Intellectual Property: Auditing the Process

An organization should periodically audit intellectual property in order to help ensure that its rights are captured, preserved, safeguarded, and properly valued. When performing an audit of the intellectual property process the audit department must ensure that the staff performing the audit is qualified to do so. Additionally, the purpose of the audit should be well articulated prior to embarking on the effort. The purpose of this book is to provide a guide for auditors to perform an audit of intellectual property. The book is broken down into ten parts, as follows: Introduction Types of Intellectual Property The Audit Staff The Purpose of the Audit The Scope of the Audit The Preliminary Review Flowcharting the Process Control Testing Substantive Testing Reporting Auditing intellectual property is a worthwhile endeavor. The audit can be performed within a reasonable time and provide potential cost savings to the organization.