An audit is an inspection of an organisation’s procedures and activities to ensure that they meet the required standard. This can identify risks to the organisation and give stakeholders confidence that the organisation is in line with legislation and other requirements.
 

Objectives of an audit commonly include:

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• Ensuring compliance with contractual and/or legislative requirements
   

• Evaluation of follow-up corrective action since previous audit
   

• Evaluation of level of compliance of auditee's activities, systems, processes, products or services with quality system's objectives
   

• Identifying areas of potential improvement
   

• Measuring performance in achieving quality objectives and confirming the effectiveness of the implemented quality system in meeting specified objectives.

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Value-adding activities

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Although the main purpose of an audit is to determine compliance with policies and procedures, auditors can also conduct additional ‘value-adding’ activities. These consist of using their knowledge and experience gained through the audit to also highlight areas of good practice and suggest ways for the management to improve their business.

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