Weekly Topic for the Quality Team (11.07–11.12): How to Conduct an Internal Audit by the End of the Year
Thread Content
The end of the year is here again, and all enterprises and companies need to begin their annual audits of their quality systems; internal audits must be carried out first. How can internal audit activities be gradually made more institutionalized, standardized, and professionalized, in order to reduce the risks associated with such activities and improve their quality? It is hoped that everyone will consider the internal audit arrangements in their own companies and discuss ways to enhance the overall quality of internal auditing, so as to play a better role in ensuring the healthy development of enterprises or economic organizations.
Reply 1# yuanyongan: Support Yuan Yuan. We have undergone many annual external or internal audits; we have just finished an external audit and are now preparing the necessary corrective actions. . Relatively speaking, internal audits are easier to handle! After all, it’s an internal company matter. Regardless of the approach, the following suggestions are given: (1) Prepare for communication in advance; even though it is people from the same team reviewing other members of the team, the necessary work still needs to be done. Arrange the company’s auditors in a rational manner. (2) Organize training for internal audit staff, and prepare checklists in a centralized manner. It is recommended that before the internal audit takes place, the staff responsible should have completed the preparation of the checklists; only those who understand the task should be assigned to carry it out, and it should not be left to random individuals. (3) The internal audit plan should be issued about a week in advance. . . . (4) It’s essential to get the support and attention of leadership; otherwise, both the process and the outcome will be painful – that’s something everyone understands. . . . (5) The problem must be clearly defined. (6) Keep the relevant records in a timely manner; otherwise, it will be troublesome to organize them. Complete the tasks on site and collect the information promptly. Personal opinions, let’s improve together!
What a great topic! Listen carefully to the discussion!
A considerable number of internal auditors believe that \"internal auditing is a job that gets people upset,\" and as a result they lack motivation as well as the willingness to carry out their duties properly. Internal audit plans lack unified planning and specificity; in many companies, internal audit activities are merely a formality, lacking thorough investigation and follow-up actions.
I haven’t done this before, and I haven’t seen exactly how it’s done. I only have a general idea of it. If it’s carried out properly and evaluations are conducted every year, it shouldn’t be too difficult. The worry is that it might just be a formality, which would end up exhausting a few people~~ haha
Many small businesses just hire two employees to carry out internal audits; still, they need to organize the documents, as they must at least prepare the necessary materials for external audits!
Reply to 4# yuanyongan: Actually, the most important thing is the issue of people. The awareness of internal auditors within companies varies; it would be sufficient to consider providing more training. . .
Reply to 5# llyy0327: Regarding this thing, it currently runs more smoothly in the south than in the north; after all, opinions vary. . It is an era of capital absorption – absorbing money and going abroad! Hehe,,,
Among the various factors affecting internal audit quality, people are always the most important factor. Through continuing education, internal auditors stay informed about new developments, master advanced auditing methods, and continuously adapt to changes in the evolving economic landscape. Internal auditors should be encouraged to develop communication skills, employ effective auditing methods, and improve audit efficiency.
1. Establish scientific and reasonable audit objectives. 2. Develop systematic internal audit quality control standards. 3. Strengthen quality management throughout the internal audit process. 4. Strictly control the quality of audit reports
1. The company should have qualified internal auditors, preferably from various departments; this way, the auditors can bring their own experience to the auditing process, which helps to improve the overall quality management level of the company. 2. Develop an audit plan; the internal auditor must be independent from the department being audited. 3. As the internal audit organizer, it is necessary to take the lead in preparing the audit checklists, organizing them according to the requirements of the relevant clauses and following the specific processes. For example, the Quality Department is generally responsible for document control, calibration, scheduling audits and tracking corrective actions, coordinating engineering changes. Regarding products, it handles matters such as determining how to conduct inspections, setting inspection frequencies, and dealing with defective items; it also drives the company’s quality improvement efforts. In addition, it manages suppliers, with corresponding guidelines available for each issue. 4. If the company’s system is not very good, hold a discussion session for internal auditors prior to the audit to establish unified criteria and emphasize the need for everyone to take it seriously. 5. After completing the audit, each internal auditor submits an audit report, including corrective actions, etc. 6. The Quality System Department tracks the implementation of corrective and preventive actions and archives them; this has been audited. 7. During this process, the forms used are prepared by the Quality Department, which also provides brief training for the relevant personnel.