Five Steps of a Successful Audit

The functionality of any system is best assessed through systems audit. These functional audits can be classified as;

1. Internal Audit Services which are done internally by a team of competent individuals (auditors) with high level of knowledge about the company’s management systems and compliance status. These can be done periodically and more frequently as per company’s management system.
2. External audits. Unlike the internal audits, external audits (both second party and third party) are done less frequently but have a deeper insight and are extensive basing of the scope to be audited. The competence of the audit team is crucial in bringing out the significance of the audit and achieving the intended goals of the audit.

A successful audit should run on the PDCA cycle with the planning stage very crucial for the audit program. The audit programme should include information and identify resources to enable the audits to be conducted effectively and efficiently within the specified time frames. The information should include:

a) Objectives for the audit programme

b) Risks and opportunities and the actions to address them

c) Scope of the audit

d) Schedule (number/duration/frequency) of the audits

e) Audit types, such as internal or external

f) Audit criteria

g) Audit methods to be employed

h) Criteria for selecting audit team members

i) Relevant documented information.

The entire audit process can be broken down into 5 key phases that guarantee success.

1. Preparation stage.

The audit preparation stage is very important for both the auditors and the team to be audited. For cases where the upcoming audit is not the first, the auditor will review prior audits in your area and professional architecture. The auditor will also research applicable policies and statutes and prepare a basic audit program to follow. This will be proceeded by a Notification sent to the appropriate company, department or discipline regarding the upcoming audit and its purpose, at which time an opening meeting will be scheduled. The purpose of the opening meeting is to clearly explain the objectives of the audit program and make adjustments that best serve the objectives of the audit. The opening meeting should be attended by management and focal people who are to participate in the audit program.

• Field work

This step includes testing and reviews, as well as interviews with appropriate department personnel. This is the actual groundwork of the audit program.

• Preparing and distribution of the audit report

After the fieldwork is completed, a contemporary draft report is made. This report will have the objective and scope of the audit, relevant background, and the findings and recommendations for correction or improvement. This report will be published shortly after the audit. Usually within 48 hours.

The management of the audited area will then review and respond to the recommendations. Management responses should include their action plan for correction.

• Closure meeting

This meeting is held with department management. The audit report and management responses will be reviewed and discussed. This is the time for questions and clarifications. Results of other audit procedures not discussed in the final report will be communicated at this meeting. In this meeting, the lead auditor will communicate the dates for distributing the final report.

• Audit follow-up

A follow up Audit is conducted approximately six months after the audit report is issued. This is to check the progress of the implementation of the action plan.