Here’s what you’re looking for: William Englehaupt

AUDIT & ASSURANCE

The Post-Audit Debrief Most Teams Get Wrong

 

Why most debriefs fail to change the next audit—and how to turn them into real design inputs

By William Englehaupt

As one audit cycle closes and the next begins, most teams go through some form of debrief. In theory, this is where learning happens, where teams step back, reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and carry those insights forward.

In practice, it rarely works that way.

Debriefs are often rushed or treated as closure rather than input. The questions are familiar—what went well, what didn’t—but the discussion stays at the surface. Late nights, difficult clients, tight deadlines. The symptoms are easy to identify. The underlying causes are not. READ MORE →

SPECIAL

Tactical Empathy and the Auditor’s Greatest Leverage Point

What a former FBI hostage negotiator can teach us about audit conversations that actually move things forward

By William Englehaupt

By the time an auditor walks into a difficult conversation—a pushback on a finding, a tense remediation discussion, a stakeholder who has “been through this before”—most of the outcome has already been shaped by what happened in the first few minutes of listening.

Or the failure to listen.

MORE Productivity | MORE Audit and Assurance

Chris Voss spent decades negotiating hostage releases for the FBI. His book, Never Split the Difference, distills that experience into a single governing idea: the fastest way to move any high-stakes conversation forward is to make the other person feel genuinely heard. He calls it tactical empathy—understanding the other person’s perspective well enough that they stop defending their position and start engaging with yours.

READ MORE →

AUDIT & ASSURANCE

The Post-Audit Debrief Most Teams Get Wrong

Here’s why most debriefs fail to change the next audit—and how to turn them into real design inputs.

By William Englehaupt

As one audit cycle closes and the next begins, most teams go through some form of debrief. In theory, this is where learning happens, where teams step back, reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and carry those insights forward.

In practice, it rarely works that way.

Debriefs are often rushed or treated as closure rather than input. The questions are familiar—what went well, what didn’t—but the discussion stays at the surface. Late nights, difficult clients, tight deadlines. The symptoms are easy to identify. The underlying causes are not. READ MORE →

AUDIT & ASSURANCE

What Happens Before Fieldwork Determines What Happens Under Pressure

Why audit outcomes are set earlier than most teams think—and how to design for a cleaner execution

By William Englehaupt

By the time audit work is under pressure, most of the outcome has already been determined.

Deadlines tighten. Review queues build. Questions surface late. Client pressure magnifies. Teams respond the only way they can: by working longer, moving faster, and relying on experience to close the gap.

It feels like execution is the problem. In reality, execution is where earlier decisions show up.

READ MORE →

AUDIT & ASSURANCE

Why Most Audit Plans Repeat Last Year’s Problems

 

 

Here’s why planning often reinforces existing constraints—and how to design for a different outcome.

By William Englehaupt

As one audit cycle closes and the next begins, firms invest significant effort into planning: updating timelines, assigning resources, and aligning on key milestones. On the surface, the process appears structured and deliberate. But beneath that structure, a quieter pattern persists.

Most audit teams believe they are planning for the future. In reality, they are often replaying the past. This is what many would label as SALY, “same as last year.”

As a Prussian general once observed, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” In auditing, that “enemy” is reality: uneven client data, evolving judgment, and the rework that becomes visible once work begins. Most plans are not corrections; they are continuations.

READ MORE →