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1.07.

2013

Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies


PROJECT REPORT ON CORPORATE INTERNSHIP AT ETA ASCON STAR GROUP

BY:

KAREN WILFRED ROLL NO. 3084 PRN-11020621119


CLASS TY B BATCH 2011-2014

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
Working with ETA Ascon during my corporate internship was a golden opportunity for learning and self development. I consider myself very lucky and honoured to have worked with so many wonderful people who lead me through in the completion of this project. My grateful thanks to Mr. Sanjeev Uppal, Executive Director of The Internal Auditing Division, who inspite his busy schedule, took time out to hear, guide, supervise, assist me with all my queries as well as keep me on the correct part during my months internship. I do not know where O would have been without him. Mr. Atul Khanna, Divisional General Manager monitored my progress and arranged all the facilities to make my time at ETA to be an enriching experience. I would like to thank Mrs. Anupama Suresh Rawat, Director of SCMS(UG) for her efforts and help provided to give me this excellent opportunity and learning experience which has definitely helped me understand the corporate world and will help me later on as I become a part of this environment. Last but not the least there are so many who shared valuable information that helped in the successful completion of this project.

Table of Contents
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. OVERVIEW (STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS) ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE COMPANY ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AUDIT CHARTER & ROLE OF INTERNAL AUDITING SCOPE OF WORK AND LIMITATION SOURCES OF FUNDS AUDIT ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN AS AN INTERN JOURNEY AT ETA ASCON IAD

ABOUT ETA STAR GROUP


ETA ASCON Group is primarily a Contracting firm in the U.A.E. with expertise ranging from Civil Construction to Electro Mechanical, Elevator Engineering and Facilities Management. The firm has numerous landmarks in the Emirates that stand as a testimony to the firms engineering capabilities. The company is a part of Al Ghurair Group of Companies, who are the most revered and leading business house in the United Arab Emirates. Established in 1973, the company employs more than 72,000 people in 23 countries and has annual sales of more than US$6.5 billion. The ETA Star Group organization encompasses 140 entities and associate offices, with involvement in a number of industries including automobiles, building maintenance, consumer electronics, construction, contracting, engineering, information technology, shipping and transportation. Its the world largest trading company. The Company has undertaken a number of residential projects for major groups; to name a few, Juma Al Majid, Al Futtaim, Sultan Al Owais etc. The Dubai Business Center Opposite to Burjuman, The Deira City Centre Hotel, The Sea Shell Inn hotel apartments in Bur Dubai are a few of the projects which ASCON has constructed. As a group ETA has been involved in almost every major project in the Emirates, including projects like Jumeirah Beach Hotel, The Emmar Towers in Dubai Marina, The Twin Towers, Villas in the Emmar Hills etc. Beside Dubai, the Company has also developed high value properties in India and Sri Lanka and has delivered more than 2500 Units and developed an area of over 5 Million sq. ft.

ETA ASCON has enumerable divisions in every sector related to the construction industry like Joinery and Interiors, Low Voltage Switchgear Panels, Elevators, Structural Steel fabrication, Composite Aluminum Cladding, Facility Management, Janitorial and Cleaning services, etc. These wide ranges of capabilities provide ETA ASCON the turnkey expertise to deliver a project from the drawing board to completion. ETA ASCON over the years has been involved in several commercial and residential projects in Dubai, where the Company owns premium Real Estates. In all, the company aims to bring in its in-house expertise in the construction business gained over the last 30 years to the advantage of its customers and deliver value for money. ETA STAR Property Developers is a part of ETA ASCON conglomerate, which started with a vision to become a major player in the arena of Property Development. ETA STAR offers a whole gamut of services connected with property development.

ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY ETA STAR GROUP


INDUSTRY VERTICALS

ENGINEERING ETA Melco Elevators Mechanical & Electrical- MNE Power Projects Eta Star International L.L.C CONSTRUCTION Ascon Ascon- Marble & Granite EMCO Ascon Roads REAL ESTATE ETA Star Property Dubai Lifestyle City TRADING Zenith Oil Derivatives Western Auto Bulk Commodities Trading OTHER BUSINESSES Giordano Fashions Cars Taxi Star Schools Computerized Auto Repairs ETA Consultancy Star Steel International Ajman National Travel Agency Star Portal

About
Name of organization executive Director eta Managing director Chairman Executive director of internal audit division Founded on Number of employees turnover Location
ETA Ascon Star Group Mr. Sadaq Jalal Mr. Syed M. Salahuddin Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair
Mr. Sanjeev Uppal 1973 Over 72,000 employees Over US 6.5 billion ETA Star House Building Salahuddin Deira, 5239 UAE Street Dubai

Telephone Email

(+97150) 4754046
sanjeevu@etaascon.com

Mission Our Mission is to facilitate the line staff to Plan, Organize and execute all their operations without jeopardizing the Health and Safety of Employees and without any damage or harm to the Environment, by adopting the best practices in the industry and to the complete satisfaction of the customers and stake holders. Vision Quality is our single minded pursuit in the application of new technologies. In our wide ranging diversity, we innovate continuously as we strive to provide complete satisfaction to our customers and shareholders.

Audit Division- Organization Structure

Audit Charter & Role


The Board of Directors of ETA ASCON Group (hereinafter referred to as the Company or ETA conjunction with the Managing Director (MD) of the Company have established an independent Internal Audit Division (IAD) to be led and managed by the Director of Internal Auditor. The Management of the Company is committed to sound corporate governance and supports internal audit as a separate independent function to examine and evaluate the companys activities and operations as a service to management, the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors. Internal audit acts as an independent appraisal function by examining and evaluating the adequacy and effectiveness of the companys system of internal control, risk management and performance. The role of Audit is to provide independent assurance on the adequacy and effectiveness of controls and processes designed to mitigate risks and accomplish the Organizations objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes. In addition, the Division provides an in-house consulting service designed to add-value and improve the quality of the Organizations operational controls. Audit employs a systematic, professional approach and utilizes latest techniques to evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management and control processes and to recommend improvements where necessary. The primary focus is on strengthening the risk control framework and Audit is an active partner to all business and support groups.

Audit has adopted a risk based audit approach for conducting Audits to provide an appropriate risk focus on audit activities and to make optimum use of its resources. An audit plan is drawn up based on risk profiling of auditable units and established frequency linked to risk assessment. Outcome of audits is shared with the MD and Senior Management after making the findings and rating available to the auditee.

Scope of Work & Limitation


In light of its objectives, the IADs scope of work shall be to: Furnish the Companys Management with findings, analysis, observations, recommendations, counsel, and information concerning activities that are audited. Extend the coverage of its activities to all areas of the Company including strategic, operational, financial and regulatory processes and initiatives. Conduct as and when necessary, special investigations related to fraud and irregularities. Conduct leading practice reviews and assess performance against established standards. Provide special advice related to risks and controls on specific Projects and initiatives.

Report opportunities for improving management control, profitability, and the Companys image to the appropriate level of management. Matters specifically excluded from the IADs scope of work include: Performing routine activities in connection with the Companys operating processes Authorizing, executing or completing transactions or otherwise exercising authority on behalf of the Companys Management. Preparing source documents of transactions. Directing the activities of any Company employee not employed by the IAD, except to the extent that such employees have been appropriately assigned to auditing Teams or to otherwise assist the internal auditors. The extent and frequency of internal audits will depend upon varying circumstances such as results of previous audits, industry practices and trends, assessment of business risks faced by the Company, materiality, adequacy of the system of internal control, and resources available to the IAD.

Sources of Funds
A team of professional chartered accountants in the groups corporate finance, accounts, banking and internal audit division monitors computerized and integrated accounting systems. The division advises various divisions in effective fund management, accounts finalization, banking and financing. It provides continuous and vital management information. Internal Audit provides effective control throughout the organization without hindering decision-making. The Groups accounting systems comply with the requirements of internationally reputed audit firms. The divisions continuous efforts result in the Group enjoying high rating in banking and corporate circles

Audit Roles and Responsibilities


Director of Audit: Reports to the Audit Committee of the Board and to the Managing Director (MD) of ETA ASCON on all aspects related to Audit and control activities. The Director is responsible for overseeing the Audit activities and is ultimately accountable for quality of the Audit deliverables and ensuring follow up of audit results.

Assistant General Manager/Audit Manager/:Accountable for managing the overall effectiveness of the Audit Process and ensuring thatthis meets the protocols as set out in this document, the Audit Charterand any other requirements as deemed appropriate. Also, responsible for ensuring that each Audit engagement meets the Audit objectives and that the Audit team conducts the Audit activities in line with the protocols as set out in this document, the Audit Charter, the Audit Manual and any other requirements as deemed appropriate.

Auditor-In-Charge: Conducts the audit activities as outlined, the Audit Charterand any other requirements as deemed appropriate.

Activities undertaken during the internship


Detailed Experience on the Job An insight into working with ETA Ascon Internal Auditing Division

I was given the opportunity to work as an intern with ETA Ascon Internal Auditing Division under the guidance of Mr. Sanjeev Uppal the Director of Internal Auditing for duration of one month. I spend 8 hours and more every day in understanding the workings of this department. Atul Khanna the Divisional General Manager of internal auditing division had introduced himself to me. He was assigned by Mr. Sanjeev Director of internal auditing, my boss to give me a brief orientation. I had explained the course I am currently pursuing and the purpose and duration of this internship. He had the shown me the amenities of the building after which he introduced me to the staff that was present. He then explained the organization structure and more importantly the structure of the internal auditing division; the team comprised of 25 members and but it was explained to me that everyone interacts with each other and the flow of communication is very flexible. He took me into his cabin and asked me what my knowledge of the company was. After I explained what I had learnt about the company he was pretty impressed and went in detail as to what the company deals with, what all departments are present, a brief on what internal auditing is all about and how it impacts ETA Ascon Star Group.

Mr. Sanjeev had then called me into his office and had given me a very warm welcome and asked me about my area of interest and what I expected from this internship. He had given me an introduction about ETA Ascon and what exactly is internal auditing, what is the role of internal auditing to a company and what this department does in contributing to the companys success. After a very interactive session and inspired to learn more what this division does I was sent back to Mr. Atul where he continued with my orientation. After the orientation, Atul printed out 3 reports to analyse and see how varied and how challenging and interesting this job is. I was very impressed with the clarity of the report and how precise it was even though I was not aware of the activities. I was then sent to Mr. Ashutosh Kapadia. An employee who had just joined six months prior and he shared his knowledge and experience with me. We had a very interactive talk; as to how he has understood the entire system and really appreciated how my boss has created and has implemented a brilliant system of checks and controls. He explained to my why internal auditing was particularly important is this part of the world and more importantly this company. He had taken me through all the stages which are the process of planning stage, execution stages till the last part which is the reporting stage. I was then taken for lunch to the 9th floor which has a canteen mess leased out to a restaurant. After lunch I was then introduced to Mr. Prashant who then explained his understanding of internal auditing and the role he plays in this department.

The following day Prashant and I had continued where we had left off the previous day. I had been given a laptop and an ETA id where mails or any assignment pertaining to any work would be sent to me. Atul sent me a copy of the manual which had an in depth detail as to all there was to know about internal auditing and the controls in place and some that have been proposed and soon were going to be implemented. The manual gave me an insight and very extensive knowledge of the entire system which included the following: Extensive training and on the job experience to provide a clear understanding of the following key areas of Internal Audit, Risk Management and Corporate Governance Audit structure and its relationship to the Board of Directors and Executive Management, with the objective of maintaining independence and objectivity Audit Roles & Responsibilities Auditing Techniques and Methodology Risk Assessment and Analysis- theory and its application in practice; mechanism for assessment, monitoring and evaluation, covering a spectrum of different risks and mitigating controls Risk Based Auditing Approach- a system which has been implemented as compared to other auditing firms. While learning and getting well versed with the manual. I was given tasks such as analyzing the manual and checking for any changes to be made or if any step could be improvised or if anything needed to be removed simultaneously I was given the task of creating spread sheets as well as a summary of certain auditing documents.

The office administrator Mr. Rabbani, who does scrap dealing as well, is handled solely by him. I was given the job of being the witness and asked to compile and make a list of all the quotations for a particular type of scrap. Mr. Sanjeev had called me the next day and asked me to give him a feedback on what all I had learnt and I had asked him a lot of question pertaining to how the companys financial situation was and how recession had affected this company to what degree, which industries were the most affected and how internal auditing tried to reduce its impact. Seeing that I took a lot of interest despite being there only for a few days, I had been given my first major task. I had to prepare a presentation for Mr. Sanjeev which would really help him when he was to give a presentation about a system he wanted to introduce and had to convince the board of directors who would give the final approval. I was also given certain odd jobs such as scanning supporting documents for Mr. Mehul Soni and photocopying very important invoices pertaining to a certain audit being conducted by him. The same day I was asked to sign a confidentiality contract with ETA. To the best of my ability I had completed working on the presentation which would be reviewed during the weekend. I was even asked to sign a labour contract. During the weekend I did a little studying on certain key aspects. Mr. Arunachalam the technical engineer had assigned a task of creating a summary of some important transactions which was reviewed by Atul. He following day I had an interactive session with Mr. Sanjeev about the benefits of working with internal auditing and had

offered me some career advice as to how I show aptitude for such a field. I had been given my next assignment which was to work with Mr. Vishal Jadav. Auditing requires a lot of in depth research and I assisted him in carrying out the tasks of finding and reading through a specific industry which ETA had an intension on entering into and diversifying into this field. I had got a very positive response after completing the task and was really appreciated for my work. During the research he would come to see my progress and we had a very intense discussion and I really got very involved with my project. This helped me gain insight into a very important sector. Then I was assigned to my first practical assignment with Mr. Nedlloyd DSouza and Mr. Muralikrishnan in auditing TNS Trading and shipment of Limestone and Fertilizers to gain some hands on experience and practical implementation of what I had learnt in theory. Mr. Nedlloyd the AIC (Auditor-in-charge) had sent me documents pertaining to the process of limestone and fertilizers- the division we would be auditing. The same day I was given my first task; I was asked to compile and make a list of debtors which would be helpful in my later assignments and would simplify the teams work and be easy when we wanted accounts department to provide us with certain documents.

I had worked on various aspects of auditing some of which includes: o Compilation of the entire vendors lists. o General Ledger review and expenses analysis which included maintain a standing general ledger data, analyzing if there are any suspense and clearance accounts, examining intercompany transactions and seeing if there are any observations to be raised which is to discussed for risks and comments were given as to how there risks could be controlled and what were certain remedies to control it so as reduce its negative impacts. I had interacted a lot with the accounts department who would provide me with documents which supported transactions and would find out the entire process and if there were any loop holes in the already existent system. I learnt how SAP is used and how it simplifies accounting process. The entire department was called in for a training session which was held in the HRD building. Mr. Rabbani, Jailani the office boy and I joined the team later on for lunch. Meanwhile Mr. Rabbani asked me to check on a presentation he had to present and was asked to address certain issues to be discussed with the entire team. I was invited for lunch buffet at Caravan restaurant. The remaining days went in auditing various aspects in the provided audit program and generate work paper raising issues and providing conclusions which would then be reviewed by my AIC, Mr. Nedlloyd for approval or if any amendments needed to be made. I also worked in close tandem with the accounts department

for supplying a list of necessary document which highlighted key risk areas and subsequently substantiating them with proofs; for example invoices. I was asked to analyze the variances of market prices as compared to the selling prices. By using a guide for fixing prices. After completion of my work, I used to review myself and check what I learnt in theory and how it was in practice. Mr. Muralikrishnan answered all my queries who kept giving my updates as to what was happening in the audit and if we were going as per the audit program. He was of great assistance. He had also given me a process walkthrough of the limestone. A new intern had joined the IAD team Miss Vanshika. I went and introduced myself and just gave a brief to what I did, who I was working with, what type of work I had to do. I kept a journal which helped me keep a record of the date, duration I worked for as well as the work I had done on that day for future reference. This help me keep track of all the work to be done during the day, any research work or studying I had to do after returning home as well any pending work which needed to be completed the next day. Mails related to work would be sent on my email id and for larger documents the work would be copied onto my pen drive. The work completed by me was reviewed by my AIC and had been appended to the final report generated for the respective audit report on the last day at work.

MY JOURNEY AT ETA ASCON

THE INTERNAL AUDITING DIVISION

MY OFFICE

TRADING AND SHIPPING AUDIT TEAM (TNS) WITH MR. MURALIKRISHNAN AND MR. NEDLLOYD DSOUZA

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