Internal Audit

Internal Audit - the Iso 9001 Standard Requirements for Internal Audits and the Audits Program

Internal Audit. "What a headache" - that's surely what every employee think to himself when they receives the massage of an internal audit approaching. There is a reason why. They know that someone is coming to poke their deeds... The internal audit chapter is included under chapter 8.2 - Monitoring and measurement. So it is clear that the purpose of the internal audit is to perform Monitoring and measurement within the organization. Internal audits, sometimes called first-party, are conducted by, or on behalf of, the organization itself for internal purposes and can form the basis for an organization's self-declaration of conformity. The organization is required to conduct the audits within scheduled time frames to ensure that the quality management system is:

• Maintained according to the ISO 9001 Standard requirements



• Maintained according to the organization's requirements and audit's criteria

What are an audit's criteria? Set of policies, procedures or requirements used as a reference.

We believe that in the end of the day the internal audit is actually an internal inspection that the organization conducts upon itself. Within the organization structure, it is hard for the top management to view of what is going on down the organization. It's not enough to step down to the manufacture halls, logistic centers or service centers and view the employees or the goods on the shelves. It is necessary to sample processes and to examine whether they hold against pre defined criteria. Only high resolution sampling can provide with the real organization's status. What are the criterions? The ISO 9001 standard requirements, working procedures, quality plans, quality objectives - the characteristics of the quality management system.

Since the internal audit topic is very serious and wide, we would not include it all in one article. In this article we will focus with the ISO 9001 Standard requirements for maintaining internal audit system with reference to the ISO 19011 Standard - a guide line Standard for auditing quality or environmental systems. The Standard was published in 2002 and besides outlining guideline for conducting audits, it also refer to the auditor's skills and activities. Unfortunately, the ISO 9001 Standard sets requirements but it does not guide us how to conduct an effective audit - one that would not only apply the requirements but would also assist the organization. We would deal with that in another article (we just can't give you all the secrets in one article. Sorry. Company's policy).

The ISO 9001 requirements for internal audit interanl audit procedure

he ISO 9001 Standard requires that you maintain a documented procedure describing the method for conducting an internal audit process. This is not a recommendation but a requirement. The documented procedure must define:

• Who must conduct the audit - who is responsible for executing the internal audit process.



• Who must conduct the audit - who is responsible for executing the internal audit process.


• Describing the process itself - who meets with whom and where and what should everybody bring with them.


• The supervision after the internal audit plan (don't get excited, we will go into details soon). Where the audit's evidence are documented.

It is possible to add as annex the audit's plan and all sort of forms and documentation regarding to the process.

The auditor

The auditor must be objective related to the organizational unit he is auditing. This is a hard thing to achieve, when the quality manager is the auditor. Then he is part of the organization. He will always conduct an audit to his colleagues (the ones he sits and eats lunch with, drinks coffee or smokes a cigarette). Besides that, the auditor must be skilled for conducting an audit and document the situation correctly. Remember, an audit is an emotional event where the employees are examined about the quality of their performance. The audit's approach is highly important for the audit's progressing. Beside his personal approach, the audit must have a minimum acquaintance with the field, in order to evaluate the processes and their quality beyond the working procedures (the documented criteria). That kind of knowledge can give him the ability and the consideration to evaluate the situation while he identifies any nonconformities or faults. Within the ISO 19011 Standard there is a specification for the auditor's qualities required:

• Ethics - credibility, integrity and honesty.


• Open minded - willing to listen, learn and accept new ideas.


• Diplomatic - polite with high manners to his colleagues - after all he is working with people and he is the representative of the top management.


• Observer - owns the ability to recognize what he sees and understand without interrogating.


• Perspective - owns the ability to evaluate situations beyond appearance and with a wide systematic view of things - has the ability to understand the organizational consequences of his evidence.


• Versatile - owns the ability to mobilize from one situation to another without losing direction.


• Persistence - must be persistence with his objectives and to not stray away.


• Decisive - ready to make decision


• Independent - must have his own opinion of things and to not be influenced by the environment.

The audit's program

The organization must maintain a documented program for conducting the audits. The program must be documented according to the ISO 9001 requirement. This is not a recommendation but a requirement! The purpose of this program is to ensure that the audits are conducted as planned. So, first, you need a program. The ISO 9001 Standard requires performing the audits within scheduled and fixed time frames. This requirement ensures that employees would know that the audit is a part of the quality management system and not a momentarily capricious decision made by the top management. It is recommended to publish the audit schedules. And for "surprise" audits - you need to define the time frames, just don't publish them. The audits program must cover:

• Quality plans for the products - For any requirement for product realization, you must evaluate if it is performed as planned. The best way is to sample. Pick the product, review its quality plan, and check whether the product was realized according to the plan. Document the results then.


• The ISO 9001 Standard requirements -Including the documentation requirements (customer complaints, purchasing information, CAPA, training, etc). The examination must be conducted throughout the entire organizational units which related to product realization or are under the quality managment scope. Any unit must be examined at least once a year.


• Processes and procedures - the audit must evaluate whether the processes that are related to the product realization are performed as required. It could be a correlated with quality plans. But generally an audit must sample processes and evaluate its performance.


• Quality objectives - the audit must examine whether the organization is achieving his quality objectives. He evaluates the objectives - whether they are related to the product and evaluates the results. Where he revealed that the objectives are not fulfilled - he must be presented with reasons and measures.

It's not easy being an auditor. It also not so easy to maintain all of the above without some help.Audit's evidences and findingsAt the end of the audit the auditor must deliver a specific report about the audits evidences and findings. The report must specify:

• Who were the participants - it is recommended to document who participated during the audit. The purpose is when top management would like to conduct its inquiry - they would know to whom they must approach.


• The auditee - the organization or unit that were audited.


• General detail to shed light upon the auditee: how many workers, special projects, special recent events - information that would support the evidences.


• Reference to prior audits and prior findings - the auditor must verify that all nonconformities that were revealed during the last audit are eliminated the treatment was documented and most important, they are not repeated.


• The audits findings according to the evidences - that mean what the auditor discovered and how is it referred to the criteria: good, requires improvement action or requires corrective action (we would not deal in this article with classification of findings). Actually this is the most important part of the report. It specifies what the auditor saw, and how it was. The auditor must document the evidences as accurate as possible.


• Recommendations - for every finding the audit may pay his recommendation.

A sum of all nonconformities discovered during the audit - the purpose for that is: To gather all the nonconformities for the top management for review To trace the corrective action for the next audit This sum will become a corrective action report - but that is a whole different topic. Bear in mind - this report is designated for the top management and the function that is responsible for the auditee. That report is a tool for him to understand the status. Therefore it is recommended that the report would in a format that is easy for him to understand.Summary

• The purpose of the audit is to ensure that the quality management system is as required by the ISO 9001 Standard and appropriately maintained.


• You are required to maintain a documented procedure specifying the process of the internal audit.


• The auditor bears a lot of responsibility. Therefore he must be perspective to the environment that he is auditing, must own the skills for evaluating and examining, with a wide view of things.


• The auditor must be polite with high manners, be patient and persistent. The audit is not an easy task to perform. The organization must maintain an audit program. The purpose of the program is to ensure that the audits are conducted as planned.


• At the end of the audit the auditor must deliver a specified report about the audit. This report is designated to the function that is responsible for the auditee.

About the Author:

The author is Itay Abuhav, an external consultant who decided to establish a quality management knowledge center providing articles, news with added values, offering solutions, help and tips regarding to all quality management systems and the ISO 9001 standard. please visit us at http://www.9001quality.com

Startup Skills Every Entrepreneur Needs

Most budding entrepreneurs have a business idea that includes something they already know how to do well. Whether building houses, making pizzas, or planning weddings, knowing the operations side of the venture is only half the battle. Every startup relies on the success of the business side -- planning, marketing, and financial management -- as well as the basic skills of its fearless leader, to succeed.

Learning and Applying Information

The number one skill required of any entrepreneur is a willingness and ability to learn and apply new information. Whatever your current skills and experience in running a business, there is always more to learn. Every successful business owner must have a deep knowledge of marketing and financial management -- how they work, how to manage and evaluate them, and how each aspect affects all others. The good news is that the bulk of this learning curve can be obliterated during the startup planning process. Building a comprehensive road map for your business idea will force you to work through both the marketing and the financials in such detail that you will know more about each than you ever thought you wanted to! Beyond the basics, every step forward your business takes will offer more information to learn and apply.

The ability to take in information from a variety of sources and synthesize the data into logical conclusions is critical. Business owners are faced with constant decision-making, often on the fly. All of the learned information becomes relevant to making the right choices at the right time. Developing your business idea will build the habit of researching and reading up on what you need to know. Make a point of continuing that habit throughout your entrepreneurial career.

Successful entrepreneurs tend to enjoy the learning process and realize that the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. All of the information synthesis in the world is only useful if you can make good decision. Business decisions should be primarily based on logic, not emotion. Successful entrepreneurs find a way to separate emotion from logic to allow themselves to weigh alternatives fairly. Basic logic skills are a must, and can be difficult to develop for those who are particularly emotionally driven.

Communication Skills

Successful business owners also need substantial interpersonal skills. Whether in-person or online, you must be able to communicate effectively. Good habits are developed through practice. If you are uncomfortable with public speaking, consider joining a Toastmasters club in your area. In addition to offering practice in giving actual speeches, a good club will work on networking skills, running a meeting and other critical communication skills. Shop around for a club with a good fit -- most cities have plenty of clubs to choose from.

Networking with other professionals and dealing with customers in person also requires strong conversational skills. Develop the habit of keeping your personal and business lives separate. Be interested in what others have to say -- effective listening is even more important than effective speaking. Ask good questions, and look for ways to develop your reputation as a strong networking contact. Practice your in-person communication skills everywhere you go. Talk to the clerk of the grocery store, the teller at the bank, and the other parents at Little League. Pay attention to what works and what doesn't, but just keep practicing.

If you will be networking or marketing online, be sure your grammar and spelling are perfect. No matter how great the content of your website, forum postings, or chatroom discussions, misspellings and poor grammar make it hard to take the writer seriously. Also, watch the tone of any online messages, including eMail. Because of the one-dimensional aspect of online messages, it can be easy to misread the underlying meaning. Record every online message before you post, and put yourself in the recipient's place -- if it sounds short or rude to you, it probably will to them. Use spell check and grammar check when possible, as well.

Organizational Skills

Organizational skills are also important for business owners. You will have 392 tasks to do at any given time, plus five minor fires to put out, plus the dog needs to go to the vet. If you don't develop a time and task management system that works for you, you will spend all of your time stressed out, in the weeds, and ultimately unproductive.

Use an actual planner to organize your time. Consider a smart phone in addition to keep you accessible and organized. Plan your days and work sessions around specific objectives and hold yourself accountable for meeting the objectives. It helps if you are inherently goal-oriented, but that, too, can be developed with practice. By thoroughly developing your business idea step-by-step, you will build a habit of managing your work life effectively. Typically, this organization will carry over into your day-to-day responsibilities as a business owner.

Successful entrepreneurs in any industry share a basic set of skills. The ability (and willingness) to learn and apply new information and the ability to make good decisions are critical from day one of planning a startup. Interpersonal communication and organizational skills should always be in a state of continuous improvement. Successful entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to improve themselves and their businesses, and are willing to put in the time and effort to see those improvements through.

K. MacKillop, a serial entrepreneur with a JD from Duke, is founder of LaunchX LLC and authors a small business startup blog. The LaunchX System's step-by-step business startup procedures, software and more, helps entrepreneurs develop a business idea into a successful company. Get on the road to business startup today.

Difference between Bankruptcy & Insolvency

Difference between Bankruptcy & Insolvency by JessicaThomson

Getting bankrupt is one of the biggest nightmares for anyone of us. We work harder everyday, just to make out future safer and secured. Well, some of us get confused about the words bankruptcy and insolvency. To clear the doubts here is small attempt to make people understand the difference between the two words and their meanings.

Most of us tend to get confused, thinking that insolvency and bankruptcy are two words with the same meaning. The words are similar, but have a very thin line of difference between their meanings and so they are not parallel words with similar meanings but are two different words with an altogether different meaning used in very similar situations.

Bankruptcy: Bankruptcy, by definition is a word used more often for the individuals who have lost all their valuables, assets, property, etc. and are completely into debt.

Insolvency: On the other hand, Insolvency is a word used often in the business or corporate sector for any business or company that has failed and is in debt. When the cash inflow of the company freezes and is not able to meet its required financial commitments to continue its proper functioning, the company is called to be suffering from insolvency.

To understand these two words better, let's go through their meanings in detail trying to understand them more closely by examining them under the various situations thus, trying to find options to avoid these conditions. Here are a few very basic points that have been given to help you avoid these extreme conditions and then emerge out of them without many problems.

1 During these situations, the time just happens to fly off very soon. Thus, you shouldn't waste your time in waiting and thinking about how to recover from this debt. Thus, to make your decisions effective and right, talk to your advisory about the problem and find a solution for the problem.

2 Always plan your monetary strategies before you start your business and then later make a point to follow them without any blunder.

3 There are various corporate groups who help to solve these problems by providing their assistance at very nominal charges or charge their fee, after the company is capable to earn again independently.

4 Evaluation and a re-evaluation about the regular expenditures, assets, and other valuables is a must. This type of regular evaluation of the important documents helps you to get proper liberation in the later stages.

5 Cut down you expenditures and never feel shy to discuss about the financial problems to your financers or creditors. Consider their suggestions and follow them to come out of this problem as soon as possible. A proper communication with the financers is a must as a lack of communication might make them have wrong thoughts about you.

6 Honesty is your main element which will help to protect yourself. Honesty in your communication will help to improve the situation with the help of your financers and other creditors.

For more insights and further information about Insolvency Practitionervisit our site http://www.leviconsulting.com.au/

Should I Franchise My Business & 5 Tips for Marketing your Business in a downturn

A QUESTION I AM OFTEN ASKED

SHOULD I FRANCHISE MY BUSINESS?


Franchising today is a way of life. Franchising allows people to own their own business in an area that appeals to their interest. It can also fulfil a long-term desire to be part of a business that they can enjoy and develop for themselves. A franchise allows an individual to own a business which has an established brand, which already has systems in place, training programs and on-going support.

This article will focus on what you need to do to franchise your business. The subject of buying a franchise (an individual franchise for yourself) will be dealt with in an upcoming month.


If you are looking to franchise your business

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I hope to gain by franchising?
  
  
• Are there other options suited to my business? Franchising is not the only option, it is a great option (if done well) but a different business model may be better suited to what you are doing.
  
  
• Is your business right to franchise? Do you have the systems in place? Is it able to be replicated? Do I have the manuals? Do I understand what franchising is about?
  
  
• Is my business in the service area, a retail business or web based?
  
  
  
• Is there enough business to give potential franchisees a good return, but at the same time provide a revenue base for you, the franchisor, to be able to earn good money and to invest into the ongoing business?
  
  
• Are you happy to be involved with franchisees, who will always be asking questions and looking for direction and innovation?

What things do I need to offer?

This is not comprehensive, but you'll need to be able to offer:

• A brand (intellectual property)
  
  
• A system
  
  
• Training
  
  
• Innovation
  
  
• Marketing
  
  
  
• Reporting
  
  
• Profitability for both you and the franchisee.

What is required?
The first step is research:

Find out what franchising is about. The Franchising Council of Australia has a good website that enables you to do some initial review on what is required.

Next you will need to:

Invest in the set-up of the system, which starts with developing the franchise model, profitability for both the franchisor and the franchisees.

From this will develop:

Preparation of the franchise agreement and disclosure document (as required by the franchising code).

The operational manual

Recruiting of franchisees

How do you start?

My recommendation is that you use a franchising consultant to prepare and provide direction. One of the areas of weakness with franchise consultants is actually developing the commercial terms for the franchisor. These companies are very good at getting the system together, the preparation and writing of documentation, but you need to get advice from other sources to ensure the commercial terms being offered to franchisees make the business viable for the franchisor.

Who can help?

Franchise consultants will do most of the document preparation but you need a good lawyer, who understands franchising to prepare the disclosure document and the franchise agreement. You must comply by the franchising code, which is heavily monitored by the ACCC. The cost of set-up will vary depending on the documentation and information that is available. The cost will also vary dramatically according to the franchise consultant that you use and the expertise that they offer. In addition to their cost will also be costs in preparation of the franchise agreement and the disclosure document.

In this monthly email it is difficult to be comprehensive, but if you need help to explain the processes in more detail, it is only a telephone call away.

Peter Irvine

5 Tips for Marketing your business in a downturn:



1) Don't panic! When customers stop coming all the signs point to doom and gloom, the first instinct for many business owners is to stop Marketing. Marketing is an investment in your business not an expense.



2) Make the most of the customers you already have: A change in Marketing strategy to focus on drawing greater value from existing customers/clients rather than finding new ones can be a cost effective strategy.



3) Look for advertising bargains: Tough times can mean cheaper advertising if you know where to look. Distressed advertising-ad space that is unused or abandoned by an advertiser at the last minute can be used to deliver your message at cut-price rates.



4) Tell your customers/clients why they need what you have: When the economy is tight people get scared to commit to that purchase. Businesses need to make an extra effort to show how your product or service will help them.



5) Tighten up your return on investment measures: Good businesses will always ensure they are getting a decent return on marketing investment. When looking at measuring return on marketing investment it is important to make the criteria against which performance is evaluated as basic and low level as possible-focus your attention to sales lead conversion rates or average spend per customer on a store or section level rather than company wide sales.

Tony Gattari

About the Author

Tony Gattari of Achievers Group is a business keynote speaker and guest speaker. His passionate enthusiastic style makes him ideal as your next sales speaker, marketing speaker or keynote speaker. Tony Gattari has worked with over 120 businesses. See http://www.achieversgroup.com.au for more info.

Increase in competition for UK banks

News announced today that the main banks in the UK are going to be divided and sold to new entrants to increase competition.

This should be an interesting time for UK companies as an increase in competition could lead to a number of benefits for them. This is a big deal for the government as it now holds large shares of RBS and Lloyds. The Chancellor Alistair Darling has said he will wait for the time to be right so that the tax payers get their money back.

There could be some new banks coming to the UK's high streets over the next few years. The new banks will concentrate on deposits and mortgages.

This still needs to be approved by the European competition commissioner Neelie Kroes. The division of Northern Rock has already been approved.

The main question is will they be sold for less than the tax payers have paid for them?

Does outsourcing your accounting make sense?

Outsourcing accounting services has long remained a privilege reserved only for larger corporations. But now, the affordability and cost effectiveness of using outsourced accounting services is attracting small businesses as well. Small businesses normally have a lot of functions and very less resources for completing them. Using expert bookkeeping and accounting service providers for outsourcing accounting functions save small businesses a lot of resources, which can then be utilized somewhere else within the business.

But the main query a small business entrepreneur will have is this: Is outsourcing accounting services really worth it for my small business? The answer to this is complicated and requires evaluating the pros and cons of using a firm for financial functions of the business.

There are advantages attached to hiring a firm for outsourced accounting which are especially applicable to small businesses:

* The first and most important advantage of using an outsourced accounting service provider is its cost effectiveness, with an attractive possibility of saving up to 40% costs compared to in-house hiring.
* Small business accounting requirements can be handled easily by expert bookkeeping and accounting service providers through their expert staff
* You can choose to hire only those services which are applicable to your business
* You save valuable time by using accounting services which you can then dedicate to the core business activities
* You don't have to hire, train or retain in-house accounting staff

One drawback that can be associated with outsourcing accounting functions is that there are many companies which are into the domain of accounting services and it is a difficult task to filter out the experienced and genuine ones from the inefficient ones. So select an accounting service provider with a lot of care, and take the following factors into consideration:

* Does the outsourced accounting service provider have experience in your industry?
* Can it provide valid references of its current/past clients?
* Has it dealt with accounting functions of small businesses?
* Can the accounting service provider provide doorstep service if required?
* Is the accounting firm ready to sign a contract with you detailing the terms and conditions and guarantees of service?
* Is the accounting service provider flexible enough to allow you to scale your bookkeeping and accounting requirements up or down?
* Are the data security measures of the outsourced accounting service provider in question enough to protect sensitive information related to your small business?

In case you get positive responses to most of the questions posed above, you can rest assured that the firm you are considering outsourcing accounting services to is an appropriate one for your business.

There are many advantages of outsourcing accounting services for small businesses, which far surpass the disadvantages. If you get the right service provider, it can become a partner in helping you develop your small business. As a small business owner, you can consider hiring a professional bookkeeping and accounting service provider who will help you focus on the core activities of the business and grow it appropriately.

About the Author

Analytix Solutions provides customized accounting services for small and mid-sized businesses. By choosing to outsource accounting services to Analytix, businesses can save the time and effort spent in day-to-day business functions.

Top 10 Reasons Businesses Fail

Ten Reasons Businesses Fail

Wonder why a lot of businesses are failing at the moment? Here are 10 top reasons why businesses fail.



1) Not enough capital

2) Product/Service not needed

3) Under pricing

4) Too high overheads

5) Not enough time committed by owner

6) Bad luck/Poor timing

7) Poor understanding of the business

8) Bad location

9) Poor Accounting

10) Internal Theft

If you want your business to avoid bankruptcy and stay in credit then make sure one of these reasons will not be your downfall.