Balanced and fair audit reports

I think it’s fair to say that operating management doesn’t look forward to an internal audit report.

However they may feel about the competence and professionalism of the auditors, they know from experience that the formal reports at the end of an audit won’t make them look good.

The best they can hope for is an absence of significant ‘findings’ and an opinion that says their work is ‘adequate’.

Is that fair and balanced?

Is that an accurate representation of the quality of work that management and their team are producing?

Is that what you would like to hear from your manager in a performance review: an absence of significant issues?

I think we can and should do better.

If a department or business unit is doing well, we should say so.

If they have adopted what might be considered a best practice that could be adopted elsewhere, we should say so.

If they have made significant progress since the last audit? We should say so.

If individuals should be commended, we should do so.

Frankly, this is one of the problems with a formal, written audit report. If we were to either augment or (perhaps better) replace a written report with an in-person briefing of management, we would be far more likely to say what we are reluctant to write.

The converse is also true.

We are reluctant to include in the report (but might say in a briefing) that individuals lack experience or competence. But we should find a way to say it.

We are in love with traffic light audit reports and opinions, where the highest grade is a B+. Yet sometimes management deserves an A+!

Sarah Bareilles wrote a song, Brave, which captures what I think about this.

I welcome your comments.