Has your credit union’s audit process been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic? Do your findings take too long to clear? Does your team struggle to find and leverage past results?
Most credit union audit and risk departments have their hands full these days. Remote work adds an extra layer of complexity to already-complex audit work. Strong preparation and organization are key to maintaining regulatory compliance in these times.
The credit union-specific audit management software company Redboard recently released an exam and audit checklist. Here’s what it includes:
1. Prior Audit Results
The first section in Redboard’s credit union audit checklist reviews past audits.
- How did your credit union perform?
- What were your major findings?
- Were there any other observations?
Documenting past audits and results will help you better define your procedures for the next one. Reviewing findings, observations, and other issues will help you streamline your strategy going forward.
2. Changes Since the Last Audit
The second section covers changes that have occurred since the last audit. Some of the changes might include:
- Management
- Products and procedures
- Guidance
- Other
If that “other” category sounds vague, just remember that your last audit probably wasn’t completed during a pandemic! Tracking notable changes will show you briefly what has changed and how to adjust your processes to fit.
3. Key Players
The third section provides space to see who participated in the last audit—and who will participate in the current one. Keeping track of this will help your team and your business leaders ready to contribute.
Plus, seeing who was involved for the last audit will help you track down past stakeholders, information, answers, etc.
Additional Sections
There are a few more sections in the audit checklist, as well as a worksheet for notes. Good preparation for your next audit—even a branch audit—ensures better organization… and probably better results.
Instead of scrambling to find past results and see who was involved the last time, the audit checklist lets you do that work ahead of time.
