Not all auditors are created equal. Some have a considerable degree of training in specific types of computer systems, others have great operational experience, while others come from the more classical “school” of external audit firms. Further, some have garnered experience with particular types of business units or processes over the years. Unfortunately, these differing skill bases are sometimes ignored when assigning auditors to specific audits, resulting in mis-matches of skills and required work. This in turn can result in incomplete audits or ones whose results are not sufficiently specific, detailed, or helpful to the recipient.
This problem can be eliminated through the creation of an auditor skills matrix. In its simplest form, this is just a collection of auditor resumes that is regularly updated after each audit. However, such a collection is not easily searched for specific skill types, and so is only useful when there are very few internal auditors on staff. A much better approach is itemize these skills in a database that is easily searched based on key words. This allows an audit manager to punch the key requirements of an upcoming audit into the database and instantly receive back a list of those auditors most qualified to complete the work. The key issue with a skills database is its constant updating, since auditor skills are constantly improving through training and new audits. Consequently, someone must be assigned the task of updating skills information on a very regular basis, preferably after the completion of each audit and after auditors have completed scheduled tasks. If this updating chore is assigned to the auditors themselves, then their annual reviews should include a discussion of the updates they have loaded into the database, thereby highlighting the importance of this task.