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Principles
The audit should be planned and managed as a single project. This requires that:
- The suitably qualified and experienced human resources and sufficient financial resources will be available to carry out the proposed audit
- Timetable is realistic.
- Risks to delivering the audit report are analysed and managed.
- Quality management arrangements are set and planned to take place throughout the audit.
Instructions
Resources and costs
Make a realistic assessment of the human and financial resources that the audit will require, ensure that the required knowledge and experience is available within the audit team and, where necessary, anticipate the need for external expertise. The responsibilities for each main task throughout the audit lifecycle needs to be established. Some resources and time should be provided for unpredictable events.
A stable core audit team, with a permanent team leader, deputy team leader and responsible Member, should be planned for the duration of the audit. The potential for efficiencies and reducing the audit duration by increasing the team size should be considered. There may be value in accelerating audit fieldwork by employing a large team to collect data quickly, whereas drafting and [multi-link title="clearing%20process" link_1="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FCA-FA%2FExamination%2FClearing.aspx" title_1="Compliance%20and%20financial" link_2="%2Faware%2FPA%2FPages%2FExamination%2FClearing.aspx" title_2="Performance" /]
and the [link title="adversarial%20procedure" link="%2Faware%2FPA%2FPages%2FReporting%2FAdversarial-procedure.aspx" /]
might be undertaken by a much smaller team. The time allocation to the task is estimated only for staff requiring to record their time in AMS (Audit Management System). By reviewing the planned weeks for each auditor for reasonableness, there is greater assurance that the number of weeks allocated is feasible in light of the proposed timetable.
Requests for budget provisions for [link title="external%20experts" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FSpecific%2FExternal-experts.aspx%23Selection-and-contract" /]
should be made as soon as they are planned.
The timeframe for an audit, from task plan approval to the adoption of the special report (after the adversarial procedure) is [link title="13%20months" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FStandard-timeframes.aspx" /]
. In exceptional cases, where a longer timeframe is required, this should be justified and approved by the audit Cchamber.
Consider the timetable for the audit, including any preliminary work. Experience indicates that the time needed to carry out each stage of the audit should be planned as realistically as possible on the basis of past performance and the availability of resources (taking account of holidays, training courses, etc.). A minimal set of milestones must be set when planning an audit. Translation, Language services and Publication provides instructions on how to calculate the time needed from the final adoption date (APC version of the draft report) to the date of publication in 23 languages.
To shorten the time necessary to carry out the audit and facilitate compliance with the 13-month requirement concerning the length of performance audit work, on-the-spot visits to member states should be organised concurrently. Where not possible, visits should be organised within a [link title="short%20period" link="%2Faware%2FDocuments%2FVisits-to-MS-scenario-example.docx" icon="file-word-o" /]
.
[link title="Contacts%20with%20auditee%20personnel" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FCommunication-in-audit.aspx" /]
should be planned to take place throughout the audit.
Plan the [link title="progress%20report" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FProgress-report.aspx" /]
. The timing of this report may vary somewhat from one audit to another, but ideally is planned to take place upon completion of a key milestone (e.g. the end of the first ‘block’ of missions).
Risks to delivery within time and budget
At all stages of the audit, the audit team is to identify:
- what could go wrong;
- how likely it is to go wrong;
- what would be the impact of it going wrong;
- what can be done to minimise the chances of it going wrong; and
- how the risk can be managed, should it materialise.
Risks to the timely and quality delivery of the audit report include difficulties in obtaining data, unavailability of staff, and lack of co-operation by the auditee. By preparing a risk management strategy when preparing the audit, disseminating it to the audit team, and referring to it as the audit progresses, the audit team is in a much better position to manage the risks and to respond effectively if problems arise. Foreseeable constraints on the availability of auditors (who may be required for other audit tasks) and the consequences of late availability of audit results and the audit report always need to be considered.
Task-specific quality management arrangements
Arrangements for quality management should be established for each task. This includes the system of [link title="supervision%20and%20review" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FSupervision-review.aspx" /]
and the [link title="documentation" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FDocumenting-an-audit.aspx" /]
of the work in Assyst. It is obligatory to use the ECA’s audit management system (AMS) for planning and reporting on the consumption of human resources and completion of milestones. Provision should be made for a [link title="progress%20report" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FProgress-report.aspx" /]
, to be submitted orally or in writing by the member responsible to the audit chamber.
Resources
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