WHAT ADDS VALUE?
This is probably the most important question management is asking these days. Functions and activities that don’t add value are outsourced. Quality, operational, internal, and financial audits are outsourced if they don’t add real operational and managerial value. If auditing doesn’t add value, then the outsourced audits must be flexible, objective, and cost effective.

Value means different things to different people. What is important to one organization may be different to another. One company’s best practice may be another company’s standard operating procedure.

 Audit value comes from managing risks, measuring operational effectiveness, and assuring stakeholders business requirements are satisfied.  Also, periodic assessments provide trend lines to determine improvement, performance gaps, and performance improvement. New issues arise. Processes, systems, and products are better understood. Prevention is emphasized. Mistakes are detected and controlled further up the value chain. Business objectives are operationalized. Risks are managed. Opportunities are found. Priorities are refocused.