This is a tough one, especially in these days when "audits" and "auditors" are not seen as being very value-added by management. With a question like "what is the effectiveness of auditing", you have the opportunity to document the value of doing audits.
We have a somewhat similar situation in safety here at Fluor Hanford. We have a mandatory safety inspection program, and all the inspections come back to me for analysis. We do plot the number of inspections and the inspections scores on control charts, and also lay them out with the injury charts. It does appear there is some correlation - in those time intervals where inspections drop off, injuries go up, and vice - versa. Now, I will not suppose that inspections and injuries are a direct cause and effect relationship, but there is enough correlation and theory (get people out there looking for and fixing hazards, and you'll prevent injuries) that it is used as an effectiveness measure for safety overall.
In auditing, I would want to ask the bigger picture - what process is the audit supposed to be helping, and what are the effectiveness measures for that process? Can I link audit actions (and corrective actions and improvements following an audit) to improved outcome measures?
The question is related to internal audits. Do you have external audits of the same areas, and can show those areas internally audited do not have many external findings? How about customer satisfaction measures related to areas with audits?
I think a key is to sit back and determine what the aim of doing internal audits is, and what you expect them to accomplish, and how they interact with the overall systems. Then convert that to measurables.
We have a somewhat similar situation in safety here at Fluor Hanford. We have a mandatory safety inspection program, and all the inspections come back to me for analysis. We do plot the number of inspections and the inspections scores on control charts, and also lay them out with the injury charts. It does appear there is some correlation - in those time intervals where inspections drop off, injuries go up, and vice - versa. Now, I will not suppose that inspections and injuries are a direct cause and effect relationship, but there is enough correlation and theory (get people out there looking for and fixing hazards, and you'll prevent injuries) that it is used as an effectiveness measure for safety overall.
In auditing, I would want to ask the bigger picture - what process is the audit supposed to be helping, and what are the effectiveness measures for that process? Can I link audit actions (and corrective actions and improvements following an audit) to improved outcome measures?
The question is related to internal audits. Do you have external audits of the same areas, and can show those areas internally audited do not have many external findings? How about customer satisfaction measures related to areas with audits?
I think a key is to sit back and determine what the aim of doing internal audits is, and what you expect them to accomplish, and how they interact with the overall systems. Then convert that to measurables.
