on internal audit training, internal control training, PCAOB Auditing Standards, Accounting Standards, cybersecurity program events and information technology training events.
CCS offers over 200 "Online Instructor-Led" webinar and in-person training courses. In 2026, CCS is offering in-person courses in selected cities. CCS can present any of the events and other training onsite at your office or via a private live webinar.
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Being an Audit Leader in the AI Era: The Leadership Skills Every Chief Audit Executive Must Develop
In-Person Leadership Academy • Dulles, Virginia • September 2–4, 2026 The Best Audit Leaders of the Next Decade Won't Simply Manage Audits—They Will Lead AI-Powered Audit Functions Internal Audit is experiencing the most significant transformation since computerized auditing replaced paper workpapers. Artificial Intelligence is changing: Risk assessment Audit planning Process walkthroughs Data analytics Fraud detection Internal control testing Audit reporting Audit Committee
John Blackshire
1 hour ago5 min read
Why Every Internal Audit Leader Must Embrace Artificial Intelligence Before Their Audit Function Falls Behind
AI Will Not Replace Internal Auditors. But Internal Auditors Who Don't Use AI May Be Replaced by Those Who Do. For decades, Internal Audit has continuously evolved. The profession moved from paper workpapers to electronic workpapers. From manual sampling to data analytics. From compliance auditing to risk-based auditing. From transaction testing to continuous auditing. Today, the profession stands at another transformational moment. Artificial Intelligence (AI). The question
John Blackshire
2 hours ago6 min read
TUSD Is on Arizona’s Financial Watch List: Stakeholders Must Demand Action Before the District Loses Control of Its Future
A Financial Warning Is Only Useful When Leadership Responds to It Tucson Unified School District is not facing an abstract financial concern. The District has been identified as one of Arizona’s higher-risk school districts under the Arizona Auditor General’s financial-risk analysis. The reported warning indicators include declining weighted student count, shrinking operating and capital budget capacity, pressure on the General Fund, and the use of capital resources to suppor
John Blackshire
4 hours ago11 min read
Leading Change: Step One—Create a Sense of Urgency
Organizational Change Begins When People Believe Staying the Same Is More Dangerous Than Moving Forward Organizations rarely fail to recognize that change is needed. Leaders see declining performance, outdated technology, customer dissatisfaction, control failures, employee turnover, increasing costs, regulatory pressure, new competitors, and emerging risks. They hold meetings. They prepare presentations. They appoint committees. They announce initiatives. Then very little ch
John Blackshire
4 hours ago14 min read
How Memphis City Schools Went “Out of Business”: The Political, Financial, and Governance Decisions That Ended a 140-Year School District
Memphis City Schools Did Not Go Bankrupt. Its Governing Board Voted to Eliminate the District. Memphis City Schools did not close because it filed for bankruptcy, ran out of cash, or became legally unable to educate students. It went “out of business” because its own Board of Education surrendered the district’s charter, Memphis voters approved the transfer of responsibility, and the school system was ultimately absorbed into Shelby County Schools. That distinction matters. T
John Blackshire
2 days ago19 min read
Snakes in Suits and Internal Auditing: How Auditors Should Respond to Manipulation, Deception, and Destructive Leadership
Internal Auditors Audit Systems—But People Can Defeat the Best-Designed Systems Internal auditors are trained to evaluate: Governance Risk management Internal controls Compliance Fraud risk Operational performance Most audit methodologies assume that people generally act within the organization’s established structure. Management sets objectives, employees perform controls, supervisors monitor results, and governance bodies receive reliable information. That assumption does n
John Blackshire
2 days ago17 min read
Internal Auditing 101: How New Auditors Can Communicate Better, Get to the Facts, and Overcome Competence Gaps
The New Auditor’s Biggest Challenges Are Not Usually the Audit Checklist New internal auditors are frequently trained first on procedures: How to complete a workpaper How to select a sample How to document a walkthrough How to test an approval How to write an exception Those procedures matter. But they are rarely the hardest part of becoming an effective auditor. The new auditor’s most difficult challenges are usually more fundamental: Communicating effectively with audit cli
John Blackshire
2 days ago13 min read
COSO vs. the GAO Green Book: Which Internal Control Framework Should Your Organization Use?
They Share the Same Architecture, but They Serve Different Governance Environments Organizations often speak about COSO and the GAO Green Book as though they are competing internal control frameworks. That is not an accurate way to view them. The two frameworks share the same fundamental internal control architecture: Five components of internal control Seventeen principles Objectives involving operations, reporting, and compliance An entity-wide approach to designing, implem
John Blackshire
3 days ago13 min read
What the PCAOB Has Been Telling Auditors About Audit Sampling: Five Years of Inspection Lessons
Audit sampling has been a fundamental part of auditing for decades, but recent Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection reports demonstrate that sampling itself is rarely the root problem. Instead, PCAOB inspectors have repeatedly found that audit firms often fail to design, execute, document, and evaluate sampling procedures in a manner that produces sufficient appropriate audit evidence. In many inspections, sampling deficiencies were symptoms of broader
John Blackshire
3 days ago5 min read
In-Person Training vs. Webinars: Which Format Produces Greater Knowledge Gain?
The Honest Answer: The Delivery Method Matters Less Than the Instructional Design The pandemic forced professional training providers to replace conference rooms with Zoom rooms almost overnight. Many organizations initially viewed webinars as a temporary substitute for “real” classroom instruction. In-person training was assumed to be more engaging, more credible, and more effective. Online learning was often treated as a lower-cost alternative that sacrificed educational qu
John Blackshire
3 days ago9 min read
SOC Reports Under Pressure: The Control and Assurance Problems Organizations Have Faced During the Past Five Years
Obtaining a SOC Report Is Not the Same as Managing Third-Party Risk During the past five years, organizations have become substantially more dependent on cloud providers, software platforms, payroll processors, data centers, claims administrators, payment processors, managed security providers, and other service organizations. Obtaining a SOC Report Is Not the Same as Managing Third-Party Risk During the past five years, organizations have become substantially more dependent
John Blackshire
3 days ago24 min read
Internal Auditor Basic Training: How the CCS Program Differs from IIA and Other Entry-Level Audit Courses
New Auditors Need More Than an Introduction to the Profession Most internal audit training programs begin with the same essential subjects: What Internal Audit is The role of professional standards Risk assessment Engagement planning Internal controls Audit evidence Workpapers Reporting Those subjects are necessary. A new auditor cannot perform credible work without understanding the professional foundation. The real difference among basic training programs is not whether the
John Blackshire
3 days ago12 min read
Model Audit Rule Compliance Problems: What Insurance Companies Keep Getting Wrong
The NAIC Model Audit Rule Is Not Merely an Annual Filing Exercise Insurance companies frequently approach the NAIC Model Audit Rule as a year-end compliance requirement. Management prepares the annual audited financial statements. The external audit firm completes its work. Required reports are submitted to the state insurance department. The organization then turns its attention to the next regulatory deadline. That approach misses the primary purpose of the regulation. The
John Blackshire
3 days ago11 min read
Student Achievement at Tucson Unified School District: The Measure That Matters Most
Every school district has a mission statement. Every school district has a strategic plan. Every school district has a budget. But ultimately, there is one question taxpayers, parents, and governing boards should ask: Are students learning? Student achievement is the single most important measure of whether a public school district is fulfilling its mission. Student Achievement Is the Ultimate Internal Control Auditors often evaluate financial controls, procurement controls,
John Blackshire
7 days ago3 min read
The Internal Auditor Is Not the Process Expert—And That's Exactly the Point
Why Great Auditors Compare Business Processes to Standards Instead of Becoming Management One of the biggest misconceptions in internal auditing is that the auditor should become an expert in every business process they audit. Many new auditors believe they must know as much about payroll as the Payroll Manager, as much about procurement as the Purchasing Director, or as much about cybersecurity as the Chief Information Security Officer. That is neither realistic nor desirabl
John Blackshire
7 days ago5 min read
Why Internal Auditors Should Stop Writing Recommendations
One of the most common mistakes made by internal auditors is also one of the easiest to overlook. After completing months of planning, fieldwork, testing, interviews, and report writing, the auditor arrives at the final page of the report and writes... "Management should..." The report then proceeds to tell management exactly what controls to implement, what procedures to write, what approvals to require, and sometimes even what software to purchase. Although well intentioned
John Blackshire
7 days ago4 min read
The Eleven Secret Sauces of Business Process Maturity
Why Some Organizations Build World-Class Internal Controls While Others Simply Check the Box Every organization has business processes. Every organization has policies. Most organizations have internal controls. Yet only a handful operate at what could be called a mature level. Why? The answer isn't found in another policy manual or another audit checklist. Mature organizations combine several disciplines that work together to create a culture where quality, accountability, a
John Blackshire
7 days ago4 min read
Deming's 14 Points: The Foundation of Modern Quality Management and Internal Controls
When organizations discuss quality management today, conversations often revolve around Lean, Six Sigma, ISO 9001, COSO, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), or the GAO Green Book. Yet many of the principles behind these frameworks originated with one remarkable statistician: Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Deming's 14 Points for Management, introduced in his landmark 1982 book Out of the Crisis, transformed manufacturing, reshaped global competition, and continue to influence governance
John Blackshire
7 days ago4 min read
The 2025 GAO Green Book Has Arrived: The Biggest Internal Control Update in More Than a Decade
For more than a decade, federal agencies, state and local governments, government contractors, and nonprofit organizations have relied on the GAO Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, commonly known as the Green Book, as the foundation for building effective internal control systems. In May 2025, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released the first major revision since 2014. The updated Green Book became effective beginning with Fiscal Year 2
John Blackshire
7 days ago3 min read
The Usual Suspects: Who Commits Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Public School Districts?
When the public hears about fraud in a school district, the first reaction is often, "How could this happen?" The second question is usually, "Who did it?" Contrary to popular belief, the answer is rarely an outside hacker or a sophisticated criminal organization. Most school district fraud is occupational fraud—fraud committed by trusted employees who understand the district's financial systems and know where internal controls are weakest. The objective of fraud prevention i
John Blackshire
Jul 273 min read
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479-200-4373
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