Okay, we get it. Audits aren’t easy, and there’s no secret hack to make them less difficult.

However, a little preparation never hurt. In fact, even an ounce of preparation could end up worth about a pound of cure. (We’re not sure if there’s an equivalent for the metric system…)

Still, preparation isn’t worth a darn if you’re not doing it right.

Fortunately, we’ve put together an audit checklist for credit unions that are preparing for an audit. It’s a 24-point checklist that addresses five different audit areas and topics.

(Want to skip ahead to the good stuff? You can access the credit union audit checklist here.)

Here’s what you can expect the audit checklist to cover:

Pre-Audit Preparation

We’ve included a pre-audit preparation checklist that will walk you through your credit union’s previous audits.

It asks about previous findings, high-risk areas, and personnel.

Pre-audit preparation is particularly important because it can set the tone for the actual audit. Getting ahead of the issues can significantly streamline the process, not only saving credit unions hours of work during an audit, but also reducing a considerable amount of stress.

Preparation also lowers the chance of adverse findings and low deliverable quality.

Requested Items of the Document Request List

Our credit union audit checklist has a section for requested items on your document request list.

This section is designed to help your audit team identify the best people to include in your audit process. It will also help you determine who should review items, and by when.

This section is important because there are a lot of moving parts in credit union audits. The amount of work created from the audit and exam processes can create bottlenecks and slow delivery timelines.

Keeping a good handle on who needs to do what—and by when—is critical.

Delivery of Document Request List Items

We’ve included a section in the checklist that helps credit unions with their deliveries.

This section covers delivery timelines and methods so that you can be sure to give your auditors what they want, when they want it.

Two of the more important parts of this section concern security and efficiency.

For security, this section covers both internal and external members of the audit team. It also addresses information security

As for efficiency, many credit unions have expressed frustration with communication and delivery methods. Our delivery checklist may help establish better communication strategies.

Audit Recommendation and Finding Checklists

These two sections cover what to do in the event that your credit union must address any recommendations or findings.

Robust accountability is what enables credit union audit teams to handle the work generated by audits and exams. Maintaining efficiency and order during these last steps is crucial—without a good picture of these last steps, your credit union’s risk of repeat findings, missed deadlines, and items slipping through the cracks increases.

FREE: Audit Checklist for Credit Unions

4 key principles and 9 questions to jumpstart your audit planning. From leading credit unions.

Next Steps for Credit Unions

If this kind of credit union audit checklist sounds like the sort of thing your audit team could use, then you’re in luck. We’ve put our checklist together in PDF form for your convenience.

You may download and use our credit union audit checklist with no obligation.

We hope your next credit union audit is a smooth one.