Audit and inspection preparation checklist
Checklist template
Check this template against your local regulations and your own policies before you use it.
- Business
- Location
- Date
Audit preparation
From the audit notice to the day after
| Done | Task | Notes | Initials |
|---|---|---|---|
| When the audit is booked | |||
| Confirm the date, the auditor or inspector, what will be checked and against which standard or rules | |||
| Name one person to coordinate the audit and be the auditor's contact | |||
| Ask for the agenda, and the documents the auditor wants to see beforehand | |||
| Read the last audit or inspection report and its findings | |||
| Documents and records | |||
| Gather the current policies and procedures in scope, and check none are past their review date | |||
| Bring the obligations, risk, incident and corrective action registers up to date | |||
| Pull together the records the auditor is likely to sample, such as completed checklists, logs and files | |||
| Check the training matrix, and that licenses and certificates in scope are currentBook refresher training now for anything that has expired. | |||
| Open issues | |||
| Close the corrective actions from the last audit, with evidence they worked | |||
| Fix any gap you find while preparing, or record it with a plan and a dateAn honest plan for a known gap usually goes down better than an auditor finding it. | |||
| People | |||
| Tell staff when the audit is and what to expect | |||
| Brief the people likely to be interviewed to answer honestly, show how they really work, and say if they don't know | |||
| Make sure managers for each area are available on the day | |||
| The site and the day | |||
| Walk the site with the checklist for your area, such as the workplace inspection checklist, and fix what you find | |||
| Book a room, and set up access to the systems and files the auditor will need | |||
| Prepare a short opening introduction to the business and how it's organized | |||
| After the audit | |||
| Record each finding in the corrective action register with an owner and due date | |||
| Send the auditor any evidence or responses they asked for, by the date agreed | |||
| Thank the team and share the results | |||
- Completed by
- Checked by (manager)
- Date
- Notes
