About this template
An Audit Universe is a tool central to any Internal Audit function. It’s purpose as a consolidated list of all auditable entities and topics across the business, helps Internal Audit functions ensure they have sufficient coverage across the business, or are addressing more ‘critical / high risk’ areas of the business.
This template includes some of the following areas which will help assist audit fuctions in their annual planning processes:
- Breakdown of audit topics per business areas;
- Links / cross business coverage per audit topics;
- Risk rating per topic (based on the companies risk register);
- Prior audit activities;
- Key contracts;
- Type of audit;
- Other assrance activities performed over the audit topics; and
- Audit budget / resourcing.
This template is completely modifiabe. Our tool / template has been developed to allow for easy monitoring, which can also be used for reporting to management or the audit committee.
Why use this template
This template offers Internal Audit departments a central view of audit activity across the business. Furthermore, this template helps audit function with their annual planing exercises.
The template ca also provide quick and easy reporting should management or the audit committee request information on the functions current audit coverage.
An Audit Universe can serve multiple purposes, the most important however being a great tracker of what audits have been performed previously, what topics should be considered for immedate review, and what are some potential longer term audit priorities.
When to use this template
Ideally, this tool should be updated on a regular basis. A top to bottom review should be performed annually as part of the Annual Planning exercise, with other substantial reviews performed prior to each audit committee meeting, or as part of the half yearly annual plan review.
Failure to maintain the doucment on a regular basis could see it become obselete or a burden, with the benefits of the tool being lost as a result if the neglect.
Things to be careful about
This tool can be whatever you want it to be. Whilst it has been designed to capture a lot of information, and has the ability to have even more info added in, care should be taken not to over-complicate the tool. Making it ‘too much of a beast’, may see it become hard to maintain, broken, or confusing.
Remember: Keep it simple.
