About this template
If you’ve already done the hard work, why reinvent the wheel? Looking over previous reviews during the planning phase of an audit is a great way to bring you up to speed on the audit topic, former business processes and possible issues.
This template will focus on the previous review, as well as any audit recommendations which have been raised for this area.
Why use this template
This template gives a quick and easy checklist of things to consider when reviewing a previous audit file. Furthermore, by completing this workpaper, the auditor is able to get a crash course of the audit topic which will help have informed planning discussions with the business area.
When to use this template
This template should be used in the planning phase and should be one of the first activities completed by the auditor. The template should be used before there are any planning discussions.
Things to be careful about
Whilst prior audits are a great way to save time as workpapers and documents are already created, we should be careful to ensure that the review was done to a satisfactory level. Errors in the prior audit can be carried forward if we become too reliant. Furthermore, the business area may be anticipating what the audit is going to do. An audit should always have a level of unpredictability to ensure that any issues are identified and not covered up by the business area. Finally, being too reliant on the prior workpaper may see us miss key areas of risk, not challenge processes, or not value add during the audit.
