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Aim
Knowing what resources are currently available within your organization/department will help you when generating and selecting strategic options. However, many resource audits fail to get the information necessary to make the right decisions.
In this straightforward exercise you will plan what a resource audit has to achieve and identify what has to be audited.
By answering a series of questions, this exercise will help you to successfully prepare to initiate a resource audit. The audit will give you an up-to-date picture of the resources you have available at present. You can use this information to help you when generating strategic options and identifying any resource gaps you may have when a new strategy has been selected. Allow up to 45 minutes to complete.
Task
- Answer the questions on the audit requirements sheet (downloadable at the bottom of this page), using the attached guidance.
- When you have answered all the questions, note what actions need to be taken to start the audit process in the ‘Next actions’ section. You may wish to consider:
- How and when you are going to contact the people you have identified to carry out the audit/parts of the audit
- Who you are going to involve in the analysis of the audit results
- What you are going to do with the audit once it is complete and what other preparation you need to undertake
3. Once you have identified the next actions, allocate the responsibility for those actions and identify completion dates.
Guidance for The Audit Requirement Questions
What is the purpose of the audit?
Define what you want to do with the results of the audit, i.e. how this will help you with strategic analysis. For example, you may want to focus on what costs can be reduced, what resources are being underutilized or you may want to use the audit results during a strategy workshop with your management team.
What outputs do you require from the audit?
Describe what information you require from the audit and what format you would like it to appear in. What level of detail do you want? How would you like the results presented. For example, you may want the results of the audit to be summarized for you in a report, or have key conclusions presented and discussed in a meeting.
Which tangible resources do you want to audit?
Tangible resources include:
- Financial resources (e.g. budget, cash to hand, etc.)
- Buildings, equipment (e.g. machinery, telephones, desks, etc.)
- Technology (e.g. PCs, mobiles, PDAs, servers, etc.)
- Software (e.g. generic software such as Microsoft Windows, Lotus or Sage, customized software enhanced for your company, proprietary software developed by or for your company in particular.)
Which intangible resources do you want to audit?
Intangible resources are more difficult to identify, compared with tangible resources, because they are unseen resources. They include:
- Reputational assets (e.g. brand recognition, trademarks, etc.)
- Intellectual capital (e.g. research and development, patents, licenses, copyrights, technological knowhow, etc.)
- Data (e.g. customer lists, market information, etc.)
Which people resources do you want to audit?
People resources include:
- Employee numbers and salary costs
- Education and skill levels
- Training
- Levels of experience
- Knowledge and expertise
- Productivity
Who will carry out the audit?
You may want to consider a professional auditor from outside the organization. Accountancy firms, HR, and management consultancies often carry out this type of work. If your organization has an internal audit function or HR partnering service you may wish to use them (although many internal audit functions specialize in risk management). Alternatively, you may wish to select a person or people from your own area to carry out all or part of the audit.
When will the audit be carried out?
Note when the audit is to be started and set a target date for the delivery of the outputs of the audit.
