Benefits of Documentation Audit/Desk Audit?
When you think about reviewing and checking the work you have done, it doesn’t have to be for a bad reason. In our company, we consider that double-checking or reviewing what we do is part of the high-quality services we are able to provide. Therefore, why is it a bad thing to do it? Or at least, why do companies seem to condemn such a process or activity?
This is important to understand if you really want to look at the benefits of Documentation Audit as what they are, benefits. However, people who don’t agree with us in what we were explaining previously might have a hard time trying to understand why they need to invest in this type of audit and how it benefits them. Well, to move onto the main topic and the reason why we are telling you all this we need to start by mentioning the main benefit: to improve the quality of the audit.
An audit is a long process where the best auditor can miss a small detail or piece of information. Of course, this is something that shouldn’t happen but auditors are humans as well and they have all their rights to make mistakes or miss something. Therefore, instead of condemning them for this and thinking about what to do after the problem took place, you can use the Documentation Audit as a method to prevent it in the first place.
Desk Audit allows companies and people to obtain a better-quality audit when they decide to check and review the documentation and records obtained from it. This allows them to find missing information, non-conformities, or make sure that the previous auditor conducted his or her work properly. Keep in mind that Documentation Audits can be conducted at the end of the audit process—the main one—to guarantee the quality right after it was performed.
Or you can go back to the documentation your company has been saving during all these years from previous audits to find details and data you might need right now. Now, during this same process, the documentation and records of an audit need to be organized and contain specific information.
You can also confirm and review this when conducting the audit we are discussing, and this will tell you if the auditor you have hired or assigned for the task is someone capable of doing this essential task. After all, it is part of its job and something every auditor should be able to handle.
That being said, Documentation Audit isn’t only used to prove if the auditor did or not a proper job with the auditing process. It also brings other benefits we are about to mention.
What benefits will your company enjoy the most?
If you aren’t trying to ensure that the previous auditor did a good job then, you can discard and completely forget about this benefit. But don’t throw it too far in case you need to conduct a Documentation Audit that will be related to the current audits you are performing and of course, with the auditor that managed the previous audit program. Other benefits included in this type of audit come from the main reasons why people and companies decide to conduct it.
Starting with:
– Guarantee the audit was performed while following the audit standards every company has to implement and determine if all the requirements from these standards are met or not. Most companies have a hard time trying to meet every guideline and requirement in standards such as ISO 9001.
This is why it may be necessary to conduct a Documentation Audit, especially if you have your doubts about the current degree of conformance of your company and the standards.
– The information and results are written and recorded in the documents is the right one. More than determining or making sure it is the correct information and evidence, it is about making sure all the key information is being saved once the audit has finished and taken place.
Otherwise, there will be some missing information in the future that can be relevant for the purpose you end up conducting a Documentation Audit at that time.
– It can help auditors to have an idea of the mistakes they have to avoid and how you want the audits to be conducted. Some companies have preferences about the approaches and methods to conduct an auditing process. But since it is necessary to conduct them quite often regardless of the type of audit, these companies have recorded without a doubt.
They can help future auditors you will hire or assign for this task to learn about the mistakes of the previous ones and meet all your expectations and needs apart from the aspects and elements they need to consider.
Is there a moment when Desk Audit doesn’t have a benefit?
In the first place, we are sure you wouldn’t conduct it unless you are sure you need it for something.
Therefore, we will answer this question in two different ways:
- Yes. Several situations take place when the company doesn’t have a good idea of what the audit is for and it isn’t the solution, they need to find the answers to some interrogatives.
- No. Because before conducting a Documentation Audit you should inform yourself and research properly. Besides, professional advice will always be present in these cases.
If you have doubts about needing or not to conduct it, you can always reach out to us and ask our professionals. At ISO Pros, we have experts and qualified auditors that can give you their advice and determine if you need to go through all the process of getting certified to conduct this type of audit. Or we can conduct it for you.
There are many processes involved in this auditing option, and we are here to help you with all of them. Starting with identifying your needs and if the Documentation Audit is what will solve your problems.
