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Definition
The report outline is a brief and easy-to-read document. It sets out the report's structure, tone and the most important conclusions and material observations arising from the audit. It presents the conclusions in a logically-convincing structure using the speaking [link title="headings" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FHeadings.aspx" /]
for the full report and in the most useful and relevant way to the [link title="non-expert%20reader" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FReport-style.aspx" /]
. It is based on the audit work undertaken with regard to the audit questions answered and the evidence obtained.
The report outline might also include some introductory material or suggest [link title="recommendations" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FRecommendations.aspx" /]
.
Its main advantage is that it is relatively easy to made any changes to either the messages or the structure, unlike amending the full report. By providing the messages and a ready-made structure, which then "only" needs to be developed into a full report, it makes the initial drafting process potentially easier.
Instructions
A report outline is a very important document in the life of an audit. Already at the planning stage, the auditor will generally already have in mind an idea of the report structure and content, based on the [link title="potential%20observations%20and%20recommendations" link="%2Faware%2FPA%2FPages%2FPlanning%2FDetailed-planning.aspx%23Consider-the-likely-outcome-of-the-audit" /]
indicated in the [link title="task%20plan" link="%2Faware%2FPA%2FPages%2FPlanning%2FTask-plan.aspx%23Likely-outcome-and-potential-impacts" /]
. Building on this, it is a good discipline to put together, at an early stage of the examination phase, a report outline based around the audit questions, which identifies the main findings and provisional conclusions. This report outline should be reviewed periodically throughout the examination phase.
The report outline is also a part of the [link title="progress%20report" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FProgress-report.aspx" /]
.
The report outline is discussed, further developed and agreed through the drawing conclusions process. When final, the outline is the basis for [link title="drafting%20the%20full%20report" link="%2Faware%2FGAP%2FPages%2FReport-drafting.aspx" /]
.
The some introductory material should be included in the outline only to the minimum needed for the non-expert reader to understand the messages. One way of incorporating the introductory material into the outline is to use the [link title="Situation%E2%80%93Complication%E2%80%93Question" link="%2Faware%2FDocuments%2FSituation-complication-question-example.docx" icon="file-word-o" /]
structure.
Any included recommendations should flow naturally from the main conclusions.
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