Supercharge Your Internal Audits!
Internal Auditing has been around since before dirt. Some organizations really do a great job and find improvements – this earns a return the investment. Others do it to make the Registrar happy and could do without the grief. This approach ends up costing them money and is a drain on resources.
To supercharge your Internal audits, here are a few ideas:
Look for ‘Improvements’
Instead of just check to see of everyone is following their procedures, ask if the procedure is giving them the results that they’re looking for. Find out if the risks in their area are being managed. Improve the process with them to get better outcomes. Are they getting the right inputs? Do they have the right equipment? Instructions clear?
Layered Process Audits Can Help
By choosing daily audits of key activities with team leaders and co-ordinators, weekly audits with engineers and junior managers and monthly audits with middle management, you’ll have your thumb on the pulse. This approach can also help evert nasty surprises!
Do Some Supplier Audits
Give the ‘remote audit’ a test drive if you’d like more information about your suppliers but don’t want to travel or interrupt them. Use your contract as the audit criteria and find out how well equipped they are to serve you. How’s their Continuity Plan looking?
IRCA – Next Generation Auditing
This paper came out in 2014 as the new Standards were hitting the street, but the information in here is dynamite. Here’s a link: IRCA Next Generation Auditing
Three things that popped out for me are:
- Auditors will have to be comfortable in the Boardroom
- Top Management involvement to create a culture of quality
- Focus on the results of the process you’re auditing and related risks
These are not the only ways to supercharge your audits, but they might me a good start!
Join us on April 27th, 2020 at 12:00 noon EDT for a FREE WEBINAR on Enhanced Internal Auditing. Sign up here by clicking on the course offering – it’s free!: 