Data Analytics for Auditing: Examining Cash Expenditures and Internal Controls

Overview
Data visualizations are a powerful tool used by auditors to perform risk assessments. Data is analyzed to look for anomalies. Typically, auditors import data from an Excel spreadsheet to produce the visualizations. For this activity we will use a Tableau screenshot of data visualization. To save time and focus on the analysis of data for auditing purposes, you will analyze data from the visualization rather than create actual data visualizations.
Directions
Open the screenshot of the Data Visualization provided in the Supporting Materials section below. The file will display data from an Excel spreadsheet, which has been transformed into a data visualization using Tableau software. Use the screenshot along with the Module Two Data Analytics Cash Data Set Excel spreadsheet in the Supporting Materials section to answer questions for each criterion.
Specifically, you must address the following:
Examine expenditures to look for anomalies.
Which day in March shows the largest amount of expenditure for the bank account ending in 4190?
Examine transactions to identify transaction types.
What type of transactions are paid through the bank account ending in 3176?
Examine the interactive capability to analyze transaction amounts.
What is the transaction amount for the commission occurred on March 4?
Examine cash internal control to analyze internal controls for cash expenditures.
When looking at the bank account ending in 3176, what is the largest daily expenditure in March 2019?
Why do you think the expenditure is significantly larger compared to those on other days in March?
Review auditing procedures to analyze weekend transactions. Hint: Use the Data Analytics Calendar in the Supporting Materials section to help you analyze the weekend transactions.
What transactions do you observe over the weekends based on the total amount shown in the visualization or bank accounts ending in 4190?
What might larger or smaller total amounts for the weekends indicate?
What to Submit
A completed Module Two Data Analytics Activity Template using Microsoft Word.
Supporting Materials
The following resources support your work on the assignment:
Module Two Data Analytics Cash Data Set (Excel file)
Module Two Data Visualization Screenshot (Word file)
Module Two Data Analytics Calendar