Audit checklist and working papers

Checklists and working papers

Working papers are the documents an auditor prepares and fills in during an audit: the checklist, sampling notes, records of evidence and copies or references of documents examined. The checklist is the part prepared in advance. It keeps the audit on scope, makes sure each criterion is covered and gives a place to record evidence. Its weakness is that it can narrow the auditor's attention; a good auditor uses it as a guide and follows trails that open up on site.

Audit strategies

• Forward trace: follow the process from input to output, for example a purchase order through receiving, production and shipment.
• Backward trace: start from an output, such as a shipped order or complaint, and work back.
• Element or clause: audit one requirement across several areas.
• Department: audit everything that happens in one area.
• Process approach: audit a process with its inputs, outputs, resources, controls and measures, and its links to other processes.
• Discovery: an open look for issues without a fixed path, used with care because it is hard to bound.

Objective evidence

Objective evidence is data that supports the existence or truth of something, gathered by observation, measurement, test, interview or examination of documents and records. It must be verifiable: another auditor should be able to go back and see the same thing. Record document numbers, dates, quantities and locations. "The area seems disorganized" is an impression; "4 of 12 pallets in the hold cage had no hold tag" is evidence. Corroborate what people tell you with records or observation.

Questions and sampling

Open questions ("Show me how...", "Walk me through...") produce evidence; closed questions produce yes or no. Plan the sample before the audit, draw it from the whole period and population in scope, and record what was actually checked. If fewer items were checked than planned, the conclusion has to be limited to what was seen. Audit sampling is usually judgmental; when a statistical sample is used, the plan should say how it was drawn.

On the CQA exam

Expect questions on the purpose and drawbacks of checklists, which tracing strategy fits a scenario, what counts as objective evidence, and how to word an interview question.

Common questions

What should an audit checklist include?

For each line: the criterion (the clause or requirement), the question you will ask, the method (interview, observation or record review), the sample you will take, the objective evidence you actually saw, and the result: conforms, nonconformity or opportunity for improvement. A checklist that only lists clause numbers is a reminder, not a plan.

What are audit working papers?

Everything the auditor uses and produces during the audit: the plan, the checklists, sampling records, interview notes, the evidence log and the draft findings. They support the report, so each finding can be traced back to evidence, and they are kept as the audit program requires.

Should I use a generic ISO 9001 checklist or write my own?

Start from the standard, then tailor it to the process you are auditing, its risks, recent changes and earlier findings. A process approach (inputs, outputs, resources, methods, measures) finds more than walking the clauses in order. The turtle diagram helps build those questions.

How many records should I sample?

Enough to support a conclusion about the process, chosen so every period, shift or product line has a chance to be picked. Judgment samples are normal in management system audits; the audit sampling plan shows sample sizes when you need a statistical basis.

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