This article will briefly discuss
- what is a compliance audit checklist;
- compelling reasons for performing compliance audits;
- auditing app and software for compliance audits; and
- compliance audit templates you can download for free.
What is a Compliance Audit Checklist?
A compliance audit checklist is a tool used by external and internal auditors to determine the organization’s compliance with government regulations, industry standards, or internal policies. Compliance checklists help discover gaps in processes that can be improved in order to meet requirements.
Why Perform Compliance Audits?
Compliance audits are essential for businesses to ensure that they meet legal requirements or that they are working towards getting aligned with set parameters. Regular compliance audits help organizations achieve the following:
- Ensure a safe working environment – comply with government requirements and safety protocols intended to promote a secure and stress-free workspace
- Increase productivity – manage production downtime and boost profitability
- Prevent penalties – stay compliant with legal standards to avoid any legal issues and consequences
- Establish a good reputation – gain public trust and dominate the industry you belong to by staying aligned with industry protocols
- Continuous operation – non-compliance with regulations can lead to disruption or even operation cessation
Powerful Technology for Performing Compliance Audits
Compliance audit reports generally include the assessment of policies, practices, and risks within the organization. It involves capturing significant data and photo evidence to identify gaps between the current and the desired compliance rate. Paperwork and data re-entries can be burdensome and costly to maintain in the long term. Resources and time spent on collecting and organizing audit data can be better spent doing actual root cause analysis and actioning recommendations.
Replace your paper-based compliance audit checklists with the world’s most powerful mobile compliance audit software! With iAuditor by SafetyCulture, you can perform regular audits using your handheld device and easily capture photo evidence of non-compliance. Produce real-time reports while onsite and review and compare automatically gathered data through an online dashboard.
To help you get started we have prepared 8 Featured Compliance Audit Checklist Templates that are 100% customizable and you can download them for free!
The Best Compliance Audit Checklist Templates
Legal Compliance Audit Checklist
A legal compliance checklist is used to determine if an organization has met all regulatory requirements in order to legally operate and avoid litigation. Use this digitized legal compliance checklist to assess if an organization is operating in accordance with applicable laws. All iAuditor templates can be edited to fit your organization’s compliance needs.
Comprehensive OSHA Compliance Audit Checklist
OSHA compliance audit checklist is a comprehensive assessment of the regulatory safety standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This checklist contains 43 sections covering a wide range of hazard identification procedures in the workplace. The template has been built to guide the inspector in performing the following:
- Identify non-compliance on employee practices
- Capture photo evidence or take note of irregularities in the process being done
- Assign action plans to appropriate team member
- Document observations and provide clear recommendations
- Complete audit with a digital signature and timestamp to validate the inspection
OSHA Housekeeping Compliance Audit Checklist
OSHA housekeeping compliance audit checklist is used to inspect if housekeeping activities adhere with OSHA standards. Facilities team can use this as a guide to do the following:
- Evaluate if walkways, working surfaces, lighting, storage, and sanitation facilities are clean and regularly maintained
- Capture photo evidence of damage or defective materials
- Appoint corrective actions to a specific person in charge
- Provide recommendation and overall cleaning assessment
- End inspection by providing a digital signature to validate your audit
Management Compliance Audit Checklist
A management compliance audit checklist is used to analyze the effectiveness of the management systems of the organization. It helps to ensure processes are effectively addressing the objectives and goals of the business. This template can be used by compliance teams or audit managers to record and report any act of non-conformances or irregularities in the processes.
HSE Management Template
An HSE management template is used to evaluate how organizations and businesses manage health and safety in their workspace. It is divided into 2 sections – HSE Management and HSE Performance Monitoring – and each entails an evaluation of HSE management protocols. Authorized personnel should list all people involved in the evaluation and provide an overall rating of the HSE management.
GDP Compliance Audit Checklist
GDP compliance audit checklist is used to assess compliance with EU Good Distribution Practice guidelines. This checklist is divided into 7 sections which cover questions across the areas of quality systems, personnel, premises & equipment, documentation, supplier operations, complaints & recalls, and transportation. Use this as a guide to do the following:
- Conduct an audit of your facilities, systems, and practices
- Evaluate each item (Pass, Fail or N/A) if it complies with regulatory standards
- Identify frequently failing items, capture photo evidence and take notes of non-compliance
- Calculate overall GDP compliance score across sections
- Capture digital signature to validate the audit
GMP Compliance Audit Checklist
A Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance checklist is used to evaluate overall adherence to manufacturing protocols. This checklist is divided into 9 sections and applies scoring which will give insight into how audits are performing over time. This checklist helps to assess if your workers receive adequate training and comply with regulations when performing their tasks.
Operational Audit Checklist Template
An operational audit checklist is used to review and assess business processes. It helps evaluate the business operation if it complies with regulatory requirements. This operational audit checklist is primarily used on mainline aircraft. This aids inspection if safety protocols and guidelines are followed at the pre-arrival staging, marshaling to gate, aircraft at the gate, pre-departure, and pushback.
