PMTip - Auditors as a Coach - Not a Referee
06:41
Posted by jason tratch
Both Auditors & people being audited need to support a relationship that is closer to a coaching style vs punitive (don't get caught up in the "us against them").
Advanced, modern-day Auditors are like
coaches. They realize you are in the middle of a game and will identify
opportunities to improve, help breakdown (from a neutral and fresh perspective) what things did not go according to plan/system - or where a plan/system was lacking. Advanced auditors also get more involved and help identify new ways to support you to win the game.
Help your team and any Auditors understand
this concept and the differences between old and new ways of thinking. Ensure
everyone knows they are all on the same team and want the same goals. Ensure it is clear by everyone why the
audit is occurring and the value. It is often a specially trained perspective meant to help the project, so
ensure the team embraces it as such.
Supporting Details RE: types of Auditors and results:
Internal audits generally verify the
accuracy of a team or departments work and check for mismanagement, waste, or
fraud. Internal auditors examine and evaluate financial and information
systems, management processes, general controls, records, inputs, outputs,
tools and techniques. They also can focus on the extent of compliance with
internal and external policies, standards, regulations, laws, and commitments.
There are many types of highly specialized
auditors, such as environmental, safety, health, engineering, design,
technology, systems, management, legal and financial auditors. Audits can help
management base their decisions on actual data, rather than personal
observation (leads to more objective and accurate results).
Auditors must
always recognize limitations that may affect the results (e.g. their personal
lack of subject matter expertise in an area, lack of access to a subject matter
expert, etc.). This must be compensated
by strong teamwork and participation with the project team being audited. Once the audit is complete, the finishing
touch is the detailed, simple, clear presentation of the findings in a
formalized report. Items included in a
report include:
- project status;
- project findings;
- project gaps;
- project risk;
- assumptions made;
- constraints and dependencies found;
- recommendations.
This entry was posted on October 4, 2009 at 12:14 pm, and is filed under
PMTips,
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