-----Peter Kurilecz said-----
I would not include (Internal) Audit as part of the review mix.
Internal Audit serves as an independent body within most
organizations, and their purpose is to test to see if you are
following the procedures. If they become part of the process they lose
whatever independence and objectivity they would have in the future.

-------response-------

Ahhh, but the Auditors are in a very good position to tell you what has been going wrong, and how things might be rectified.  They also have a good idea of what records they would have liked to have seen, but couldn't.

In the Australian Federal Government, at least, the role of the Auditor is to provide an independant review of an organisation's accountability and performance.  The performance angle is often not recognised.

Countless reports from the Auditor General mention recordkeeping failures (http://www.anao.gov.au).  If people do not learn from these failures, they are doomed to repeat them.  The Audit Office also puts out "Better Practice Guides" which are compiled from the good things that the auditors find.

Their job is not merely to test if procedures are being followed - they actively try to educate people to do things right in the first place.  Prevention is far better than cure.

The National Archives of Australia also works with the Audit Office to point agencies in the right recordkeeping direction.

Auditors are friends of recordkeeping professionals.  NEVER forget that.

John Lovejoy
[log in to unmask]
My own views, no one elses.

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance