Auditing Process

The audit process is unique among every organization due to differing needs, however the basics remain constant. The audit process begins with a preliminary review at which time the auditor collects information about the organization, reviews internal controls, and designs the audit program. Once the review process is completed and an approach to the audit has been designed, the auditor will conduct the fieldwork required to complete the audit.

Transaction testing will be completed and any problems or flaws in processes in place will be discussed with the organization. A summary of the auditor's findings will be completed with recommendations for organizational improvement will be completed. The summary will be used to prepare the discussion draft for the final audit report. The discussion draft will be submitted for review to the organization being audited. Once the organization has reviewed the discussion draft, the auditors will meet with management to discuss their findings. A formal draft will then be prepared including findings concluded from the discussion taking into account any revisions to the report, and then reviewed again by the audit management team and the organization being audited.

The final report will then be submitted to all required recipients. Approximately one year after the audit, the auditing group will then usually follow up with the organization to review change implementation resulting from the audit and submit a report showing the organizational changes as a result of the audit results, also highlighting any procedures that should have changed but did not. This completes the audit process until the next audit cycle.

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Auditing process should be carefully planned and executed during the conduct of audit and examination of an organization.