Three audits you should undertake in 2021
Businesses big and small undertake hundreds of different audits over the years, each providing a unique, and often-detailed insight into the ways that a company is working. Covering numerous factors and aspects of a business, you can rest assured as the owner of a business, you will be able to distinguish and identify any areas for improvement, at the drop of a hat.
That being said, as a business owner, it can often be challenging to know where to start when wanting to conduct an audit within your business. While it can be useful to have plenty of options to choose from, it could also be somewhat overwhelming, mainly if it is your first time undertaking an audit.
To assist you during these potentially challenging periods, and to enable you to streamline the processes of selecting and conducting a potential audit to complete, we have compiled a list of some of the audits that you should undertake in 2021.
Whether you are an established business considering other audits to conduct alongside existing ones or are an up-and-coming business that is undertaking an audit for the first time, we are confident that there will be something below that can help you in your endeavours.
- Operational Audit: The name is a bit of a hint as to what this particular audit entails. When this audit is undertaken, it is analysing multiple aspects of your business. This can include the company’s goals and how it intends to reach them, the planning processes you went through when mapping out said goals, procedures that have been undertaken and the results of these procedures, both good and bad. Like other audits that are completed internally in a business, they are primarily undertaken to determine what is working well and producing results, and what is not working, and which needs altering in some way. This is a beneficial audit to complete no matter what sector or industry you are in; there will generally always be something that needs improving within a business, to ensure that you get the results you want and remain successful. This is a great practice to implement when wanting to do that.
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Audit: Most business owners are probably aware of the importance of SEO within their business, but for those who are not aware, and for those just starting on their entrepreneurial journey, this one is for you! Much like our previous and following suggestions, this audit is within the name; it is auditing and analysing your SEO strategies’ success. While the audit can measure how your website appears to the search engines, it can also measure the website loading speed, and whether the webpage that you own, is easy for the search engines to find. These can often seem like unimportant aspects of running a business, and easily overlooked, but play a huge role in how successful your businesses SEO strategies are. Not to mention, they contribute massively to how potential customers can find your website; the audit can highlight what terms your competitors are using, the terms that customers are searching for, and compare those to the ones you are using. Each component is an ingredient in the recipe for success, and you can learn more about SEO audits and how they work, using the guides created by companies like People Development Magazine and more.
- Information Systems Audit: This is an audit that has become increasingly common in businesses over time due to the continuous development and advancement of technology and other related systems. Ensuring that systems are working correctly can help to minimise any future problems from occurring; no one wants to have corrupt files or lose months of hard work from something that could have been prevented! Predominately used in companies that focus on IT software but can also be used by businesses in other sectors. This is an audit that can highlight any possible issues with data processing and software development. While this is an audit that is mainly used by companies in the software industry, it is also crucial that companies in other sectors ensure that they are conducting audits such as this regularly, so as to ensure that no unwanted visitors are accessing possible sensitive data. What’s more, ensuring that an audit like this is routinely undertaken, can minimise the risk of a data breach, and increase security.
These are but some of the most critical audits that should be undertaken by businesses as we make our way further into 2021. While some other audits are unable to take place, due to the transition from working in an office to working from home due to the pandemic, those that were listed above are all audits that could still be undertaken in the virtual worlds that we find ourselves in as of late.
