Speaker 1

Hello, welcome to Getting Started With, where our job is to make your job easier. On this episode, we're getting started with the basics of documentation, one of the most important skills for any internal editor to master. By the end of this video, you'll understand what documentation is, why it matters, and some best practices to make your work papers clear, concise, and professional. So let's get started. Let's start with the basics. Documentation is the written record of your audit work. This includes your work papers, notes, test results, screenshots, and summaries. It's the story of what you tested, how you tested, and what you concluded. In short, it's your audit trail, proof that you did the work and how you got to your results. Think of it like a recipe book. If you say, I make cookies, no one knows how, but if you write down the ingredients and steps, someone else can follow your recipe and bake the same cookies. Documentation works the same way. It's your recipe for how you tested, what you found, and what you concluded. Before we learn more about documentation, let's jump into our first term to learn. Work papers. The Global Internal Audit Standards define work papers as documentation of the internal audit work done when planning and performing engagements. The documentation provides the supporting information for engagement findings and conclusions. In short, work papers tell the story of your audit and prove how you reach your conclusions. Why is this so important? Documentation supports your findings and conclusions. It shows that your works align with the standards. It also helps with quality assurance and peer reviews, and ensures that if another internal editor picks up your work, they can follow it without guessing. Here is a pro tip. Good documentation saves you time in the long run. Clear and organized work papers make report writing easier and reduce questions from reviewers. Think of it as setting your future self up for success. So, how can you produce good documentation? Keep it clear, concise, organized and professional. This means clear enough that someone else can follow your logic. Concise without filler or unnecessary detail. Organized with labels, dates and references. Professional, no shorthand, personal notes or slang. Let's look at some quick examples. The good, the bad and the ugly. A bad work paper might be just a screenshot of a controlled test with no explanation. A good one has that same screenshot, but with labels, the date, the control name, and a short note about what you concluded. Which one do you think your reviewer will prefer? Obviously, the more organized work paper. And the ugly, copying pages of a procedure manual into your work paper. That's way too much. A better approach is to summarize only the parts that are relevant to your audit objective and tie them back to your test. Documentation also ties directly to other phases of the audit. In planning, it sets expectation for what you'll capture. In finance, it strengthens your evidence and recommendations. And in report writing, clear documentation makes writing faster and easier. Strong documentation at the start pays off all the way through the audit lifecycle. Remember, documentation isn't just for you. Your supervisor or reviewer uses it to validate your work. Future auditors may rely on it if the same process is audited again. And stakeholders or QA reviewers may check it to make sure your engagement conforms with the standards. In other words, write your work papers so anyone who picks them up can follow your logic. Let's recap. Documentation is the written story of your audit work, your recipe for how you tested, what you found, and what you concluded. Documentation is clear, concise, organized, and professional. Strong documentation at the start saves time and makes the entire audit process smoother. Thanks for watching Getting Started with the Basics of Documentation. Next, be sure to check out our episodes on planning and writing and audit finding to see how strong documentation connects to bigger phases of the audit process. You can find these episodes and other helpful resources, including tools, podcasts, and training, at the links below.

gsw_0925_v2 (1080p).mp4

Transcript

00:00:03 Speaker 1

Hello, welcome to Getting Started With, where our job is to make your job easier.

00:00:09 Speaker 1

On this episode, we're getting started with the basics of documentation, one of the most important skills for any internal editor to master.

00:00:17 Speaker 1

By the end of this video, you'll understand what documentation is, why it matters, and some best practices to make your work papers clear, concise, and professional.

00:00:26 Speaker 1

So let's get started.

00:00:29 Speaker 1

Let's start with the basics.

00:00:30 Speaker 1

Documentation is the written record of your audit work.

00:00:33 Speaker 1

This includes your work papers, notes, test results, screenshots, and summaries.

00:00:38 Speaker 1

It's the story of what you tested, how you tested, and what you concluded.

00:00:43 Speaker 1

In short, it's your audit trail, proof that you did the work and how you got to your results.

00:00:48 Speaker 1

Think of it like a recipe book.

00:00:50 Speaker 1

If you say, I make cookies, no one knows how, but if you write down the ingredients and steps, someone else can follow your recipe and bake the same cookies.

00:00:59 Speaker 1

Documentation works the same way.

00:01:02 Speaker 1

It's your recipe for how you tested, what you found, and what you concluded.

00:01:07 Speaker 1

Before we learn more about documentation, let's jump into our first term to learn.

00:01:12 Speaker 1

Work papers.

00:01:13 Speaker 1

The Global Internal Audit Standards define work papers as documentation of the internal audit work done when planning and performing engagements.

00:01:21 Speaker 1

The documentation provides the supporting information for engagement findings and conclusions.

00:01:27 Speaker 1

In short, work papers tell the story of your audit and prove how you reach your conclusions.

00:01:33 Speaker 1

Why is this so important?

00:01:35 Speaker 1

Documentation supports your findings and conclusions.

00:01:38 Speaker 1

It shows that your works align with the standards.

00:01:41 Speaker 1

It also helps with quality assurance and peer reviews, and ensures that if another internal editor picks up your work, they can follow it without guessing.

00:01:51 Speaker 1

Here is a pro tip.

00:01:52 Speaker 1

Good documentation saves you time in the long run.

00:01:55 Speaker 1

Clear and organized work papers make report writing easier and reduce questions from reviewers.

00:02:01 Speaker 1

Think of it as setting your future self up for success.

00:02:05 Speaker 1

So, how can you produce good documentation?

00:02:08 Speaker 1

Keep it clear, concise, organized and professional.

00:02:12 Speaker 1

This means clear enough that someone else can follow your logic.

00:02:16 Speaker 1

Concise without filler or unnecessary detail.

00:02:19 Speaker 1

Organized with labels, dates and references.

00:02:22 Speaker 1

Professional, no shorthand, personal notes or slang.

00:02:26 Speaker 1

Let's look at some quick examples.

00:02:29 Speaker 1

The good, the bad and the ugly.

00:02:32 Speaker 1

A bad work paper might be just a screenshot of a controlled test with no explanation.

00:02:37 Speaker 1

A good one has that same screenshot, but with labels, the date, the control name, and a short note about what you concluded.

00:02:45 Speaker 1

Which one do you think your reviewer will prefer?

00:02:48 Speaker 1

Obviously, the more organized work paper.

00:02:51 Speaker 1

And the ugly, copying pages of a procedure manual into your work paper.

00:02:56 Speaker 1

That's way too much.

00:02:58 Speaker 1

A better approach is to summarize only the parts that are relevant to your audit objective and tie them back to your test.

00:03:06 Speaker 1

Documentation also ties directly to other phases of the audit.

00:03:10 Speaker 1

In planning, it sets expectation for what you'll capture.

00:03:13 Speaker 1

In finance, it strengthens your evidence and recommendations.

00:03:16 Speaker 1

And in report writing, clear documentation makes writing faster and easier.

00:03:21 Speaker 1

Strong documentation at the start pays off all the way through the audit lifecycle.

00:03:26 Speaker 1

Remember, documentation isn't just for you.

00:03:29 Speaker 1

Your supervisor or reviewer uses it to validate your work.

00:03:33 Speaker 1

Future auditors may rely on it if the same process is audited again.

00:03:38 Speaker 1

And stakeholders or QA reviewers may check it to make sure your engagement conforms with the standards.

00:03:43 Speaker 1

In other words, write your work papers so anyone who picks them up can follow your logic.

00:03:49 Speaker 1

Let's recap.

00:03:51 Speaker 1

Documentation is the written story of your audit work, your recipe for how you tested, what you found, and what you concluded.

00:03:58 Speaker 1

Documentation is clear, concise, organized, and professional.

00:04:02 Speaker 1

Strong documentation at the start saves time and makes the entire audit process smoother.

00:04:09 Speaker 1

Thanks for watching Getting Started with the Basics of Documentation.

00:04:12 Speaker 1

Next, be sure to check out our episodes on planning and writing and audit finding to see how strong documentation connects to bigger phases of the audit process.

00:04:22 Speaker 1

You can find these episodes and other helpful resources, including tools, podcasts, and training, at the links below.