How to Prepare Yourself for Audit Season

Audit and exams are alike in nature and they both have same affect to a person it is happening. In both
the cases person freaks out and you always have to prepare yourself before its arrival. In my experience
I have often seen management when the audit season comes and importantly when the auditor arrives.
The pro-tip for companies would be, whenever the audit season arrives don’t stress yourself in fact be
prepared. It is similar like having an examination. If you enter into your examination without having
preparation the of course you would be stressful, and you would fail it. But when you enter your
examination with having full preparation and having all of it done before hand then stress is sure in both
the cases but in this later case you would be having confidence that you won’t fail at all. Same goes with
audit. If your company is prepared for the its audit and having all of the documentations authentic and
pure then there wont be any doubt that your company fail at auditing. What auditors also need besides
documents is your confidence. If you lack at your company’s authenticity, then auditors would definitely
take a chance to into depth of it and pull out some information.

In my experience, I have felt very bad seeing clients being unsure about their stuffs and getting
scrambled where to find certain piece of information and not getting their hands to it. In todays’ time,
getting yourself prepared before time, is a must! Audit is always an ongoing process. Management
should always prepare their self before this season arises and they also need to do extra work to make it
successful everytime.

How The Process Works Together

Management and staff that specially working with auditors should understand and know that processes
and programs that are being installed into your organization and also are being audited, how they
actually work. What are their functions. So that they can be answerable for the justification if any hassle
occurs. Whether the process is handled internally or even outsourced to a third a party vendor, in every
scenario they all should be having keen knowledge about the processes of it.

In my opinion, I would highly encourage for having a process map. By developing a process map, it helps
internal management not only having knowledge and command of the programs and process from
beginning till the end but also having updates regarding latest software and hardware being used. These
are generally the key points where information is being transferred and audit decisions are made.

Ensure Availability of Documents

Company’s management should ensure that all sort of documents, data and information is available
before the audit arises and also ensure that the documents are in detailed form and are accessible to
auditors as well because once the audit starts, auditors will be needing any sort of information at
anytime. The reports that made on daily basis are generally user friendly and are in detailed form as well
but just in case if its showing limited information and lacks details then the company management
should approach the IT department so that it can show all of the relevant information.

In some cases, if you cannot find the detailed report available in your system including any document or
information that is not used on daily basis, then you can also reach out to your vendor as well because
vendor is person who is always having a copy of information or work that is bring provided to you. Your
IT department can also play a vital role if you’re looking for some specific information. By this practice,
you make sure that nothing is overlooked or neglected, and auditors can also have a look on details
what they are looking for and it also helps auditors to create a healthy report for an audit.

Updated Documents and Systems

By adopting better, latest and updated systems in your organization you can always make your audit
management team happy and you can always pass your audit with flying colors and seeing your
management team and saying ‘Not again!’ can be changed as ‘See you again!’. This transition is always
possible when all of the information and processes are in its best shapes and up to date specially when
the audit season comes. I strongly recommend to have a check on your system and information at-least
once a year that if they are updated or not. This practice also gives auditors the better understanding of
the environment and also helps in audit management system and processes.

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