Auditing Enterprise Resource Planning ERP Systems Training Course

Summary

The Auditing Enterprise Resource Planning ERP Systems Training Course is designed for organisations that depend on integrated enterprise platforms to manage finance, procurement, sales, inventory, human resources, operations, reporting, and other critical business processes. As ERP environments increasingly become central to organisational governance and decision-making, effective auditing of ERP systems requires a structured approach that considers technology controls, business process controls, access governance, data integrity, configuration, interfaces, and operational risks.

This corporate training course provides a comprehensive framework for reviewing ERP environments from an internal audit, risk management, compliance, and control assurance perspective. Participants will develop the capability to examine whether ERP systems are configured and operated in a manner that supports reliable financial information, effective business processes, appropriate segregation of duties, secure access, and dependable management reporting.

The programme addresses the practical requirements associated with auditing ERP systems across complex corporate environments. It considers how auditors can establish audit objectives, define scope, identify critical controls, assess risks, gather appropriate evidence, evaluate exceptions, and communicate findings to management. The course also addresses system access review, user privileges, privileged accounts, role design, segregation of duties, change management, master data, automated controls, interfaces, system-generated reports, and audit trails.

A significant component of the programme focuses on SAP/Oracle controls testing. These platforms are widely used across large organisations, and their complex configurations require auditors to understand both technology-related controls and the business processes operating within the ERP environment. The course provides a structured perspective for reviewing application controls, access controls, configuration controls, automated workflows, interfaces, and relevant supporting processes.

The programme also examines integrated module audits, recognising that ERP systems connect multiple business functions rather than operating as isolated applications. Transactions may move between procurement, inventory, finance, sales, projects, human resources, and other modules. Auditors therefore need to understand how weaknesses in one area can affect controls and information elsewhere in the system.

Delivered by the Geneva Institute of Business Management, the course supports corporate audit teams, internal auditors, compliance professionals, risk specialists, IT auditors, financial control teams, and managers responsible for ERP governance. It is aligned with the professional requirements of modern organisations seeking stronger control assurance across technology-enabled business operations.

The course is part of the Review and Audit Training Courses category and focuses on applying audit methodologies to enterprise systems, automated processes, integrated data environments, and technology-dependent controls.

Objectives

The Auditing Enterprise Resource Planning ERP Systems Training Course aims to strengthen organisational capability in evaluating ERP-related risks and controls. By completing the programme, participants will be able to:

Establish an ERP Audit Framework

Develop a structured approach for planning and executing ERP audits based on organisational risk, system criticality, regulatory requirements, business processes, and control objectives. Participants will understand how to define audit scope and identify the ERP components that require detailed examination.

Assess ERP Governance and Control Structures

Evaluate governance arrangements surrounding ERP systems, including ownership, accountability, policies, control responsibilities, system administration, risk management, and oversight. The objective is to determine whether ERP governance supports effective internal control and operational accountability.

Perform System Access Review

Examine user access, security roles, privileged accounts, approval structures, inactive accounts, excessive privileges, and segregation of duties. Participants will understand how to identify access risks that could enable unauthorised transactions, inappropriate changes, or conflicts between incompatible responsibilities.

Conduct SAP and Oracle Controls Testing

Develop practical approaches for SAP/Oracle controls testing covering application controls, access management, configuration, automated workflows, transaction processing, change management, and system-generated information. The objective is to provide auditors with a consistent methodology for assessing controls within major ERP environments.

Evaluate Integrated Business Processes

Assess how ERP modules interact across business functions and identify control dependencies between processes. Participants will examine integrated module audits involving finance, procurement, sales, inventory, human resources, projects, and other operational areas.

Examine Data Integrity and Reliability

Review controls designed to protect the accuracy, completeness, consistency, and reliability of ERP data. Participants will consider master data, transaction data, interfaces, automated calculations, reconciliations, system reports, and data validation mechanisms.

Review ERP Change Management

Assess controls governing system changes, configuration changes, customisations, patches, upgrades, and emergency modifications. The course focuses on determining whether changes are properly authorised, tested, documented, approved, and migrated into production environments.

Strengthen Audit Evidence and Documentation

Improve the quality of ERP audit evidence by identifying relevant system records, access reports, transaction logs, configuration information, workflow evidence, exception reports, and supporting documentation. Participants will develop a disciplined approach to documenting audit procedures and conclusions.

Identify Control Weaknesses and ERP Risks

Recognise risks associated with inappropriate access, weak segregation of duties, inadequate change controls, unreliable interfaces, poor master data management, ineffective automated controls, and insufficient monitoring.

Improve ERP Audit Reporting

Develop clear and business-focused audit findings that communicate control deficiencies, risk implications, root causes, and appropriate management actions. The objective is to help management understand how ERP control weaknesses can affect financial reporting, operational performance, compliance, and business continuity.

Target Audience

The Auditing Enterprise Resource Planning ERP Systems Training Course is intended for professionals responsible for evaluating, managing, monitoring, or improving ERP-related controls within corporate and institutional environments.

Internal Auditors

Internal audit professionals can use the programme to strengthen their approach to ERP risk assessment, audit planning, control testing, evidence collection, and reporting. The course is particularly relevant to auditors responsible for technology-enabled business processes.

IT Auditors

IT auditors can develop a broader understanding of application controls, ERP configurations, access governance, system interfaces, change management, and technology-related risks affecting enterprise operations.

Risk and Compliance Professionals

Risk managers and compliance specialists can use the course to assess how ERP controls support organisational policies, regulatory requirements, governance frameworks, and risk management objectives.

Finance and Internal Control Teams

Financial controllers, accounting professionals, and internal control specialists can benefit from understanding how ERP configurations and automated controls affect transaction processing, financial information, reconciliations, reporting, and financial governance.

ERP Managers and System Administrators

ERP managers and system administrators can gain an audit-focused perspective on access management, configuration, change controls, system security, data integrity, and operational governance.

IT Governance and Security Professionals

Professionals responsible for technology governance, information security, user administration, and control assurance can strengthen their ability to identify and address ERP-related control risks.

Audit Managers and Department Heads

Audit leaders and managers can use the programme to improve ERP audit planning, resource allocation, control evaluation, audit supervision, and communication with senior management.

Professionals Supporting ERP Implementations

Project managers, consultants, business process owners, and professionals involved in ERP implementations, upgrades, or transformation initiatives can benefit from understanding the control requirements that should be considered throughout the ERP lifecycle.

Modules

Module 1: ERP Audit Fundamentals and Risk Landscape

This module establishes the foundation for auditing ERP systems within complex organisational environments. It examines the role of ERP platforms in business operations and explains why integrated systems require coordinated audit approaches.

Key areas include ERP architecture, business process integration, audit objectives, ERP risk categories, control environments, system dependencies, audit scope, risk-based planning, and critical business processes.

Participants will examine how ERP risks can affect financial information, operational processes, compliance, reporting, data security, and business continuity.

Module 2: ERP Governance, Risk and Internal Control Frameworks

This module focuses on the governance structures surrounding enterprise systems. It examines system ownership, accountability, policies, procedures, control responsibilities, risk assessment, monitoring, and management oversight.

The module also considers how auditors can map business objectives to ERP risks and corresponding controls. Emphasis is placed on identifying critical control points and establishing an audit universe for ERP-related activities.

Module 3: ERP Access Controls and System Access Review

System access is a critical component of ERP control assurance. This module provides a structured approach to conducting a system access review across users, roles, privileges, and administrative accounts.

Topics include user provisioning, user termination, role assignments, privileged access, access approvals, password-related controls, inactive users, role conflicts, segregation of duties, emergency access, and periodic access certification.

Participants will examine how access-related exceptions should be investigated and documented and how inappropriate privileges can create opportunities for unauthorised transactions or unauthorised changes.

Module 4: SAP and Oracle Controls Testing

This module focuses specifically on SAP/Oracle controls testing and the audit considerations associated with large-scale ERP platforms.

Participants will examine application controls, configuration controls, automated approvals, transaction validation, role-based access, workflow controls, audit trails, system parameters, interfaces, and change management.

The module also considers how auditors can design control tests that provide meaningful evidence rather than relying solely on system configuration or management representations.

Module 5: Integrated Module Audits

ERP systems connect multiple business functions, making integrated module audits essential for identifying cross-functional risks.

This module examines relationships between finance, procurement, accounts payable, sales, inventory, human resources, projects, assets, and other operational modules. Participants will consider how transactions move across modules and how control failures in one process can influence another.

The module also addresses reconciliations between modules, interface controls, automated postings, workflow dependencies, and end-to-end transaction testing.

Module 6: ERP Master Data and Data Integrity Controls

Master data influences the quality of ERP transactions and reports. This module examines controls over vendors, customers, employees, materials, accounts, pricing information, banking information, and other critical master data.

Participants will assess authorisation, validation, duplicate records, data changes, approval workflows, periodic reviews, and monitoring controls.

The module also addresses completeness, accuracy, consistency, and reliability of ERP data and the audit evidence required to support conclusions.

Module 7: Automated Controls and Transaction Processing

This module addresses automated controls embedded within ERP applications. It considers automated approvals, validation rules, tolerance limits, workflow controls, system calculations, posting restrictions, exception handling, and automated reconciliations.

Participants will learn how to identify key automated controls and determine appropriate procedures for testing whether those controls operate as intended.

Module 8: ERP Change Management and Configuration Controls

ERP environments frequently undergo configuration changes, upgrades, patches, customisation, and process modifications. This module examines controls designed to manage those changes.

Topics include change requests, approval processes, testing, segregation of development and production responsibilities, emergency changes, migration controls, documentation, version management, and post-implementation review.

The audit focus is on determining whether system changes are authorised, appropriately tested, traceable, and aligned with business requirements.

Module 9: ERP Interfaces, Reports and Audit Trails

ERP platforms often exchange information with external applications, databases, payment systems, reporting tools, and other corporate technologies. This module examines interface controls and risks associated with data transfers.

Participants will review interface completeness, accuracy, error handling, reconciliation, monitoring, system-generated reports, audit trails, logs, and exception information.

The module also addresses the reliability of ERP reports used as audit evidence and management information.

Module 10: ERP Financial and Operational Controls

This module brings together financial and operational control considerations across major ERP processes.

Areas include procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, inventory management, fixed assets, payroll-related processes, expense management, general ledger processing, budgeting, reporting, and reconciliations.

Participants will assess how ERP controls support transaction accuracy, authorisation, completeness, segregation of duties, financial reporting, and operational accountability.

Module 11: ERP Audit Testing, Evidence and Documentation

This module focuses on practical audit execution. Participants will examine risk and control matrices, walkthroughs, sampling approaches, system evidence, configuration evidence, transaction testing, exception analysis, and audit documentation.

The programme emphasises maintaining an evidence trail that clearly connects identified risks, control objectives, audit procedures, findings, and conclusions.

Module 12: ERP Audit Findings, Reporting and Follow-Up

The final module focuses on communicating ERP audit results to management and relevant stakeholders.

Participants will examine how to structure findings around the condition, risk, root cause, impact, and agreed management action. The module also addresses prioritisation of corrective actions, remediation tracking, management responses, follow-up reviews, and continuous control improvement.

The focus remains on producing concise, evidence-based reporting that enables management to understand ERP control weaknesses and take appropriate corrective action.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Auditing Enterprise Resource Planning ERP Systems Training Course?

It is a corporate training programme focused on evaluating ERP governance, access controls, application controls, data integrity, automated controls, interfaces, change management, and integrated business processes from an audit perspective.

2. Who should attend this ERP auditing course?

The course is suitable for internal auditors, IT auditors, risk and compliance professionals, finance and internal control teams, ERP managers, system administrators, IT governance professionals, audit managers, and professionals involved in ERP implementation or transformation projects.

3. Does the course cover SAP and Oracle controls testing?

Yes. The programme includes a dedicated module on SAP/Oracle controls testing covering application controls, access management, configuration, automated workflows, transaction processing, audit trails, interfaces, and change management.

4. What does system access review involve?

A system access review examines user accounts, roles, privileges, privileged access, segregation of duties, access approvals, inactive accounts, user termination, and periodic access certification to identify inappropriate or excessive access.

5. Why are integrated module audits important in ERP environments?

Integrated module audits help auditors evaluate how connected business processes operate across an ERP environment. They can identify control dependencies and risks involving finance, procurement, sales, inventory, human resources, projects, and other interconnected functions.