Audits

Audit Lead creates an audit with its number, scope, planned date and assigned auditor. Status moves through Planned, in progress, Reporting and Closed. The scope tells the auditor and later reviewer what work was actually examined. It also gives each finding a context; an isolated finding without its audit can be hard to interpret when several processes are under review.

Each audit findings record links to an audit and an owner. It identifies the requirement, describes the finding, assigns Observation, Minor or Major severity, and carries due and closed dates. This supports follow-up without treating every finding as the same kind of work.

• Plan the audit. The Audit Lead assigns the auditor and records a meaningful scope and date.
• Capture each finding. The auditor writes the requirement and finding, chooses severity and gives it an owner and due date.
• Review reporting. The Audit Lead checks the scope against linked findings before the audit moves from Reporting to Closed.

Agree how an audit number is assigned and how much detail belongs in the scope. Decide how findings are described so the owner can act on them and a later reviewer can see what requirement was involved. Set the meaning of Observation, Minor and Major for the team. Define who may close a finding and what evidence the closed date represents.

Also decide what the audit’s Closed state means for findings that are still open. The audit closure workflow verifies scope and linked findings while closing the audit; the finding records have their own dates. The team should agree how it follows outstanding owner work after the reporting decision and how it distinguishes a reporting milestone from completed remediation.

Plan an audit of the incoming inspection process with a named auditor. During the audit, record a finding about a documented requirement, choose Minor, set the owner and due date, and link it to the audit. Add an Observation for a second requirement. Move the audit into Reporting. Audit Lead opens the scope and both linked findings and verifies that the report reflects what was reviewed before closing the audit.

Then open the findings queue. The owner should still be able to find the due item, its requirement and audit context. When the follow-up is complete, enter the closed date on the finding. The rehearsal demonstrates that an audit decision and a finding’s resolution have separate evidence, even though they share a parent audit.

• Open audits — Planned, active and reporting audits with scope and auditor.
• Open findings — Unclosed findings due for follow-up, with their owner, severity and audit link.

Use audit and findings to rehearse the reporting review and finding follow-up.