In preparing for a specific audit, I woould gather information in the following areas:
1) The results of previous audit(s) in the specified area
2) Review the institutes policies and procedures (especially as spelled out in the catalog) in the specified area
3) Request as much documentation from the auditing body as possible
What should employees do if they do not feel adequately trained on procedures? Or even better, how do you know what you don't know?
In my school, all departments are expected to be compliant 100% of the time. We have reports that are run weekly and monthly in order to ensure compliance so that when we have our re-accreditation from ACCSC, everything is already in place.
We do double-check things when we know auditors are coming. If we have a list of things they will be looking at, we make sure that those files are in compliance. Even though 100% compliance is expected, people do make mistakes and we always want to make sure that we are following up on anything that needs to be corrected.
I agree that most auditors are not out to get anybody but are merely doing their jobs and don't like to be deemed "the bad guys" so it really is to the benefit of everybody involved to have all files, etc in order ensuring that the audit can go as smoothly as possible
Mary,
I completely concur! Internal auditors should be viewed as partners with the campuses and departments to establish and improve processes to ensure compliance. But, a "gotcha" approach is not conducive to that kind of relationship. Fortunately, when I worked in an internal audit department, our Director made every attempt to establish relationships that were perceived as helpful vs. an attempt to "catch" schools doing something wrong. Some people were still cautious with us but, the majority were cooperative and viewed our audits as beneficial to long term success.
Traci Lee
allison,
Alignment with the catalog is absolutely key to operations that meet students' expectations and comply with all relevant standards, assuming the catalog includes appropriate information.
Traci Lee
Excellent philosophy that you and Barbara have, all that is needed is for more in management to take this approach instead of the "got cha" attitude; especially in the larger corporations. Barbara, you could not have worded it more perfectly when you wrote "if the employees perceive you as being on their side, helping them to do the best job they can, everyone wins."
I believe that the best way to prepare for an audit is to always follow the policies and procedures. It is also a good idea to do a random mock audit.
I agree. I work by checklists and complete my daily tasks within a repetitious order every day. 2 weeks prior to an internal audit I review all files that are subject to an audit by doing my own audit. I pull them out, organize them, and make a list of items that could be deemed errors.
I then over the next week do everything in my power to research and find all missing documents, by contacting faculty, reviewing alternate locations, etc to minimize the amount off errors.
On the day of the audit... I say a little prayer if there are items that I could not either fix, find or justify in hopes that item would NOT be pulled.
I think the best way to prepare for an audit is to always be ready for it. Be organized, use checklists, review your files, and keep your day to day operations consistent with what is in your specific catalog.
John,
You bring up a good point - not only is it difficult to go back and clean up files, in some cases, it is simply not possible to "fix" what was done wrong. Having said that, I am an advocate of rectifying any problems that school's find when performing their own file reviews/internal audits. But in come cases, such efforts may not prevent or avoid an audit finding.
Traci Lee
Carol,
I completely concur with the benefits of proactivity! That's great that your "habit" lends itself to audit-readiness with such organization.
Traci Lee
Traci,
Compliance is a way of life. We must continuously perform with transparency and excellence, with check and balances, cross functional audits, monthly self audits and checklists for each function. Every department head is held accountable for the compliance of their department and must carefully review all key elements of the regulations.
Jorge
The most important thing to prepare for an audit is to have your internal processes properly structured. You must be aware of your regulatory and company responsibilities to make sure you design a system that ensures the results that you want. It is very difficult to go back and clean up files if you do not have the systems in place to do them right in the first place.
For example, one of the Bursar function is to post payments to student accounts. You would need to design a system that controls the process from the time a charge or payment is made so it is deposited and posted properly. This would include the electronic payments received as well as the in-person payments.
An auditor will want to see the whole process and proof it out to make an assessment that the system is properly structured and meets the applicable standards.
I'm the type of person who is proactive. With this being said, I would have a check list that I follow for my files and be following it on a daily basis.
When I took over the position I am currently in, there were many things that were left open, and while I periodically I find things that should have been kept a certain way but weren't, instead of leaving it and saying this was before my time, I go through the paperwork and put it together properly.
This keeps my files uniform and I am able to have my paperwork stand on it's own merit.
Working in several industries that did not have any audits, it became a habit to make sure every file was put together in a very specific way. Now that I am a Bursar in the education field, out of habit have schedules and maintain files to the point that if an audit were to appear within an hour I would be able to produce files that are accurately put together.
The best way to prepare for audits is to keep files maintained on a daily basis. Being proactive instead of reactive is the best way to prepare for an audit.
Brent,
Checklists certainly help in ensuring complete files. I have seen creative electronic solutions for this as well with some schools trying to achieve a "paperless" environment.
Traci Lee
I would have a checklist for all of the required documnetation for each student. This checklist would remain in the student's folder as they work through the enrollment, education and graduation process. Each department would check off its list of required documentation and the folder would have to be signed of by the department manager before it moves forward. This way all required information is checked and doubled checked.
Assuming that you are going to be picked for an Audit assures you always remain prepared. Keeping on-going preparation includes but not limits: well documented policies and procedures and periodic unexpected internal peer audits. It's also important to include thorough monitoring of existing policies, regulations and standards to allow for adjustments to be made in a timely manner to the expectations of all regulating bodies.
I would have a core team to audit other department based on the school policy so that they are subjective.
