Judgement - Can it be learned?

No matter how complete the audit plan, judgment is always needed in an audit. Can it be learned? I think so, but it requires time and patience. Judgment is developed by learning from our previous attempts. For example, perhaps not enough time was spent gathering evidence and a finding falls apart under scrutiny. (Hopefully that scrutiny occurred during the quality control process and not in management's review of the draft report.) If an auditor can take the time to reflect and receive feedback on how the work might have been stronger or more complete, then his/her ability to be more effective next time is increased. Supporting a finding does not require 100% surety. Judgment allows you to decide when the preponderance of the evidence has been reached.