for an auditor to build effective (detailed) business knowledge, understand policies and procedures, document the business objective(s), recognize workarounds, gather pertinent business data, answer process questions, develop a detailed test plan, validate potential deviations from the work standard, identify root causes, create process-based recommendations, generate a clear, concise report, and verify action plan implementation and adoption without client participation. It would be a losing battle, not to mention a very time-consuming approach filled with business process assumptions. No auditor would want to generate an audit work file, and especially not an audit report, without having a clear understanding of the business and its corresponding objectives.
Now flip the question around. Could the business team do their job and complete their assigned responsibilities without internal audit involvement? The unfortunate answer to that question is yes. Absolutely, without a doubt, the business team could do their job with no internal audit help or intervention. If you asked the business process workers, they would all probably say their preference would be to perform their day-to-day responsibilities and activities without having to deal with anyone from audit. The business teams view internal audit as a nuisance, a bother, and an unnecessary interruption to their work. So, if the business team prefers no outside audit interference, how are auditors to go about breaking down the preexisting barrier that has been in existence forever? The answer is, through a dedicated effort on the part of the auditors to constantly be focused on the relationship.
While this fact of auditor “need” when it comes to client involvement during audits is daunting, there is a glimmer of good news. The need is not an insurmountable barrier but does represent a significant challenge to every auditor. But to overcome this barrier, the auditor will have to recognize and accept one indisputable fact when it comes to the internal audit and business partner relationship. And that fact is, no matter what type of relationship is being discussed – whether it is boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife, or auditor and client – there is always one person in every relationship who wants it a little more than the other. Okay. So, what does that mean? It means one person will always work harder and be more flexible to ensure the relationship continues to grow and stay strong. Auditors must realize early on in the relationship development process that we are the party recognizing we will have to work harder and be more flexible than our business partner to ensure the relationship stays strong and intact. What I must clarify for you is in recognition that the auditor must put in more time, effort, and dedication to foster the audit and client relationship. It does not mean in any way shape or form that the auditor should bend the rules or requirements during the audit itself. During the engagement, the auditor should keep the business partner “in the know” and ensure the work, status of project request, completed testing, preliminary results, and any potential issues should be reviewed, discussed, and validated with the business partner to ensure they are never in the dark when it comes to the audit status. While this might seem like common sense, there are often times when auditors forget to communicate the details of potential findings or work statuses. Surprises are fun and usually a good thing, except during an audit. If you want to keep your relationships strong with your business partners, always remember the role that clear, prepared, supported communication plays in developing, fostering, and maintaining relationships. Too often, auditors enter into exchanges (formal meetings or hallway discussions) with clients unprepared. I know this is not something you would do, but let us discuss the potential impact not only on the relationship with your client but also the development of the auditor.
A critical point that must be emphasized here is being prepared. You can never be too prepared for a meeting. Believe me, I know all the excuses for not preparing effectively for a meeting. You could say, I do not want to prepare too much because it will come off disingenuous. That is false. Being prepared does not mean to memorize what you are going to say. If you memorize what you want to say it will come off as fake and robotic. However, if you prepare effectively, it will show you are committed to the topic, understand the details, know where the data originated, and can effectively explain questions regarding the subject matter. If you do not adequately prepare, how will you know when to stop asking questions or when you have the information or data required? The keys to effective preparation for any meeting with a client are understanding the meeting objective and mastering the data to be discussed. With these two keys, any auditor can effectively and confidently communicate with the business partner. So, let's touch on both, briefly, to ensure everyone is on the same page.
CRITICAL MEETING KEYS
You would be surprised how many auditors go into a meeting with a client without a meeting objective. As a thirty-year audit veteran, I will tell you there were times when I relied on my experience to carry me through meetings. Because I have been in hundreds and hundreds of meetings over my career, I would tell myself that I would just “shoot from the hip” and use my “vast” experiences to get through a meeting. What a mistake! As I got older and hopefully wiser, I discovered no amount of experience can replace understanding the meeting objective and being prepared to discuss and drive targeted questions to address the meeting objective. Keep in mind, the meeting objective is the purpose or reason you are having this meeting. Objective as a noun will always mean purpose. Put yourself in the business partner's shoes. They will be thinking, why does the auditor want to get together to discuss this topic? When you enter a client meeting and clearly understand the objective, you are focused, recognize the questions needed to effectively facilitate, can keep the meeting on track, and know when sufficient answers and evidence have been given to address the objective. If you enter a meeting without an objective or just with a list of questions, the meeting will feel disjointed, unorganized, and ultimately have a negative impact on the relationship. It relays a sense of unpreparedness to the meeting participants. You may have a list of questions to ask your business partner, but there is always a reason you are asking those same questions.
Starting the meeting by stating the specific objective creates that sense of purpose and communicates to your business partner the need for attending. Once the objective is clear, the discussion and questions that follow must link to the specific meeting objective that was explained at the beginning. This understanding of meeting purpose focuses the auditor and helps direct the conversation in a positive direction to the outcome. At the end of the meeting, there is a sense of conclusion for the information needed as well as completion for that part of the audit. That sense of accomplishment, even the smallest achievements, make a positive impact on your business partner as they see a focused audit team effectively using time to complete the tasks at hand. Additionally, the auditor and audit team project a confident, unified approach as they execute their audit methodology.
The second key is mastering the data. While mastering the data may seem like a simple concept, understanding its value is a must. No matter what the audit assignment or task is, most auditors do not take the necessary time to build their business knowledge. Let's be honest with each other. How many times have you been placed on an audit team but you never looked at the planning documentation to understand the business objective or reviewed the program to ensure you completely understand the section or steps you have been assigned? I will admit it. I have made that error. Auditors do not want to ask questions to other team members; there is a fear it will make them look “not smart.” News-flash – questions are one of the greatest tools for an auditor, whether the questions are internal to clarify an assignment, task, test step, or acronym or if it is a targeted question to the business owner. Auditors will not continue to learn unless they ask questions.
So let me get this straight: You are going to enter a business partner meeting without clearly understanding the process, testing, or data you are about to discuss (and question), and you think you will feel confident in that meeting? You think the business partner is going to believe that the audit team is there to provide guidance to assist them in doing their job (achieving the business objective) in the most efficient and effective manner with less rework? Not a chance. When it comes to the data, the auditor must not only understand the details of what information is being questioned (even when the meeting facilitator did not complete the testing in question), but also the source of where the data originated. Too many times, audit and client meetings get
