Fewer things inspire fear and dread than the prospect of a project being audited. Audits are seen as being painful, intrusive and unrelentingly negative. They are viewed as finding fault, fostering blame and foisting responsibilities on an already overworked project management team. “You don’t want to do that or the auditors will get you for it,” is an astonishingly potent threat.
Certainly there is some evidence to suggest such viewpoints are warranted. Many managers and executives have felt ill-served or unfairly vilified by the project audit process. At the same time, the characterization isn’t entirely fair. The role of audit is to support quality assurance and quality improvement. Audits are designed to ensure that expectations have been delivered on, and to identify areas of improvement. The theoretical results are constructive recommendations on how to continue to reliably deliver value. What’s not to like about that?
In this webinar, Mark Mullaly explores the role of project audits in fulfilling their intended purpose, as well as the unintended consequences that result when audits are misapplied, misinterpreted or simply miss the mark. This presentation explores what audits should do, and also discusses what audits should not do and what they cannot appropriately support.
While audits may not be sexy, they are nonetheless important. They ensure appropriate oversight, provide relevant guidance and help to objectively assess where problems have occurred and how they might be avoided or mitigated in the future. When they are done well and responded to productively, they deliver exceptional value; when misapplied they can do irreparable harm. Drawing on insights gained from actual audits and investigations, Mark discusses where audits have maximized relevance as well as where they have missed the mark. Whether you’ve been audited, expect to be audited in the future or are on the receiving end of results and recommendations, this is a presentation that you will want to attend.
As always, spread the word to those who might be interested in this webinar. You’re welcome to point entire associations, companies and small countries to these links. You would be doing us a favour if you did pass this note around a little bit.
This webinar series is a de Jager & Co and Interthink Consulting production.
Join us on 8 October 2015:
- 10:00 AM MST/12:00 PM EST – Click here to register
- 4:00 PM MST/6:00 PM EST – Click here to register