Sometimes we get asked the question to describe an unstructured process (especially for people well versed in business process management) as an iconic example of an unstructured, human process. One example we tend to give is the internal audit process – where there is a framework for the way audits are handled, but each specific audit is different than the previous. Another similar example is Board of Directors decision tracking.

Well, in light of the current administration’s focus on governance- I starting thinking about combining the two. So I tried to find what is out there in the way of tools available for the corporate audit committees. What I found was an audit committee toolkit by the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts (AICPA). It looks interesting,containing “checklists, matrices, reports, questionnaires and other pertinent materials  specifically tailored to public companies including and designed to make audit committee best practices actionable”.

I am sure that it is useful, but not really what I would call a tool, it is more of a guideline or best practice – exactly what you would expect to see as the kick-off point for an unstructured, human process. But just providing a guideline doesn’t really mesh with another document I found from the Institute of Internal Auditors – “The Audit Committee” where they state “Audit committee members must maintain an in-depth understanding of internal audit best practices and how internal audit is functioning.”

As with most unstructured processes, they really can’t do that only using documents, email and meetings- since there is no way for them to know how the internal audits are actually functioning – at best they can get a glimpse of the process at both ends – once when they define the processes and the other when they see the result. They really don’t have any visibility into how their audit process is actually executing. If I was on an audit committee, I think I would be worried about that given the current administration’s stance on compliance and audits.

Of course, we would recommend using our human process management system (ActionBase) for this, just as it is used for Board of Directors decision tracking and other unstructured processes.