The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product.
Project Management Audits
This usually refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management and quality management, as the auditing of steps and processes in a project systematically or randomly to insure that the project is meeting estimated completion and quality standards.
Like a project management audit, a quality audit is an external verification that a project is compliant with regulations and standard. A system of quality audits verifies the effectiveness of a quality management system. To benefit the organization, quality auditing should highlight areas of good practice and provide evidence of conformance (positive feedback) as well as report non-conformance and corrective actions (negative feedback).
Types of Audits
An internal audit in project management is usually more or less like a check-up: it assesses the current state of a project and prescribes actions that will increase its success. Audits in project management also include regulatory audits to provide external verification that a project is compliant with regulations and standards. Best practices of auditing dictate that a regulatory audit must be accurate, objective, and independent while providing oversight and assurance to the organization.
Why Project Managers Audit
Audits generally provide a good understanding of how a project is running and how in/effectively the project team is. Project managers benefit from periodic auditing in two broad ways. First, managers gain tangible data about specific components of the process performance and a good handle on how the project is aligning with long-term objectives. Second, auditing ensures that employees and contractors are aware of managerial presence (which motivates better performance) and show support for various elements of the project.
It is important, however, to monitor how an audit is conducted so that employees or project team members don't perceive it as a sign that the project manager does not trust them to complete their work. If team members are aware that an audit is coming, or if they have discussed the possibility with the project manager, they may be more open to the idea. If an audit comes as a surprise, it can create lack of trust and suspicion between the project manager and their team. It is important to consider interpersonal factors before conducting an audit of a project.
Auditing and Communicating to a Project Team
When auditing a project, the project manager needs to be clear that the project team does not become suspicious or feel threatened by it.