Posted By Debbie S We are debating at work on how frequently we need to carry out full audits. Monthly inspections are carried out by each manager and observations recorded, but currently we do full audit of procedures, checking paperwork etc every 3 months (which is point scored) I feel this is too much and am more inclined to go towards the 6 month mark as it gives each manager time to respond and correct any problems in a more realistic time scale. What do you think or currently do

Posted By Andy Brazier I don't like this 'all or nothing' idea of audit. A so called audit can be performed infrequently, but you must recognise they have their weaknesses. A better approach is to carry out different audits each time, focused on different aspects of the system. In some cases this can be a set of procedures covering a particular type of activity. On other occasions you may take one procedure and go through the process that was used to identify the need for the procedure, its development, review, use and update. The results of audits should inform the frequency and content of subsequent audit. If you reduce the scope of individual audits, you may find that doing an audit quarterly is appropriate, especially given the reduced workload. As said before, when you get to the point that audits are not finding much you can stretch the frequency.