The goal of an Internal Audit project is to add value and improve an organization's operations. This goal is accomplished through the identification of control weaknesses, potential process improvements, and positive change opportunities. Audit workpapers facilitate this process by enabling auditors to document work performed from the planning stage to the final closing meeting. 

With the current financial crisis, the questions are starting again. Who was managing the risk? Where was the oversight? Could this crisis have been avoided if the risk was managed more proactively? Manage has a positive connotation, implying that someone is in control, as in "The mayor is managing the relief effort." Risk has a negative connotation, implying a lack of control, as in "An unattended pool puts lives at risk." Risk is everywhere and could be an opportunity or a threat.