Audit management
An audit is used to check processes and systems in order to determine their effectiveness, efficiency and compliance with standards and ISO norms. Internal and external audits must be planned and carefully prepared for this purpose. A successful audit requires comprehensible and reliable documentation, which forms the basis for evaluating the results. HITGuard supports you with:
- Planning and administration of internal and external audit appointments and programs as well as their participants
- Conducting surveys with test questionnaires based on the HITGuard knowledge databases
- Preparation of audit plans and reports, including the options for filing audit results from external reporters
- Analysis of audit results using KPIs and other evaluations
- Comprehensible handling of tasks from test results
- Supports re-evaluation of tests
We were selected by Gartner Digital Markets as "Best of" award winner 2023 for the best rated products in the category "Audit Management"!
The "Best ease of use" and "Best functionality & features" badges are based on verified user reviews on Gartner's websites and recognize the software products that offer the best ease of use & functionality in their respective categories.
Planning audits and audit programs
Plan audits at different locations, with different internal and external auditors within the multi-year review cycles. Group the audits thematically or chronologically into audit programs to maintain a better overview. HITGuard supports you with these functions:
- Manage external and internal auditors, audit clusters and audit priorities as well as different audit types (customer and supplier, compliance or product audits, etc.)
- Start your planning with a rough outline and gradually move on to detailed planning of your dates in the audit calendar
- When planning, use the functionalities to identify necessary re-audits or preparatory audits for external audits
- Maintain the status of your audits and audit programs from draft to completion to keep track of your schedule fulfillment
- Define the focal points that should be emphasized in an audit or audit program.
- Announce your audits with an exportable audit plan including an agenda and the planned audit topics.
Preparation of the audit dates
The more different appointments and audits are scheduled in the course of a year, the more difficult it becomes to keep track of everything. HITGuard offers an optimized calendar that you can configure according to your requirements and thus supports you in planning and handling all appointments:
- See the most important details and the current implementation status of an audit at a glance in the calendar
- Determine which responsible persons are needed for the interviews and whether they will send additional interview partners
- Prepare the audit appointments with lists of questions that you can take from the HITGuard knowledge databases for specific topics
- Announce your audits with an audit plan report
- Use the appointment export options to send your prepared appointment invitations to all participants or send out the questionnaires directly as self-assessments
Audit implementation
HITGuard offers you the option of using standardized questionnaires so that you don't lose sight of the essentials during an audit and can easily create a reliable transcript. You can even use the form generated from this for remote surveys:
- Create your own question catalogs, which are managed via a version management system. This allows you to track when you discussed which questions with whom based on which question list.
- Use the question catalog for different standards that we provide as subscriptions.
- You can classify the audit responses as deviations, notes or recommendations using finding types. Evidence can be uploaded.
- The knowledge database provides you with task templates that are used to handle the deviation and can be tracked using workflows.
- An audit report with a wide range of configuration options leaves nothing to be desired in terms of the type and scope of reporting.
Reports and key figures
Complete documentation and communication of the results to the relevant stakeholders is important for successful audit management. HITGuard offers meaningful key figures and the option of generating clear reports for a wide range of requirements. These reports include not only the audits themselves, but also the associated follow-up work.
- Generate document-controlled and audit-proof logs and reports
- Take advantage of the wide range of reporting options that help you to customize your reporting for specific target groups
- Use text modules and e-mail support to send the various reports before and after the audits
- Monitor the development status and results of your audits with KPIs in configurable dashboards
- Generate meaningful key figures such as an evaluation of audit times for management, supervisory bodies and authorities
Audit treatment
In the course of audits, the need for action of various kinds is identified. The derived measures should be processed and their effectiveness checked by means of recurring checks. HITGuard allows those responsible for the management system to carry this out with workflow support:
- Take these steps during the review in collaboration with the interview partners or during the audit follow-up
- Get an overview of your development towards the target status through workflow-supported progress reports
- Find the ideal time for re-audits/re-evaluations based on the current implementation status
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