Just-in-time audit
/What is a Just-in-Time Audit?
A typical management technique in the audit department is for the audit manager to lock in a schedule of audits to be conducted for the next 12 months. Doing so makes it easier to arrange staffing schedules, budget for department costs , and block out time with the local business unit managers. A locked-in schedule can also be used as a performance measurement for the audit department, where its manager commits to complete a certain number of projects, and is then measured against that commitment. Completing all scheduled audits might even be a trigger for the payment of bonuses to auditors .
However, a rigid and long-term scheduling system leaves no scheduling space for rush audit requests. A rush request typically arises when there is a control breach or a need for advice regarding a systems change. These requests usually must be addressed in short order, which requires substantial last-minute changes to the department work schedule.
A mid-way measure that accommodates the need for rush projects is to block out a significant part of the full annual schedule well in advance, while deliberately leaving a number of time periods open. This approach allows the audit manager to accommodate a number of priority projects without an undue number of changes to the overall work schedule. The result is a company that has a good impression of the responsiveness of the internal audit department, as well as a work schedule that, by and large, does not require much shifting of priorities.
