Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Part 2: Practice of Internal Auditing — Question 227

Which of the following tools or techniques is most appropriate to help an auditor identify the most commonly occurring problem in a given environment?

Answer options

• A. Histogram.
• B. Pareto analysis.
• C. Run chart.
• D. Scatter diagram.

Correct answer: A

Explanation

A Histogram is specifically designed to display the frequency distribution of data points, making it ideal for identifying common problems. While Pareto analysis also looks at frequency, it focuses on the significance of issues rather than just their occurrence. Run charts and scatter diagrams are useful for tracking trends and relationships, but they do not directly highlight the most common problems.