Compliance Audits
LEGAL COMPLIANCE AUDITS
The objectives and purpose of a Legal Compliance Audit is to ascertain:
ü whether the organisation’s official, employees and where applicable its service providers are aware of the laws
which apply to its activities, and to what degree
ü the risks of not complying with the laws
ü whether the laws are being complied with by the responsible officials and employees, as well as by the the
clients service providers, where applicable
ü areas of partial or qualified non-compliance
ü areas of non-compliance
ü the degree of non-compliance or compliance
ü the possible, actual or potential consequences of the observed non-compliance and the impact of such
ü non-compliance on the organisation’s environment, its officials and employees
ü the effectiveness of the organisation’s Compliance Program and Controls
ü how the organisation can go about improving its Compliance levels and Compliance Program.
A Legal Compliance Audit is conducted in a phased manner as detailed below.
- OUTPUT 1 – PLANNING AND SCOPING
To determine the laws applicable to the organisation, Lee’s Compliance will have to understand what the organisation does, which will include obtaining an understanding of its strategies, objectives, operations, functions and how it is made up, from a unit or department perspective.
In order to gain this insight Lee’s Compliance will have to consult with some of the organisation’s employees.
- OUTPUT 2 – INTERVIEWS WITH COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Lee’s Compliance will prepare a legal compliance Audit Protocol setting out:
- the purpose and objectives of the Audit
- the laws which will be covered under the Audit
- any agreed exclusions
- the areas of the organisation’s operations which will be covered under the Audit
- the persons who need to be interviewed, and suggested schedule of meeting dates and times
- the documents which must be made available for scrutiny and Audit purposes
- the proposed times and dates when the Audit will take place;
This will be presented to the organisation for approval and sign off.
- OUTPUT 3 – CONDUCTING THE LEGAL AUDIT, INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTION OF OPERATIONS
Following the identification of all laws which are applicable to the organisation, and in order to ascertain if the organisation is complying with all the laws, Lee’s Compliance will plan and carry out across the organisation’s environment a detailed legal compliance audit including the holding of interviews with employees and inspection of the organisation’s operations.
Lee’s Compliance together with its support staff will conduct the Legal Compliance Audit during agreed dates and times at the client offices in accordance with the signed off Audit Protocol, which Audit could take between 3 – 5 days.
- OUTPUT 4 – AUDIT REPORT – RESULTS, ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Following the completion of the Audit, Lee’s Compliance will prepare a detailed Audit report and a corrective action program which will address:
- all noted areas of partial or qualified non-compliance
- all noted areas of non-compliance
- the areas within the organisation’s environment where the qualified and / or non-compliance levels have been noted or observed
- the actual or potential consequences of such non-compliance and the impact of these consequences on the organisation, its directors and employees
- recommended corrective actions and close out time lines.