What is the best way to coordinate the audit team if all members work from a home office? Both during coordination of an audit team and during the audit itself.

A clear agenda including time slots, a dry run, and understanding and creating breakout rooms is critical. Also, include who will be in them and incorporate that into your agenda. Implement a 15-minute buffer on the time window on either side so you can call people early into the audit or be late and the team member doesn’t have to sit all day at the ready.

Have you seen notified bodies charging extra because the audits take more time? FYI, I was charged for an extra half day.

No not yet. One can imagine they are also allocating time for a learning curve and for all of us to get more efficient. If the time doesn’t improve, we can imagine they might go there. But we are also confident that there are steps we can take to make it more efficient and reduce the amount of time spent.

Is there concern about third-party auditors taking screenshots or otherwise keeping confidential information in a remote audit? How do you protect against that?

Great question. We think the best first step is to ensure there is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in place between both parties. Second, have a conversation about confidentiality from the get go. If you don’t want them to take screenshots or keep confidential information, speak about it. If you are okay with it as long as they share all the pics with you so you are aware, then let them know that as well. It gets back to keeping the communication channels clear.