Audit scope and plan

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

In this video we will work through a concrete decision: define exactly what will be examined. The aim is to explain the criterion used and apply it to a workplace situation. We will start with the concept, move to the procedure and finish with a case to solve. Audit requires clear scope, criteria and appropriate evidence. Testing protects confidentiality and uses fictional data where possible. A limited sample must not be presented as complete certification of the whole organisation.

The plan identifies processes, period, criteria and limitations. Assess independence when auditors designed the mechanism themselves. An audit title does not justify unlimited access.

Apply the following rule: Article 12 and the Second Schedule include every government ministry, private organisations with at least 50 workers, smaller categories following risk assessment, and voluntary organisations whose annual public collections and donations exceed €500,000. Also check the sectoral exceptions in the Third Schedule. Private organisations with 50–249 workers may share resources subject to legal conditions and retained duties. Workforce alone does not decide every case.

2. Practical Implementation & Procedure

Define objectives and questions. Select lawful evidence and a sample. Check conflicts and safe access before starting. Before moving on, turn this procedure into a sequence you could explain to a colleague. Identify the first check, the action that depends on its outcome and the record that allows the decision to be reconstructed. Follow the sequence on screen and identify the point where an error would change the result.

Consider how a colleague taking over tomorrow would understand the decision. Identify the verified information and its source, who is authorised to decide and who checks the result. The record should connect the decision to the material actually used rather than repeat the whole file. State critical gaps and assign a specific action to resolve them. This makes continuity independent of one person’s memory. Apply the proposed organisational steps within legal powers. In the case, distinguish observation, conclusion and hypothesis. An observation describes available evidence, a conclusion explains what can reasonably be inferred and a hypothesis still needs checking. Do not infer motives merely from unusual behaviour. Identify which further information could change the decision and whether it can be obtained lawfully and proportionately. Incomplete knowledge justifies neither certainty of guilt nor indifference to an actual risk.

In Maltese public administration, IAID has specific internal-audit, risk and harmonisation functions. The official manual associated with OPM Circular 1/2016 explains risk identification, assessment, control and monitoring. Check the entity’s scope and current procedures. The course exercise is a management tool; it does not replace a public auditor’s mandate or make every public requirement mandatory for private businesses.

3. Case Study & Compliance Action

An auditor is asked to certify the entire programme after seeing only the submission form. Now read the case carefully. Separate established facts from information you would still need to confirm. Do not add motives or events that have not been described. This distinction matters when choosing a response proportionate to the information available.

The exercise is as follows: Is the scope sufficient? Choose an answer and write one sentence explaining it. During the pause, compare your choice with the criteria we have just considered. Also think about the material you would retain to explain the decision later.

No. Limit the conclusion to what was actually examined or expand the plan on a documented basis.

One mistake to avoid is: whole-programme certification from a narrow sample.

Now apply the national rule to a second decision. A subsidiary copies its foreign parent’s policy without examining its activities and size. What should it check?

Identify the local legal entity, sector, national workforce-counting method and special public or sectoral rules. Connect each duty to a source and responsible person. A group model does not replace this assessment.