No Surprises?

One thing I always strive for is not surprising the auditee. So I try to keep the communication as open as possible. But, because of standards, it is hard to be specific in talking about results prior to completion of the quality control process. During fieldwork many potential findings are explored but it would be premature to discuss them until we had sufficient supporting evidence. As a result the report is more often than not a surprise. What we have talked about generally up until now can seem very harsh when seen in black and white. That is why the discussion about the draft report is so important. Important for the auditors in order to affirm the evidence and recommendations and important to the auditees to work through evidence and understand the recommendations.