Does the company live up to its objectives? Is there consistency between intention and action? Is the company on track – or is it going off track? What can be improved?
The management in any company wants to know the answers to these questions, and auditing can help provide them as a dialogue-based, objective and reliable management tool.
The audit process gives management the status of the company – a snapshot of its condition. The auditor works across the silos that may exist within a company and determines the interaction between units, such as sales, procurement and production. Whether the defined processes are working, whether there are deviations, and whether they can be more effective, explains Jens Ulrik Hansen, Chief Consultant in Audit and Business Development at FORCE Technology.
Team leader for the audit team
'A lead auditor acts as the team leader for an audit team when audits are conducted. It is the lead auditor who plans and delegates the tasks before the audit, and it is the lead auditor who reviews and approves the auditors' reports', says Jens Ulrik Hansen and continues: 'The lead auditor helps ensure that the management system supports management in achieving its objectives. That the management’s tool to reach its objectives is in order'.
The outcome of an audit depends entirely on the lead auditor. The lead auditor leads the way when management wants answers about whether the company is meeting its objectives. This applies both as the team leader for the audit team and as the link to management.
Presenting results to management
It is inherent in the title that the lead auditor has a special role in relation to the company's management. When management is audited – for example, the link between the management system and the organisation’s mission, vision and strategy – it is the lead auditor who performs the audit.
'The lead auditor also has another important function – he or she is the link between management and the audit team during the planning and conducting of audits. In addition, it is the lead auditor who presents the audit results to management', says Jens Ulrik Hansen. He emphasises: – 'The outcome of the audit depends entirely on the skills of the lead auditor'.
