ABSTRACT
An audit report is more than just an historical record of the audit. It is a marker by which progress is measured and a tool to help management steer the company. It is a prompt that tells the follow-up auditor what corrective actions to verify. It is a communications tool that explains the results of the audit to the manager responsible for the area that was audited. The audit reports are also used as an important part of management-review activities since they contain valuable information on the status of the system as well as company operations. As objective records of what is really happening throughout the company, audit reports are valuable input to management in decision-making, planning, guidance, and other management activities. Once the entire system has been audited, the audit reports can be analyzed to find the weak spots in the quality system and even find patterns of behavior within the corporate culture that may be adversely affecting quality.
