THE AUDIT PROCESS
What you can expect...
The head of
the department or area being audited is informed in advance that an audit has
been scheduled.
An entrance
conference is held to provide the opportunity for the audit team and
department leadership to discuss the purpose and objectives of the audit and to
schedule dates for fieldwork. This is also the time for the department
or area to discuss their concerns and raise issues that OHIA can include in the
scope of the audit.
Since every audit is unique,
the audit procedures followed during fieldwork depend on the nature of the
audit service. During a typical operational audit, the OHIA team performs an
evaluation of the department's systems of internal control and tests the
compliance with these controls by tracing a sample of transactions through the
operation's process. The audit team also reviews any changes in operations
since the last audit. Key personnel are interviewed and office manuals and
policies are reviewed.
Progress meetings are held throughout the audit
process to keep the administrator advised of any significant findings and to
resolve any arising issues, which are documented in the corrective action
matrix.
After the conclusion of
fieldwork, an exit conference is held to discuss the audit findings and
recommendations. After this meeting, the audit team completes workpaper
documentation, prepares a draft of the audit report and submits the
draft to the department for review.
The administrator is
requested to provide a written response to each recommendation. The management
responses state whether or not the department agrees with the
recommendations, the plans for implementation and any other information to further
explain the issues.
OHIA publishes the final
audit report with the management response. Copies of the report are
distributed to the department's administrator, director, chair and dean, the
university's senior vice president of administration, vice president of
business affairs, the external auditors, and any other officials as deemed
appropriate by OHIA or the administrator.
As part of the OHIA
self-evaluation program, 30 days after the audit report is finalized, the
department is asked to comment on the benefits and performance of the audit by
completing a client survey. The evaluations and comments are used to
ensure that the quality of the audit services is maintained.
Depending on
the nature of the audit, OHIA schedules a follow-up audit one year after
the original audit in order to determine the status of the recommendations. A
final follow-up report is issued.
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