What Does Compliance Audit Mean?
Conformity audits are called as compliance audits in order to determine whether the companies operate in compliance with the implementation objectives, regulations, work flow principles, documented processes and legal regulations in force within the framework of the organization objectives and management policies determined by the senior management. . In short, compliance audits determine whether the company operates in accordance with internal procedures and legal regulations. Conformity audits are carried out separately or in all of the units of the enterprises such as production, purchasing, sales, marketing, financial affairs or human resources.
New regulatory rules and new procedures are being implemented nowadays when enterprises are making more efforts towards institutionalization and they also encourage the development of suppliers with whom they do business.
Conformity audits are the efforts to determine whether the rules determined in the company are followed. These audits can be carried out by the operating personnel in the form of internal audits and the truth of the matter is to get support from the auditing companies that will do this work with the third eye. The scope of compliance audits is widening, especially in cases of government intervention.
Conformity audits are important not only for businesses in the private sector, but also for non-profit organizations, and activities are also expected to comply with established policies, contracts and legal regulations.
In order to obtain the expected benefit from the compliance audits, the auditors who will carry out the audits should be skilled in their respective fields. It is also important that the records are kept properly and correctly and that a proper filing system is available for the audits to be carried out properly. In addition, the importance of establishing and implementing a healthy audit and reporting system in the organizations conducting conformity auditing is indisputable. The effectiveness of an audit to be carried out depends on these conditions.
The report prepared at the end of compliance audits is presented only to senior management and authorized persons within the enterprise. Because it is primarily the responsibility of top managers to ensure that the company operates in accordance with the objectives, policies, procedures and legal regulations.
Essentially, audit work itself is a process. This process is carried out in a specific plan from the beginning of the audits until the conclusion and reporting of the results. Audits are carried out within the framework of predetermined criteria. These criteria may be defined by the business processes, management systems, standards determined by domestic and foreign organizations or legal regulations in force. These compliance audits may be in the form of internal audits determined by the company itself or may be a requirement of legal regulations. However, the main element of the audits is to collect evidence with an objective eye and evaluate the findings in an impartial manner, whether they are carried out by the company's own personnel or carried out by an audit firm. All kinds of information obtained in terms of achieving the purpose of the civil inspection is evidence. Although the criteria to be used for the evaluation of the evidence are different according to the evidence, they can be impartial, independent, unbiased and professional in collecting the essential evidence. These issues are particularly relevant for auditors working in third party auditors.
Compliance Audits in Various Sectors
Conformity audits carried out in industrial plants are carried out in many areas. Of these, the most requested compliance audits are:
- Manufacturing control (for new machinery and equipment)
- Management services in procurement process
- Pressure equipment conformity check
- Technical inspection (in existing and new processes)
- Control of facilities in service
- Site control (in existing and new process stages)
- Checks during service
- Test, measurement, calibration
- Non-destructive testing (NDT, Non-destructive testing, non-destructive testing, examination of the material or part being examined without touching the integrity)
- Site controls in temporary and final acceptance processes
- Outsourcing in technical control
Many of these compliance audits are carried out in accordance with the legal regulations in force. In general, these regulations are based on the harmonization of the existing regulations with the EU directives.
For example, the Regulation on Health and Safety Conditions in the Use of Work Equipment issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in 2013 regulates the minimum health and safety requirements for the use of construction machinery and equipment in enterprises. The regulation was prepared in accordance with the European Union directive 2009 / 2009 / EC issued in 104, which regulates the minimum safety and health requirements of work equipment used in the workplace.
Similarly, the Pressure Equipment Directive, also published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in 2007, lays down the principles for the design, production and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and equipment with the maximum permissible pressure higher than the 0,5 bar. The regulation was prepared in accordance with the directive on pressure equipment 97 / 23 / EC issued by the European Union.
In general, audits allow a comparison between what should be in the business and the actual situation. In this general statement, compliance audits include the following studies:
- Revision studies are generally the review of financial books and records. Revision, which means reviewing and reviewing again, means auditing financial events.
- Inspection is a review from time to time to determine whether the operations are carried out in accordance with legal regulations, procedures and instructions. The audit, which is narrower than the audit, is carried out in order to determine the authenticity, truth or good conduct of an application.
- Control studies are the comparison of the results of the application with the targets to be achieved. Activities before the start of audit activities. Measures taken to achieve the objectives in the process are within the scope of control studies. Determining the level and deviations of achieving these targets is in the scope of audit studies.
In general, compliance audit is a form of audit to determine the level of compliance of practitioners with the criteria and rules set by a certain authority. The term otorite authority bir refers to the senior management positions of the enterprise and legal regulations made by the official institutions.
