12/30/2023 0 Comments Examples of positive audit findingsThis has at least 2 effects: it gives top management a more objective view, and the internal audit committee members are therefore seen as professional a reliable team in order to monitor the overall performance, and not as an enemy in the family, bearer only of bad news and ready to find and escalate problems.įurthermore, and this is where probably the positive findings have their greatest power and benefit, including positive findings in the audit report shall be a tool for continual improvement, especially in a corporate context. In addition, and as part of reporting the audit results to top management members for their review and possible decisions, it is also critical that the management receives information of what good is being done in the organization. To the extent that a communication should be in an easily digestible form, and only has value if what the author means is completely and accurately understood as intended by the recipient of the communication, the above may enhance that the all the findings are well understood from the auditees. In considering how an audit report is perceived from the auditees, we will take into consideration that the auditees are likely to be more eager to attend the presentation of the audit results, which could take a quite long time, if they fill that the audit team is there not only to point the fingers at problems and non-conformities, but also to recognize the right merits and give them visibility within the organization. In fact, an audit team that will treat equally the importance of communicating all types of observations, will be perceived as a committee that makes an objective analysis of the audited processes, observing all the aspects with the same glasses, without focusing more on the problems than on the positive performance and good practices. Furthermore, and obviously this is the aim of this article, we must recognize the same dignity in all types of findings, including positive ones. And, in the event we are not faced with a deviation from a requirement, or at least we don't have evidence of that, opportunity for improvement and observations can be communicated in order to provide a possible improvement in the management system of the audited business unit of the company.Īll of the above gives importance and a well-defined scope to these types of audit results. The non-conformities are at least regulated by standards and great, due attention is paid to them. The literature on negative findings is indeed quite large and well developed. However, in many cases this is limited to the sandwich method, where the role of positive conclusions is largely related to being pillows to mitigate the impact of negative findings, with the typical sequence: good, bad, good. It is not uncommon to see methods, presentations and attend trainings or courses which actually suggest that you have positive feedback when communicating the audit results. In fact, the auditors should not only mention the problems A, B and C mentioned in the beginning of this article, but also say ‘It has been observed that process Y is very well conducted. An audit report may or may not include them, but a constructively engaged audit team will probably want to include these good observation as well. In view of the above, the audit may also lead to a number of good conclusions on the assurance and performance of the processes, which in fact represent positive findings. We can therefore say that negative findings are themselves exceptions on the assurance, but great importance should be given to the compliance. The purpose of an internal audit is to conduct an independent assessment of the effectiveness of the quality management system and overall performance of the organization, primarily looking for compliance, rather than looking for non-conformities. Nobody, either individually or collectively, in a company wants to hear that their processes have deficiencies or non-conformities in place. In fact, while communicating the audit results, along with the conclusions, there will be emotions. Despite the diligence and professionalism with which auditors present themselves, despite the serene and cooperative atmosphere that they may establish, and despite having repeatedly clarified that the audit represents an aid for growth in the perspective of improvement, they will always be victims of the impression they give when the findings are communicated and, even more, of their content. Indeed, this is one of the reasons for which it is understandable why auditors can be viewed with little sympathy. It is quite typical that during an audit process, auditors communicate negative findings to auditees therefore the audit report will probably say: 'It has been observed the process X and, based on information and evidence, problems A, B and C have been found', where A, B and C are the findings.
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