...Bodies……………………………………………………………………………...4 Literature review………………….…………………………………………………………….....4 Challenges that are experienced in achieving and maintaining accreditation…………………..…5 The role of the URAC as an Accreditation Body………………………………………………....5 How the URAC accredits healthcare institutions….........................................................................6 Quality assessment and control solutions in accreditation ……………………………………......8 Implementation of quality improvement and accreditation solutions…………………………......9 Justification…………………………………….…………………………………………………10 Summary and conclusion……………………….…...……………………………………………10 References ………………………………………………………………………………………..11 Achieving and Maintaining Accreditation in Managed Care Managed healthcare organizations and professionals encounter numerous challenges on a yearly basis in the course of offering services, whereas the state, stakeholders, and clients (patients) expect to be reassured that bodies that render managed healthcare services are well equipped to meet their demands. Accreditation is, therefore, a detailed evaluation process through which an independent professional body or authority assesses another organization’s systems, structures, and procedures to certify that it satisfies the set industry criteria and standards (Bialek, Duffy & Moran, 2009). The evaluation and accreditation processes that are conducted by bodies such as URAC help in maintaining the quality of care in organizations. Physicians...
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...ENGAGEMENT QUALITY REVIEW Introduction Engagement quality review, also known as concurring partner review or second partner review, is not a new practice and was first mandated in 1977, but it has most recently been required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for each registered public accounting firm to "provide a concurring or second partner review and approval of [each] audit report (and other related information), and concurring approval in its issuance...." It has been further clarified in the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Auditing Standard No. 7 (AS No. 7), that was approved by the SEC in January 2010. Early guidance on engagement quality reviews was vague, and the practice was not standardized from firm to firm. The practice involves a second partner to review the engagement and serves as an internal check for engagement quality for the audit firm. Varying degrees of partner qualifications, involvement, responsibilities, scope, and documentation requirements existed. The first section of this paper explores the evolution of this practice in the standards and the surrounding auditing profession climate leading to the new standard, AS No. 7, adopted in 2009 by the PCAOB. In the second section, various research findings are presented and discussed. Finally, we draw conclusions on the current need for engagement quality reviews in the auditing profession based on our research. Evolution Many firms instituted concurring partner reviews over a...
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...Chapter 2 The CPA Profession Review Questions The four major services that CPAs provide are: 1. Audit and assurance services Assurance services are independent professional services that improve the quality of information for decision makers. Assurance services include attestation services, which are any services in which the CPA firm issues a report that expresses a conclusion about the reliability of an assertion that is the responsibility of another party. The four categories of attestation services are audits of historical financial statements, attestation on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, reviews of historical financial statements, and other attestation services. Accounting and bookkeeping services Accounting services involve preparing the client's financial statements from the client's records. Bookkeeping services include the preparation of the client's journals and ledgers as well as financial statements. Tax services Tax services include preparation of corporate, individual, and estate returns as well as tax planning assistance. Management consulting services These services range from suggestions to improve the client's accounting system to computer installations. 2-1 2. 3. 4. 2-2 The major characteristics of CPA firms that permit them to fulfill their social function competently and independently are: 1. Organizational form A CPA firm exists as a separate entity to avoid an employer-employee relationship with its clients...
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...Table of Contents: Question 1A------------------------- Page 3 Question 1B----------------------- Page 5 What is Quality Audit? The principles of Quality Audit, in the sense we mean it here, are based on the style of quality standards used in several formal national and international standards such as the ISO-900x international quality standards. These standards do not in themselves create quality. The logic is as follows. Every organization should define comprehensive procedures by which their products or services can be delivered consistently to the desired level of quality. As was discussed in the section on Quality Management, maximum quality is rarely the desired objective since it can cost too much and take too long. The average product or service provides a sensible compromise between quality and cost. There is also a legitimate market for products that are low cost and low quality. Standards authorities do not seek to make that business judgment and enforce it upon businesses, except where certain minimum standards must be met (eg all cars must have seat belts that meet minimum safety standards, but there is no attempt to define how elegant or comfortable they are). The principle is that each organization should create thorough, controlled procedures for each of its processes. Those procedures should deliver the quality that is sought. The Quality Audit, therefore, only needs to ensure that procedures have been defined, controlled, communicated and used. Processes...
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...Engagement Quality Review In: Business and Management Engagement Quality Review ENGAGEMENT QUALITY REVIEW Introduction Engagement quality review, also known as concurring partner review or second partner review, is not a new practice and was first mandated in 1977, but it has most recently been required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for each registered public accounting firm to "provide a concurring or second partner review and approval of [each] audit report (and other related information), and concurring approval in its issuance...." It has been further clarified in the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Auditing Standard No. 7 (AS No. 7), that was approved by the SEC in January 2010. Early guidance on engagement quality reviews was vague, and the practice was not standardized from firm to firm. The practice involves a second partner to review the engagement and serves as an internal check for engagement quality for the audit firm. Varying degrees of partner qualifications, involvement, responsibilities, scope, and documentation requirements existed. The first section of this paper explores the evolution of this practice in the standards and the surrounding auditing profession climate leading to the new standard, AS No. 7, adopted in 2009 by the PCAOB. In the second section, various research findings are presented and discussed. Finally, we draw conclusions on the current need for engagement quality reviews in the auditing profession based...
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...Chapter 2 The CPA Profession ← Review Questions 2-1 The four major services that CPAs provide are: 1. Audit and assurance services Assurance services are independent professional services that improve the quality of information for decision makers. Assurance services include attestation services, which are any services in which the CPA firm issues a report that expresses a conclusion about the reliability of an assertion that is the responsibility of another party. The four categories of attestation services are audits of historical financial statements, attestation on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, reviews of historical financial statements, and other attestation services. 2. Accounting and bookkeeping services Accounting services involve preparing the client's financial statements from the client's records. Bookkeeping services include the preparation of the client's journals and ledgers as well as financial statements. 3. Tax services Tax services include preparation of corporate, individual, and estate returns as well as tax planning assistance. 4. Management consulting services These services range from suggestions to improve the client's accounting system to computer installations. 2-2 The major characteristics of CPA firms that permit them to fulfill their social function competently and independently are: 1. Organizational form A CPA firm exists as a separate entity to avoid...
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...CHAPTER 1 AUDITING AND THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING PROFESSION – INTEGRITY OF FINANCIAL REPORTING |LEARNING CHECK | 1. SEVERAL COMMON ATTRIBUTES OF ACTIVITIES DEFINED AS AUDITING ARE (A) SYSTEMATIC PROCESS, (B) OBJECTIVELY OBTAINING AND EVALUATING EVIDENCE, (C) ASSERTIONS ABOUT ECONOMIC ACTIONS AND EVENTS, (D) DEGREE OF CORRESPONDENCE, (E) ESTABLISHED CRITERIA, (F) COMMUNICATING THE RESULTS, AND (G) INTERESTED USERS. 2. A financial statement audit involves obtaining and evaluating evidence about an entity's financial statements for the purpose of expressing an opinion on whether the statements are presented fairly in conformity with established criteria--usually GAAP. Thus, the nature of the auditor's report is an opinion on the fairness of the financial statement presentation. A compliance audit involves obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine whether certain financial or operating activities of an entity conform to specified conditions, rules, or regulations. A report on a compliance audit takes the form of a summary of findings or assurance regarding degree of compliance. An operational audit involves obtaining and evaluating evidence about the efficiency and effectiveness of an entity's operating activities in relation to specified objectives. Reports on such audits include an assessment of efficiency and effectiveness and recommendations for improvements. 3. Independent auditors are individual practitioners or members of public...
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...Quality Management Systems Introduction An organisation will benefit from establishing an effective quality management system (QMS). The cornerstone of a quality organisation is the concept of the customer and supplier working together for their mutual benefit. For this to become effective, the customer-supplier interfaces must extend into, and outside of, the organisation, beyond the immediate customers and suppliers. A QMS can be defined as: “A set of co-ordinated activities to direct and control an organisation in order to continually improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its performance.” These activities interact and are affected by being in the system, so the isolation and study of each one in detail will not necessarily lead to an understanding of the system as a whole. The main thrust of a QMS is in defining the processes, which will result in the production of quality products and services, rather than in detecting defective products or services after they have been produced. The benefits of a QMS A fully documented QMS will ensure that two important requirements are met: • The customers’ requirements – confidence in the ability of the organisation to deliver the desired product and service consistently meeting their needs and expectations. • The organisation’s requirements – both internally and externally, and at an optimum cost with efficient use of the available resources – materials, human, technology and information. These requirements can only be truly met...
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...INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 9001 Fourth edition 2008-11-15 Quality management systems — Requirements Systèmes de management de la qualité — Exigences Reference number ISO 9001:2008(E) © ISO 2008 Provided by Pronorm AS for Det Norske Veritas AS (DNV) 2008-11-19. Reproduction is not allowed. ISO 9001:2008(E) PDF disclaimer This PDF file may contain embedded typefaces. In accordance with Adobe's licensing policy, this file may be printed or viewed but shall not be edited unless the typefaces which are embedded are licensed to and installed on the computer performing the editing. In downloading this file, parties accept therein the responsibility of not infringing Adobe's licensing policy. The ISO Central Secretariat accepts no liability in this area. Details of the software products used to create this PDF file can be found in the General Info relative to the file; the PDF-creation parameters were optimized for printing. Every care has been taken to ensure that the file is suitable for use by ISO member bodies. In the unlikely event that a problem relating to it is found, please inform the Central Secretariat at the address given below. COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT © ISO 2008 All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or ISO's member...
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...Chapter 16 – Software Quality Assurance Overview This chapter provides an introduction to software quality assurance. Software quality assurance (SQA) is the concern of every software engineer to reduce costs and improve product time-to-market. A Software Quality Assurance Plan is not merely another name for a test plan, though test plans are included in an SQA plan. SQA activities are performed on every software project. Use of metrics is an important part of developing a strategy to improve the quality of both software processes and work products. Software Quality Assurance • Umbrella activity applied throughout the software process • Planned and systematic pattern of actions required to ensure high quality in software • Responsibility of many stakeholders (software engineers, project managers, customers, salespeople, SQA group) SQA Questions • Does the software adequately meet its quality factors? • Has software development been conducted according to pre-established standards? • Have technical disciplines performed their SQA roles properly? Quality Assurance Elements • Standards – ensure that standards are adopted and follwed • Reviews and audits – audits are reviews performed by SQA personnel to ensure hat quality guidelines are followed for all software engineering work • Testing – ensure that testing id properly planned and conducted • Error/defect collection and analysis – collects and analyses error and defect data to better...
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...is a not for profit professional standard setting agency that was founded in 1951. It was formed to determine compliance with standards designed to ensure quality care to patients. The JCAHO early standard requirements reflected a minimal standard of care. Later it expected hospitals to strive for the highest quality standard of care. In the late 1980’s the JCAHO developed the indicator measurement system . These indicators focused on the outcomes of clinical care rather than standards of the hospital processes and departmental structures. In 1998 the JCAHO required hospitals to submit intra hospital outcome measures . The JCAHO reviews healthcare facilities, policies and procedures, training, competency and formulary. It reviews the pharmacy practice, drug use and records of a health care system. The JCAHO reviews for compliance and changes in regulations. It makes recommendations and can change or upgrade its standards for hospital, pharmacies or other health systems. It conducts these reviews every 3 years and may conduct random inspections if they get a complaint. In an attempt to change the perception of it’s reviews as a 3 year event, the JCAHO also conducts random reviews to ensure that standards are being met everyday and not just during scheduled reviews. The JCAHO reviews and accredits many health care organizations, but mostly home care organizations. JCAHO expects quality and will withdraw it’s accreditation if standards are not met. Healthcare organizations...
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...ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization. ISO 9000 The ISO 9000 family addresses various aspects of quality management and contains some of ISO’s best known standards. The standards provide guidance and tools for companies and organizations who want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customer’s requirements, and that quality is consistently improved. Standards in the ISO 9000 family include: * ISO 9001:2008 - sets out the requirements of a quality management system * ISO 9000:2005 - covers the basic concepts and language * ISO 9004:2009 - focuses on how to make a quality management system more efficient and effective * ISO 19011:2011 - sets out guidance on internal and external audits of quality management systems. ISO 14000 The ISO 14000 series of standards was developed by ISO Technical Committee (TC) 207 for guidance in environmental management systems...
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...Workstation Infrastructure Project includes the planning, design, development, testing, and transition of the Santo Domingo’s Information Technology Workstation Infrastructure software package. This software will meet or exceed organizational software standards and additional requirements established in the project charter. The scope of this project also includes completion of all documentation, manuals, and training aids to be used in conjunction with the software. Project completion will occur when the software and documentation package has been successfully executed and transitioned to Santo Domingo’s client Critical Networking group for troubleshooting, care, and overall maintenance and upgrades for life of the contract. All Infrastructure project work will be performed internally and no portion of this project will be outsourced. The scope of this project does not include any changes in requirements to standard operating systems to run the software, software updates or revisions. Milestone List The below chart lists the major milestones for the Santo Domingo Pueblo Computer Workstation Infrastructure Project. This chart is comprised only of major project milestones such as completion of a project phase or gate review. There may be smaller milestones which are not included on this chart but are included in the project schedule and WBS. If there are any scheduling delays which may impact a milestone or delivery date, the project manager must be notified immediately...
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...Oversight Board Bylaws and Rules – Standards – AS3 AUDITING STANDARD No. 3 – Audit Documentation June 9, 2004 AUDITING AND RELATED PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE STANDARDS Auditing Standard No. 3 – Audit Documentation [Effective pursuant to SEC Release No. 34-50253; File No. PCAOB-2004-05, August 25, 2004] 302 As of February 15, 2005 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Bylaws and Rules – Standards – AS3 Auditing and Related Professional Practice Standards Auditing Standard No. 3, Audit Documentation [supersedes SAS No. 96, Audit Documentation] Introduction 1. This standard establishes general requirements for documentation the auditor should prepare and retain in connection with engagements conducted pursuant to the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB"). Such engagements include an audit of financial statements, an audit of internal control over financial reporting, and a review of interim financial information. This standard does not replace specific documentation requirements of other standards of the PCAOB. Objectives of Audit Documentation 2. Audit documentation is the written record of the basis for the auditor's conclusions that provides the support for the auditor's representations, whether those representations are contained in the auditor's report or otherwise. Audit documentation also facilitates the planning, performance, and supervision of the engagement, and is the basis for the review of the quality of the work because it provides...
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...conducts reviews to provide accreditation to facilities based on compliance with federal and state rules and regulations as well as the accrediting body’s standards. The Accreditations Audit Case Study on Nightingale Community Hospital, NCH, for this task is based on documentation reviewed and pre-survey data collection thirteen months prior to the next Joint Commission review. This discussion provides an executive summary and current compliance status for one priority focus area for NCH as well as Plan of Correction and Justification for the needed actions. JC standards outline priority focus areas in the areas of Assessment and Care/Services, Quality Improvement Expertise/Activities, Communication, Infection Control and Patient Safety. For the purpose of this discussion, the Primary Focus Area of Communication will be discussed as it pertains to NCH. The JC Standards identify communication as the process for information exchange between organizations, departments, or individuals. This includes provider and staff communication, staff-to-patient communication, patient and family education, collaboration of services, multidisciplinary team work, and information dissemination. In preparation for the JC accreditation review, NCH reviewed the JC Communication standards pulled from UP.01.01.01; UP.01.02.01; and UP.01.03.01 and compared against the NCH policy and operations as well as data collected through the General Safety Report. 1. UP.01.01.01 is the JC standard outlining...
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