In the world of risk management, one of the main challenges is ensuring that audits focus on the most critical areas within an organization. To achieve this, the concept of “auditable units” is used, which allows the identification and prioritization of different processes, areas, or functions that should be audited. This approach optimizes resources and helps generate greater value for the company, ensuring efficient and timely oversight.
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An auditable unit is any part of the organization that can be subject to an audit. It can be a process, a functional area, a project, or a specific function. Its primary purpose is to assess the risks, controls, and compliance within that unit, to identify opportunities for improvement and mitigate potential failures or non-compliance. This flexible definition allows the concept to be adapted to different organizational realities and needs, ensuring that each audit provides relevant and useful information.
Risk-based auditing with auditable units begins with identifying and assessing the organization’s most significant risks. From there, each auditable unit is analyzed according to various criteria, such as inherent risk level, time elapsed since the last audit, number of previous findings, remediation plan compliance, significant changes, and senior management interest. These factors are combined to assign a criticality rating to each unit, determining its priority in the audit plan.
To facilitate management, a prioritization matrix is used that automatically ranks auditable units based on their criticality level, helping decide what to audit first. This process is dynamic and adjusts as new risks are associated or data is updated, always maintaining focus on the most critical units.
Additionally, creating an auditable unit is straightforward: the user completes a form with data such as the unit’s name, description, type, responsible party, and whether it has been previously audited. The criticality rating adjusts in real time based on responses and linked risks, providing a clear and up-to-date view for decision-making.
This approach has proven valuable in different contexts. For example, a manufacturing company may audit units related to the management of physical resources to prevent operational failures. In a financial institution, auditable units might include areas such as legal advisory or regulatory compliance, where the risk of sanctions or losses is high. It can also be applied in strategic areas, such as corporate governance, to ensure decisions and plans are aligned with identified risks.
Thus, auditable units enable organizations to audit efficiently, focusing efforts on the risks that most impact the business and ensuring effective and current control.
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