Biography

Sarah Swanson
Instructor, editor, writer
Experience: 20 years in audit and technology firms
Education: Brigham Young University, BA English (emphasis in Technical Writing & Literature)
Professional organizations: The IIA, STC, CEB, ADR
Sarah's philosophy
By the time I joined Hewlett Packard's Internal Audit support team, I had already clocked almost 10 years in the technology industry as a technical and marketing writer. Armed with a diverse writing background, I tackled audit report design and the skill of effective issue writing.
While auditors may be excellent CPAs, they might not all be writers. So I give auditors a formula that helps them write an audit issue in less than 10 minutes. When teams consistently follow the formula, they can significantly reduce a lengthy report release stage (some have reported releasing the report within a couple days of ending fieldwork!). Since those first years at HP, I've helped many companies improve their audit report writing and process. Auditors become confident in their newfound writing skills, managers spend less time editing, and reports are released days to weeks sooner than ever before.
A few past and current clients include Corporate Executive Board, Audit Directors Roundtable, The IIA, Hewlett Packard, Lockheed Martin, International Development Bank, Cardinal Health, Cisco, PTC, Wells Fargo, and numerous financial, insurance, healthcare, and government companies.
Instructor, editor, writer
Experience: 20 years in audit and technology firms
Education: Brigham Young University, BA English (emphasis in Technical Writing & Literature)
Professional organizations: The IIA, STC, CEB, ADR
Sarah's philosophy
By the time I joined Hewlett Packard's Internal Audit support team, I had already clocked almost 10 years in the technology industry as a technical and marketing writer. Armed with a diverse writing background, I tackled audit report design and the skill of effective issue writing.
While auditors may be excellent CPAs, they might not all be writers. So I give auditors a formula that helps them write an audit issue in less than 10 minutes. When teams consistently follow the formula, they can significantly reduce a lengthy report release stage (some have reported releasing the report within a couple days of ending fieldwork!). Since those first years at HP, I've helped many companies improve their audit report writing and process. Auditors become confident in their newfound writing skills, managers spend less time editing, and reports are released days to weeks sooner than ever before.
A few past and current clients include Corporate Executive Board, Audit Directors Roundtable, The IIA, Hewlett Packard, Lockheed Martin, International Development Bank, Cardinal Health, Cisco, PTC, Wells Fargo, and numerous financial, insurance, healthcare, and government companies.