What Is Compliance Audits?
The audit you are familiar with is probably the internal one you have to conduct in your company in order to determine the level or degree of conformance with the standards you implement. Such as ISO 9001 that is related and focused on audits only.
However, not all audits have the same goal and you will discover this the deeper you dive into what they are and for what is it each type of auditing process you can find. Overall, your company will have to get familiar and used to several types of audits since all of them tend to be important and necessary.
The internal one is the most common and required audit since all companies need to conduct it at some point and more frequent than what they think. However, when it comes to evaluating or analyzing if a company meets all the regulations and local laws, another audit needs to be conducted.
This is where the main topic starts to pop off: Compliance Audit. This audit consists of determining if the company meets all the rules, regulations, and laws focused on the industry it is part of.
These regulations can be local, national, or international ones, which means you need to keep an eye in several and dozens of regulations. Otherwise, your company will have penalties and issues in the future not too far.
Many companies find it quite unnecessary to conduct this audit because they think the following: “if I already follow the regulations, I don’t need an audit that can confirm this”. However, regulations and laws always change and you don’t know if you have to meet extra requirements and rules that could bring you several issues if you don’t follow them. Besides, companies find themselves having to implement new methodologies and rules over the years, which is certainly exhausting but necessary.
Do you need to conduct Compliance Audits?
Absolutely. All companies should take the time to conduct them if they want to make sure that all aspects and regulations are being met. Otherwise, they take the risk of resulting in penalties and fines that could affect them further than just having to pay a certain monetary amount.
If you want a good example of this the truth is that some companies end up closing or stopping their operations due to the nonconformity in the regulations and laws. We are sure that now you know this you will be eager to start conducting these audits.
However, it won’t be easy nor it will take a couple of days and even fewer hours.
Compliance Audits are a lot of work to handle and it takes time to analyze and determine the level of compliance of the company and the regulations, policies, and any related rule that can be applied to the company.
Getting a bit confused so far? It is understandable. As a company ourselves who has had to conduct Compliance Audits several times, we assure you it isn’t easy but you get quite used to it faster than you think.
You just need to keep everything in mind and all the aspects in check. Of course, this includes having well-trained and qualified experts and auditors conducting it for you.
What does this audit reviews in specific?
We have mentioned—briefly—that it reviews and audits all the regulations, laws, and rules and the conformance of the company with them.However, what are exactly the aspects it considers and evaluates?
Here is a quick look at all of them:
Local law and regulations: all companies need to make sure they meet every rule set for the local governmental entity. In this way, the company will get certified or recognized for all the regulations and laws it meets as an example of what needs to be done and how companies should operate according to the regulations for the industries they are part of.
Most of the time, conducting a Compliance Audit and this part of it requires setting up some processes or procedures that guarantee the company will continue following them. There is a lot to do in this part alone, and we are sure you will find the assistance or consulting service from a legal consultant that is quite familiar with the law in your location.
Business regulations and framework: as we mentioned before, industries and companies have their own rules to follow according to the area they are part of. Therefore, you need to be familiar with all the framework related to the industry you are part of and the company you own. This includes reviewing all types of rules and regulations, the ones that are local—from your city—and the national and international ones.
Internal policies and rules: it is not strange for a company to have its own rules and regulations. After all, it is necessary to have a policy that can help to regulate all the operations, processes, and actions that take place in the company. However, all these rules and internal policies also need some review and auditing.
Doing this allows companies to identify the operations and activities in the company that not only do not follow the policies but is also a waste of time for the business. After all, there is a specific standard and regulation for a reason.
If you want to perform your Compliance Audits due to all the information you just accessed, we would love to help you with this goal. In our company, ISO Pros, we are specialists in standards, regulations, consulting, and auditing processes.
We can help you to keep your Compliance Audit standards in check and make sure you qualify to get certified and conduct them. Of course, for all this, you need to be willing to not only make an investment but also make sure you have enough time to dedicate to this goal.
Keep in mind that this auditing process is crucial for your business and you shouldn’t underestimate how much it can provide to your data and functions.