Preparation  for Audits is Critical

All auditors know that preparation and planning for an audit is essential to running a smooth audit. It's also essential for the client to prepare because they are always asked for information, data and reports that they need to dig up and that are sometimes hard to get. A little planning can make things easier for both auditor and client.

The auditor can help with the client's planning activities. While its true that the client should know, after a couple of audits, what the auditor will want, nevertheless it is a sad fact of life that they don't always keep track of it and so every audit becomes a scramble to answer the auditors' requests.

Therefore the auditors need to provide the client with advance notice of their needs. While this is fundamental, it is sometimes overlooked, and especially in IT audits, can lead to frustrating delays in the audit and frustration for all involved. For more on this topic, click here.