Auditors, particularly auditors conducting governmental audits, frequently have poor relationships with the entities they are auditing. In some ways, this is predictable because government auditors aren’t usually hired by the entity under audit. Instead, the auditor gets to choose who gets audited, and the auditee rarely appreciates being selected.
Wouldn’t it be great if the auditor could have friendly and productive conversations with the auditee starting with the entrance conference? When the auditor says the classic auditor line, “We’re here to help,” wouldn’t it be amazing to hear back from the auditee, “And we’re happy to have you”? That can happen if the auditor nurtures the auditor and auditee relationship.
After applying the techniques for improving the auditor and auditee relationship covered in this short course, the auditee will be more apt to welcome you and courteously give you what you need to get your work done, making the whole audit experience much more enjoyable for everyone involved.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify techniques to improve auditor/auditee relations
- Define practices that will improve auditor/auditee conferences
- Identify useful skills for presentations
- Recognize techniques to better communicate findings with the auditee
- Identify methods to achieve acceptance of findings and recommendations
- Identify the rationale and the need for timely written comments to audit findings and techniques to address the auditee’s response
- Author: Boyers Allen
