Compliance Audit Best Practices: Putting the Odds on Your Side for your next Audit

Introduction

The best way to protect your company from costly compliance failures is by proactively implementing a well-structured and effective compliance audit program. This process can be challenging and time-consuming, but the risk reduction and savings are well worth the investment. In highly regulated industries, compliance can make or break a business.

Oftentimes, the people in charge of compliance management aren’t professionally trained for the tasks involved. And that’s normal. Compliance is something we must do, not something we want to do. This article lists compliance audit practices you can immediately implement in your business to avoid facing fines from the regulating body.

1. Understand Audit Management and Industry Requirements

Although experience is often key in managing the audit process, experience without understanding won’t get us very far. Make sure you understand the audit management process. One resource is Nabu Pro’s blog, which features a variety of articles and resources on the topic.

Once you understand the overall audit management process, make sure you know your industry requirements. You can visit your regulating body’s website for your industry’s requirements. Alternatively, you can use Nabu Pro’s regulatory assistance service.

2. Centralize All Your Compliance Requirements

Businesses can radically reduce the risk of regulatory fines by centralizing all files related to the compliance process. Files often include written communication, training materials, and photocopies of licenses and certifications.

Rather than keeping all these files in different locations (either digital or physical), use a cloud-based compliance management system such as Nabu Pro, accessible anytime by any device with a working internet connection. The best way to pass compliance audits without the hassle is to reduce the number of actions involved.

3. Automate Reminders and Notifications

We all know that compliance is a team effort. If one person does not comply, the entire business is at risk. But how do we make sure everybody complies when we’re busy making sure the business operates smoothly?

Automation is the answer. Reminding employees and managers to complete trainings and approve documents should not clutter our mind. Instead, we should find ways to delegate these tasks to a computer. Fortunately, Nabu Pro automatically sends email notifications to everyone involved in the compliance process based on pre-determined settings.

4. Get Prepared Ahead of Time

One of the worst things about compliance audits is that they can have us scrambling for information a few days prior. The reality is that it’s easy to procrastinate when we don’t have the right tools and processes.

Once you have an effective compliance management system, such as Nabu Pro, make sure you start working on your compliance audit ahead of time. All you need to do is log in to your dashboard, look for non-compliant areas, and communicate with the people involved. It’s that simple with Nabu Pro!

5. Create a Culture of Compliance

With the right tools and processes, it’s not only easier to stay away from procrastination, but also easier to create a culture of compliance. What’s a culture of compliance? It’s a culture in which people proactively take the necessary actions for compliance.

You can create a culture of compliance by making compliance a part of every aspect of your business. For example, during department meetings, discuss how certain actions may affect compliance.

Another way of creating a culture of compliance is to always be in a state of preparation for the next compliance audit. Encourage those who complete their compliance requirements early, and encourage regular verification of compliance requirements across departments.

Nabu Pro’s goal is to make the compliance audit process a routine, not a problem. If you’d like to automate compliance best practices, consider using Nabu Pro in your business.