More Types Of Audits

A previous entry discussed two forms of auditing an organization may conduct: performance audits and quality audits. To summarize, a performance audit is conducted to provide an independent review of an aspect of a business, such as a system of security or of environmental management, to determine its relative success. A quality audit is a review of a quality management system of an organization that uses objective standards to determine its success in meeting or conforming to certain internal or external standards. Both of these audits are used frequently by a variety of organizations, including businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies. In addition to the two aforementioned types of audits, there several other types of audits an organization may undergo as a one-time review or as part of a routine auditing program. Here is a look at a few other examples of auditing services that organizations provide internally or receive from a financial, accounting or auditing services firm; for more information on deciding which auditing service is required by your organization or to learn more about how any type of auditing might benefit your organization, contact a Clifton NJ tax services firm for more information.

 

Project

 

A project audit, as opposed to other types of auditing, is, as its name indicates, a review specific to a particular project. An organization will undergo a project audit to determine the strengths and weaknesses of a particular project; a project audit may occur and be beneficial for different reasons at different points in the course of a project. There are, of course, certain advantages to conducting a project audit at certain stages of the project. For example, a project audit at the conclusion of a project may be particularly beneficial for use in adapting future projects to shore up the weaknesses and maintain the strengths identified by the project audit. Thus, an initial project in a series of planned projects may benefit from a project audit at the conclusion of its process. A larger, one-time project may benefit more from a project audit closer to the midway point of the project. This allows for the project manager to implement the fixes that come into focus as a result of the audit while there is still a reasonable amount of time for these fixes to have a measurable impact on the project’s success. Depending on the situation, project audits may be targeting specific aspects of a project or have a more general scope.

 

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Operational

 

An operational audit is a review of three things: effectiveness, efficiency and economy of operation. An operational audit is distinguished from other types of auditing by its comprehensive nature; it seeks to review the nature of how the operations of an organization contribute to its goals. While this review may include the assessment of financial information, operational audits seek to put this information in the context of policies and goals (whether or not the goals are met). Basically, operational audits seek to understand more about why things happen the way they do in an organization. This allows the organization to make adjustments if appropriate. There are a wide range of audits available to an organization that may be beneficial in the right situation.

 

 



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