What is an Audit?
An audit typically involves the independent assessment of the effectiveness of a business’ processes.
The employees of an organisation can also complete an audit internally if they have access to the resources and knowledge required to do so and are not auditing their own processes.
Conducting an audit assists your organisation in improving current operations, increasing compliance with management systems and identifying potential opportunities. By completing an audit, you are also able to provide various stakeholders with assurance that your processes satisfy a certain quality and standard.
Audits are systematic and multi-dimensional, examining business operations across all organisational levels and avenues. Any valuable information discovered will be applied accordingly and leveraged to better future practices.
Does your Australian Business need to be audited?
Regardless of your business size, industry or type conducting a thorough audit of organisational processes can prove to be an excellent investment.
ISO certification mandates internal audits due to the immense value they can offer businesses.
Regular skilled audits provide insights which help you significantly boost the effectiveness and efficiency of current operations, reduce rework and continually improve your operations and management systems.
Auditing requirements and outcomes will vary depending on your specific business situation, which standards you wish to comply with and your unique processes. For guidance that is tailored to your organisational context, get in touch with Integrated Compliance Solutions’ auditing consultancy today.
What are the Key Types of Auditing?
At Integrated Compliance Solutions, there are six key types of auditing that we offer. These are as follows:
- Compliance Audits: Compliance audits assess an organisation’s level of compliance to a particular standard or standards. A registered lead auditor will uncover any gaps against the standard and explain these via a non conformance report. Once you have addressed any non conformances, you will be issued with a certificate of compliance. This is not the same as receiving accredited certification, however, compliance audits are often quicker and more cost-effective to complete and can be a useful first step to meeting customer requirements prior to certification.
- ISO Healthcheck Audit: An ISO Healthcheck audit is conducted prior to the formal assessment of operations by an independent certification body. It can be used to assess the effectiveness of various standards and management systems, allowing you to assess whether your current compliance is at the level required to pass the audit.
- ISO Supplier Audit: Supplier audits allow for organisations to analyse and verify the extent to which the products and practices of their suppliers comply with standards. Conducting an audit of suppliers is crucial during their initial selection and, after this, a great way to ensure continuous quality improvement.
- ISO Internal Audit: An internal audit involves auditing all of a business’ current processes to examine their compliance with best-practice standards and requirements- both internal and according to the ISO standards. A key function of internal audits is providing insights about deficiencies and opportunities for improvement in the management systems.
- ISO Gap Analysis: A gap analysis determines to what extent a business complies with a particular standard or standards, what gaps exist to reach compliance and (ideally) provides a detailed action plan describing how to fill any gaps identified. Companies typically need a gap analysis in 3 scenarios:
- Considering whether or not to get ISO certification and wanting to understand how much effort/time expense might be involved in reaching compliance.
- Working (DIY) towards ISO certification to a particular standard and want to know how compliant their system already is and receive guidance on what remains to be done to reach compliance.
- Adding additional standards to their portfolio and want guidance on how to integrate the new requirements into existing systems.
If you are unsure which type of auditing would be most applicable to your business’ unique context, please do not hesitate to get in contact with our team at Integrated Compliance Solutions today. Receive a cost-free, no-obligation quote today and see how we can provide you with valuable assistance throughout the entire process of examining your practices.
The Benefits of Completing an Audit with Professional Assistance from a Consultant
There is an array of benefits that your business can experience as a direct result of conducting an audit. These include:
- Having the capability to proactively identify issues: this can help to avoid the costs, or any other negative implications, that may have resulted from these concerns in future.
- Integrating processes that facilitate continual improvement: an audit will assist your business in developing sustainable systems that can be used to monitor the effectiveness of operations well in to the future.
- Boost productivity: by improving the efficiency of processes and constructing a clear, shared direction throughout all organisational practices your business will be able to enjoy greater time savings.
Contact an Auditing Professional Today
If your business is interested in conducting an audit of current practices, we can help. At Integrated Compliance Solutions, we are dedicated to helping you refine business operations, continually advance operations and achieve your objectives.
Our consultants are highly experienced, and can provide you with the expert assistance required to successfully complete an audit of your processes. Get in touch with our expert team today by calling 1300 132 745.
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