Commitment and Tone from the Top

Table 1(a) - Knowledge of Business questions for an audit of efficiency focused on a regulatory inspection and enforcement function

Note: Additions to the questions and related risks from the Practice Guide are shown in italics.

Potential Risks to Efficiency	Knowedge of Business Questions
The organization is concerned with the effectiveness of the inspection and enforcement function, but not with its efficiency (that is, it exhibits little concern for ratios of resources consumed to outputs or outcomes). Organizational culture does not stress the need for efficiency. There is no (or limited) internal audit function. Senior management challenge of the status quo is not sufficiently rigorous.	Has senior management created a culture of efficiency? How has it communicated its commitment to the organization’s personnel and to the public? What have been management’s actions and messages? Has senior management established expected results and standards for efficiency, complete with targets and indicators? If yes, how were they established and what are they? Has the organization set baselines for the cost, quality, and level of service for each of its main services and activities? If so, what are they? How were they established? Have performance targets for the inspection and enforcement function been identified? For example, has the entity defined the number of inspections to be performed in a given time period, and the time required to perform an inspection? Has management set targets for improvement in the efficiency of the inspection and enforcement function? For example, are there plans to increase the number of inspections performed in a given period, or to decrease the time required to finalize an inspection or an inspection report? Does the organization have an internal audit function? If so, does its mandate specifically refer to efficiency? Have any recent audits of efficiency been conducted? Is there an up-to-date policy manual specific to the inspection and enforcement function?

Potential Risks to Efficiency

Knowedge of Business Questions

The organization is concerned with the effectiveness of the inspection and enforcement function, but not with its efficiency (that is, it exhibits little concern for ratios of resources consumed to outputs or outcomes).
Organizational culture does not stress the need for efficiency.
There is no (or limited) internal audit function.
Senior management challenge of the status quo is not sufficiently rigorous.

Has senior management created a culture of efficiency? How has it communicated its commitment to the organization’s personnel and to the public? What have been management’s actions and messages?
Has senior management established expected results and standards for efficiency, complete with targets and indicators? If yes, how were they established and what are they?
Has the organization set baselines for the cost, quality, and level of service for each of its main services and activities? If so, what are they? How were they established?
Have performance targets for the inspection and enforcement function been identified? For example, has the entity defined the number of inspections to be performed in a given time period, and the time required to perform an inspection?
Has management set targets for improvement in the efficiency of the inspection and enforcement function? For example, are there plans to increase the number of inspections performed in a given period, or to decrease the time required to finalize an inspection or an inspection report?
Does the organization have an internal audit function? If so, does its mandate specifically refer to efficiency? Have any recent audits of efficiency been conducted?
Is there an up-to-date policy manual specific to the inspection and enforcement function?

Source: Many of these questions have been adapted from Northern Ireland Audit Office’s Improving Public Sector Efficiency: Good Practice Checklist for Public Bodies (2010), as well as from recent audits of efficiency.

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Practice Guide to Auditing Efficiency

Commitment and Tone from the Top

Source: Many of these questions have been adapted from Northern Ireland Audit Office’s Improving Public Sector Efficiency: Good Practice Checklist for Public Bodies (2010), as well as from recent audits of efficiency.

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Practice Guide to Auditing Efficiency

Commitment and Tone from the Top

Source: Many of these questions have been adapted from Northern Ireland Audit Office’s Improving Public Sector Efficiency: Good Practice Checklist for Public Bodies (2010), as well as from recent audits of efficiency.

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