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Digg it UP - Energizing Your Internal Audit Program
Why do movie stars look the way they do? It’s not just genetics. It’s because they spend lots of time working out, choosing clothes and doing their hair and makeup so they are photo gorgeous every time they step out the door. Yes, movie stars know the extra time and effort is what separates them from mere mortals like us.It is the same in business. While some companies spend their time, energy and resources getting the hundreds of tiny details just right, others are left wondering why their one advertisement on page three didn’t make a difference to their bottom line.If you want to find the star potential in your business, you have to be willing to have a good hard look at where it is at right now and be prepared to go the extra mile to make it shine. Visit your website as if you are seeing it for the first time. Drag out every brochure, manual, sales docket and letter and look at it from your customer’s perspective. Look at these items as salespeople for your business and question whether or not they are doing their job properly...... and trust your gut instinct! Your customers make most of their decisions about your business from an instinctive, unconscious level so you have to do it too. If you think something isn’t up to scratch, you can be pretty sure your customers will be thinking exactly the same thing. It’s the details that convince people to choose your business over someone else’s, so make sure they are working for you not against you.You need to ask yourself if your tone of voice, from the way you answer the phone to the way your website is written, is consistent and customer focused? Does the look and feel of all of your marketing materials work separately but also look like a family when placed beside its brothers and sisters? If not, it’s time to do the job properly. That means hiring a professional copywriter and graphic designer with an eye for detail. Preferably from a firm that knows how to spot your star quality, and has a tra
Supplier:
This is who is supplying the inputs to the process. The supplier can supply information or a material product. For our example the supplier would be whoever is specifying what to purchase, when to purchase and how many to purchase.
Process Activity:
This is the process. There are a number of associated tasks contributing to the process. For our example the process activity is purchasing
Outputs:
This is the result of the process. It can be information, energy or material. In our example the output of the purchasing process is the desired product or service delivered when needed. For our example it could be a product like a com
Buying horse properties, especially your own horse is similar to buying a dog except that this pet can be very expensive. Quality horses aren't cheap. If you’re in the market for a horse, you might be checking out newspaper ads, equine forums on the Internet, your state’s agricultural bulletin, notices on tack and feed stores or livestock auctions – all in search of a good horse at a good price. Depending on the animal’s breeding, health, age, size and ability, a recreational riding horse can cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to many thousands. The purchasing cost of the animal, however, is just the start. Julie Lucas, a horse veterinarian comments that often enough, the cost of the horse is insignificant or rather small when put together with the cost of its care and upkeep. Needless to say, procuring horses makes for a big financial step so careful planning and preparation must taken to avoid buying less than quality horses.Horse owners generally agree that it is better to buy horses from people who have been in the business for long. If you found a prospective dealer in horse properties like a farm or ranch owner, research about the owner and the establishment. Find out who their past clients are, and if you're willing to take the extra step, contact them and ask if they are satisfied with horse the ranch sold them. This is a better way to know your dealer rather than from brochures or Internet sites. It is also advised to buy your horse from large farms with a large selection of horses. People operating large ranches are experts in matching the need of prospective buyers to suitable horses (i.e. work horses, racing horses, show horses). Buying horses from small farms and individual owners are discouraged because they are usually just looking for opportunities to rid themselves of a problem horse. You might just end up buying another person's problem.If you have a trainer, include him in the purchasing process. He knows your skills and can match t
The key to an effective, thorough and value added internal audit is in the preparation. If internal auditors are spending one to two hours preparing for an internal audit, it is not enough time. To properly prepare for an audit, it should take twice to three times that. If the actual audit time will take an hour, there should be at between two and three hours spent in preparation. A good rule of thumb to spend about two and half times as much time in preparation as the audit will take. Often times, auditors plan for a two hour internal audit and spend 1 hour preparing which leads to them running out of questions about 30 minutes into the audit. I can’t stress this enough if you want to be a successful internal auditor or manage a successful internal audit program then make certain you spend adequate time in preparation for the audit.
This sounds easy, but it is actually very difficult. The major obstacles to allocating enough time for preparation are time restrictions placed on the internal auditors. Chances are they have other responsibilities aside from internal auditing that compete for their precious time. One method to help remove that obstacle is to have as many trained internal auditors as possible to spread the work load.
Effective planning for an internal audit requires following a few simple steps that are listed below.
1. Learn the process (turtle diagram)
2. Identify the interfaces with the standard
3. Document review (compliance to standard)
4. Identify process interfaces
5. Identify potential process failure modes (pFMEA)
6. Value stream map process to breakdown activities
7. Review old audits
8. Develop audit questions
9. Develop audit plan.
1. Learn the process
Before you can audit a process you must become familiar with it. You need to learn how it is supposed to work, what it supposed to do, what are the inputs, outputs, activities, resources and controls. The first step would be to create a turtle diagram of the process (This may have already been done by the organization as part of their documentation, or in previous audits). A turtle diagram looks at the suppliers, inputs, activities, controls, resources, outputs, and customers. A turtle diagram is laid out such that the process activity is a box in the middle, the inputs come in from the left and outputs exit from the right of the box. The supplier is listed in the upper left hand corner and the customer is listed in the upper right hand corner. The controls are above the process activity and the resources are below the process activity. The feedback loop is an arrow from the output to the input. Let’s do an example of a turtle diagram for a process. For this example, the process will be one that applies to about every business in some way and that’s purchasing.
Inputs:
This is what the process needs for the activity. It can be in the form of information or a product. For this example the inputs are: Demand (what is driving the purchase), Quantity, Type, Specifications and Requirements, Due date and Budget (how much can be spent).
Supplier:
This is who is supplying the inputs to the process. The supplier can supply information or a material product. For our example the supplier would be whoever is specifying what to purchase, when to purchase and how many to purchase.
Process Activity:
This is the process. There are a number of associated tasks contributing to the process. For our example the process activity is purchasing
Outputs:
This is the result of the process. It can be information, energy or material. In our example the output of the purchasing process is the desired product or service delivered when needed. For our example it could be a product like a comp
Many businesses use direct mail as a method of acquiring new customers. Your mailing piece must be well written to achieve the type of response that will make the effort worthwhile, especially financially, since postage and printing costs make it an expensive method of advertising .But it works! Well-written direct mail can bring in hundreds and thousands of new customers . Your writing efforts are not merely a cost in constructing a direct mail letter in fact, you can help a company earn substantially more as a result of a successful direct mail campaign.Effective direct mail creates an image in a clients mind. That vision is primarily one in which the persons life will be enhanced by the purchase of the product or service being advertised. This is your goal. to help the potential customer see how much better things will be because of what you are advertising in the letter.Here are 9 ways to make a direct mail letter effective.1. The opening of the letter should be treated with the same reverence as a headline. You have to grab the readers attention quickly and make them want to keep on reading. It may be the outside of the direct mail envelope that starts the process. If its good enough, the person tears open the envelope and begins reading. Then the headline andfirst paragraph of the letter must create the same effect. to keep the person reading.2. There must be reasons to keep reading, usually in the form of some benefits. Because the person opened the envelope, there is a free offer. Then, when reading the first paragraph, more benefits jump out; the value of the service or product, perhaps. Put in a good benefit with each paragraph and keep the paragraphs short!3. Do not offer benefits that are not believable. Do not make promises you can not keep. The idea is not to make people skeptical, but to make them see the tangible benefits that you offer are valid. To this end, be specific. General terms usually provoke disbeli
This sounds easy, but it is actually very difficult. The major obstacles to allocating enough time for preparation are time restrictions placed on the internal auditors. Chances are they have other responsibilities aside from internal auditing that compete for their precious time. One method to help remove that obstacle is to have as many trained internal auditors as possible to spread the work load.
Effective planning for an internal audit requires following a few simple steps that are listed below.
1. Learn the process (turtle diagram)
2. Identify the interfaces with the standard
3. Document review (compliance to standard)
4. Identify process interfaces
5. Identify potential process failure modes (pFMEA)
6. Value stream map process to breakdown activities
7. Review old audits
8. Develop audit questions
9. Develop audit plan.
1. Learn the process
Before you can audit a process you must become familiar with it. You need to learn how it is supposed to work, what it supposed to do, what are the inputs, outputs, activities, resources and controls. The first step would be to create a turtle diagram of the process (This may have already been done by the organization as part of their documentation, or in previous audits). A turtle diagram looks at the suppliers, inputs, activities, controls, resources, outputs, and customers. A turtle diagram is laid out such that the process activity is a box in the middle, the inputs come in from the left and outputs exit from the right of the box. The supplier is listed in the upper left hand corner and the customer is listed in the upper right hand corner. The controls are above the process activity and the resources are below the process activity. The feedback loop is an arrow from the output to the input. Let’s do an example of a turtle diagram for a process. For this example, the process will be one that applies to about every business in some way and that’s purchasing.
Inputs:
This is what the process needs for the activity. It can be in the form of information or a product. For this example the inputs are: Demand (what is driving the purchase), Quantity, Type, Specifications and Requirements, Due date and Budget (how much can be spent).
Supplier:
This is who is supplying the inputs to the process. The supplier can supply information or a material product. For our example the supplier would be whoever is specifying what to purchase, when to purchase and how many to purchase.
Process Activity:
This is the process. There are a number of associated tasks contributing to the process. For our example the process activity is purchasing
Outputs:
This is the result of the process. It can be information, energy or material. In our example the output of the purchasing process is the desired product or service delivered when needed. For our example it could be a product like a com
Travel franchises give entrepreneurs the option to invest in work from home franchise opportunities that are both interesting and profitable for prospective businessmen and women, even without a college degree or related experience.After all, what could be more fulfilling than helping a newlywed bride and groom plan their dream honeymoon or planning that ideal family vacation with an ecstatic father?Even more appealing, travel franchise income opportunities also give franchisees the chance to get away at a reduced rate. Most often, franchisors in this booming travel industry offer discounted travel to their franchisees, making your payouts all the more attractive.A Wide Range of Franchise Opportunities There are many avenues one can take to get involved with travel franchises, including travel agency franchise opportunities, cruise franchise opportunities, and hotel and rental car franchise opportunities. Even touring companies and map publishers offer franchise opportunities to entrepreneurs eager to become part of the exciting travel industry.How to Choose What's Right for You The segment you choose may depend on the type of work that most interests you. Perhaps you have always been intrigued by the lodging industry, secretly dreaming of owning a hotel.If so, you may be interested in knowing that 70 % of hotels in the United States are part of franchises. Or, you may be interested in providing specialized services, such as planning the entire vacation. Many travel agents are so detailed that they offer health-related advice for those taking trips to exotic locations.Maybe you are looking for a lucrative opportunity for home-based income. If so, you'll be glad to know that many travel franchise opportunities allow you to successfully work from home with an Internet franchise.Moreover, not only are many travel franchises great prospects for home-based income and discou
4. Identify process interfaces
5. Identify potential process failure modes (pFMEA)
6. Value stream map process to breakdown activities
7. Review old audits
8. Develop audit questions
9. Develop audit plan.
1. Learn the process
Before you can audit a process you must become familiar with it. You need to learn how it is supposed to work, what it supposed to do, what are the inputs, outputs, activities, resources and controls. The first step would be to create a turtle diagram of the process (This may have already been done by the organization as part of their documentation, or in previous audits). A turtle diagram looks at the suppliers, inputs, activities, controls, resources, outputs, and customers. A turtle diagram is laid out such that the process activity is a box in the middle, the inputs come in from the left and outputs exit from the right of the box. The supplier is listed in the upper left hand corner and the customer is listed in the upper right hand corner. The controls are above the process activity and the resources are below the process activity. The feedback loop is an arrow from the output to the input. Let’s do an example of a turtle diagram for a process. For this example, the process will be one that applies to about every business in some way and that’s purchasing.
Inputs:
This is what the process needs for the activity. It can be in the form of information or a product. For this example the inputs are: Demand (what is driving the purchase), Quantity, Type, Specifications and Requirements, Due date and Budget (how much can be spent).
Supplier:
This is who is supplying the inputs to the process. The supplier can supply information or a material product. For our example the supplier would be whoever is specifying what to purchase, when to purchase and how many to purchase.
Process Activity:
This is the process. There are a number of associated tasks contributing to the process. For our example the process activity is purchasing
Outputs:
This is the result of the process. It can be information, energy or material. In our example the output of the purchasing process is the desired product or service delivered when needed. For our example it could be a product like a com
Many folks believe that all business people and CEOs are greedy Machiavellian types and should be arrested. It is amazing how few people take everything for granted without realizing that it was the businesses and entrepreneurs who have brought in everything you see, everywhere you go. It is Over Regulation in the US that is truly hurting consumers.What is interesting is that with over lawyering and over regulation we are defeating ourselves. The Rule Breaker, Rule Maker Syndrome is certainly coming true for start-ups, which get a foothold and grow into corporate giants, take Google for instance and just as predicted by the Motley Fools, now they are making the rules. Why? Well it is all about survival and battling bureaucracy.You must fight the bureaucracy builders and yet you need to be focused like a laser beam to win in business. You need economies of scale to get top billing. Henry Kissinger was right and so was Colonel Boyd in discussing the guerilla warfare of labeling your opponent unfit to lead only so they can indeed take their place. And yet so few understand how business works or why their negative comments about business is exactly the problem, which causes the over regulation and bureaucracy in the first place.Personally, I am an advocate of the "Red Magic Marker" committee and Ronald Regan got it right in his quote about "if it moves tax it, stops subsidize it" and even Google, as it grows into a huge multi-national conglomerate corporation will have to deal with its own growth and size. But just like the US government Google must stay agile with fluidity of motion to win.As an entrepreneur I only care about winning and if you define that correctly as in Western "Win-Win" style its all good. We should all understand that businesses are not evil, large companies are not bad, CEOs are doing their job, entrepreneurs are the life blood of America and if we want more integrity, honesty and cooperation, we need to limit the bureaucracy a
Inputs:
This is what the process needs for the activity. It can be in the form of information or a product. For this example the inputs are: Demand (what is driving the purchase), Quantity, Type, Specifications and Requirements, Due date and Budget (how much can be spent).
Supplier:
This is who is supplying the inputs to the process. The supplier can supply information or a material product. For our example the supplier would be whoever is specifying what to purchase, when to purchase and how many to purchase.
Process Activity:
This is the process. There are a number of associated tasks contributing to the process. For our example the process activity is purchasing
Outputs:
This is the result of the process. It can be information, energy or material. In our example the output of the purchasing process is the desired product or service delivered when needed. For our example it could be a product like a com
About RFIDRadio frequency identification or RFID, is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify people or objects. There are several methods of identification, but the most common is to store a serial number that identifies a person or object, and perhaps other information, on a microchip that is attached to an antenna (the chip and the antenna together are called an RFID transponder or an RFID tag. Visit http://www.bigsquid.org for more information on this). The antenna enables the chip to transmit the identification information to a reader. The reader converts the radio waves reflected back from the RFID tag into digital information that can then be passed on to the computers that can make use of it.ObjectiveThe objective of any RFID system is to carry data in suitable transponders, generally known as tags, and to retrieve data, by machine-readable means, at a suitable time and place to satisfy particular application needs. Data within a tag may provide identification for an item in manufacture, goods in transit, a location, and identity of a vehicle, an animal or individual. By including additional data the prospect is provided for supporting applications through item specific information or instructions immediately available on reading the tag.The system requires, in addition to tags, a means of reading or interrogating the tags and some means of communicating the data to a host computer or information management system. A system will also include a facility for entering or programming data into the tags. Quite often an antenna is distinguished as if it were a separate part of an RFID system. While its importance justifies the attention it must be seen as a feature that is present in both readers and tags, essential for the communication between the two. To understand and appreciate the capabilities of RFID systems it is necessary to consider their constituent parts. It is also necessary to consider the dat
Supplier:
This is who is supplying the inputs to the process. The supplier can supply information or a material product. For our example the supplier would be whoever is specifying what to purchase, when to purchase and how many to purchase.
Process Activity:
This is the process. There are a number of associated tasks contributing to the process. For our example the process activity is purchasing
Outputs:
This is the result of the process. It can be information, energy or material. In our example the output of the purchasing process is the desired product or service delivered when needed. For our example it could be a product like a computer or piece of test equipment. It could be information such as a failure analysis, training materials, book or manual. It could also be a service such as mowing the grass, doing the laundry or processing payroll.
Controls:
These are the items that regulate the rate at which inputs are converted to outputs. Without controls, the process would operate continuously generating the output. The controls for our example could be the material requirements planning software, the purchase requisition approval process and inventory analysis.
Resources:
These are the items used or consumed in the process activity. It could be people’s time, machine time or money. For our example, the resources would be the buyer or purchasing agent, money, the representative for the company supplying the product or service and possibly other support functions who have input for the purchase. Additional resources are in the form of computers, material planning software, phones, fax, office space, etc.
Customer:
The customer is the group that takes the output and uses it. It is most likely used as an input to another process or as a resource.
Feedback Loop:
This is the mechanism used to monitor the process. What metric is used to tell the process owner how the process is performing and when action needs to be taken to correct it. For a purchasing process it could be supplier performance, dollars spent, on-time delivery or receiving inspection information.
2. Identify the Interfaces to the Standard
The interfaces are the points where the process intersects the standard. In simple terms it is where the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 standard are applicable to the process being audited. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use a matrix with the elements of the standard on one axis and the process name on the other.
To better discern the interfaces of the process to the standard you could break the elements down into the sub elements. For example, 7.2 Customer Related Processes is comprised of 7.2.1 Determination of requirements related to the product, 7.2.2 Review of requirements related to the product and 7.2.3 Customer communication. The left side of the matrix would become larger, but you would have a more definitive intersection of the process and standard. This activity provides you with the understanding of what areas of the standard apply to the process. You will be developing questions to ensure compliance to the standard and this tells you what areas of the standard to focus on.
3. Document Review
The document review section requires reading and understanding the associated documentation for the process you are auditing. Start with the level 1 document, the quality manual. The quality manual should provide an overview of the process and should describe how the process fits into the overall quality system. The quality manual will explain what processes feed the process you are auditing and what processes are supported by it. It will describe the interaction and interrelationshi
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