In the preparation phase of an audit, decisions must first be made regarding responsibilities. The main responsibility for conducting audits is typically assigned to top management, usually without specifying this in more detail. However, only isolated exceptions refer to the management board at this point. The tasks to be performed vary, based on the individual norms and standards. While some are limited to the establishment of a monitoring process, others refer to the assignment of operational responsibilities and the definition and effective implementation of auditing objectives and policies. The responsibility of communicating the importance of process improvement and efficiency enhancement—the primary responsibilities of an SCRM audit—rests with top management, analogous to a risk management audit.
In addition to these primary responsibilities, the person(s) responsible for auditing must be determined. The selection must be made in compliance with auditing principles such as objectivity and independence. In addition to the auditing principles, the auditor should have certain auditing experience and, above all, methodological and technical knowledge. These strict prerequisites often lead to the formation of an auditing team in order to fully cover all requisite competencies. These prerequisites can also be applied to an SCRM audit.
As such, the questions which must be answered at the beginning of an SCRM audit are:
Was an SCRM auditing goal set? |
Has a decision been made as to whether the audit should be ad hoc or part of a continuous audit program? |
Were the SCRM auditing goals communicated to all interested parties? |
Was it determined who would undertake the primary responsibility for the SCRM Audit? |
Who will be the responsible SCRM auditor? |
Has an SCRM audit team been assembled to support the auditor? |
Is the SCRM audit team composed of employees from different departments? |
Did the selection of the SCRM auditor consider the separate auditor qualification requirements? |
Is the SCRM auditor’s objectivity ensured with regard to the performance and the review of the SCRM audit? |
Is the objectivity of the SCRM audit team ensured with regard to the performance and review of the SCRM audit? |
Have all the associated costs of the SCRM audit been considered? |
Are sufficient physical independent premises available to carry out the SCRM audit? |
Are all necessary information and communication technologies available to the SCRM audit team? |
Extract from Schröder, M. (2019): Structured improvement of supply chain risk management. In: Supply Chain Management – Contributions to Procurement and Logistics, Series-Editor: Essig, M.; Stölzle, W., Kersten, W., Springer Gabler: Wiesbaden