ABSTRACT
Gantt Charts are a form of bar chart that shows the activities of a project's schedule. They show the activities that need to be performed on the vertical, and the duration of each activity on the horizontal. Gantt charts are created electronically using tools like Microsoft Project, Workzone, Sharepoint, Pentalogic, and Ganttpro, so internal auditors should familiarize themselves with the exact steps required to create the diagram. A common challenge when preparing Gantt Charts is defining the duration of an activity. When reviewing the Gantt Chart as part of project management activities, some software applications use a color-coding, shading, or numerical indicator to show the percentage of completion for each activity. Gantt Charts show activities/tasks, timelines, milestones, and can also show the Critical Path and activities with or without float. Internal auditors can use Gantt Charts to improve their project management efforts, identify dependencies, manage timelines and milestones, and assign tasks to minimize downtime.
