All types of organizations and operational processes demand a variety of audits and assessments to evaluate compliance with standards—ranging from government regulations, to industry codes, to management system standards (e.g., ISO, GFSI), to internal requirements.
A well-designed and well-executed audit/assessment program provides an essential tool for improving and verifying performance. Audits and assessments capture regulatory compliance status, management system conformance, adequacy of internal controls, potential risks, and best practices.
Beyond “Find-and-Fix” Audits and Assessments
KTL doesn’t rely on the typical “find-and-fix” audits and assessments. While these are good at identifying and even fixing problems, they don’t prevent problems or create improvements over time. The result is a never-ending cycle of audit and assessment reports with problems to fix every year— often the same ones—and requests for funds to fix them.
One of the many advantages of KTL’s audits and assessments is that they help identify problems so corrective/preventive actions can be put into place and then sustained and improved through a management system. Audits and assessments also help companies with continuous improvement initiatives; properly developed programs help measure results over time.
By combining effective program design, standardized procedures, trained/knowledgeable auditors, and computerized systems and tools system, KTL enables companies to capture and analyze audit/assessment data, and then use that information to improve business performance.
We design our audit/assessment programs to achieve:
- Improved compliance assurance
- Real cost savings over time
- Opportunities for continual business performance improvement
- Greater reliability in implementing sustainable management systems, internal controls, business processes, and operational practices
Audit and Assessment Services
KTL has designed audit and assessment programs and assisted with implementation and auditor training for numerous clients to help them extract business value and sustain operational improvements. Our auditing and assessment services include the following:
- Audit/assessment program, plan, and procedure review/assessment, design, and improvement
- Onsite or virtual compliance and management system auditing to determine compliance/conformance status (e.g., multi-media environmental; ISO management systems; EPA, FDA, FSMA, OSHA compliance)
- Certification readiness audits (e.g., ISO, GFSI, industry standards)
- Gap assessments to observe operations, identify recommendations for improvement, and implement best practices for ongoing compliance and/or certification (i.e., EHS, quality, food safety)
- Implementation of information technology tools to streamline audit/assessment planning, completion, and reporting
- Audit protocol customization to be used during the audit, including federal, state, permit, and local requirements (including the use of TEAMGuide and OSHGuide)
- Root cause analysis and recommendations for corrective and preventive actions
- Reporting and data analysis
- Audit entrance and exit briefings for managers of audited operations
- Internal auditor training and support