Phase Two: Planning

During this phase, the audit team's goal is to develop a plan to guide their work on the audit. An audit plan covers:

• the purpose of the audit (why it is being done);
• the scope of the audit (what they will and won't be examining);
• the criteria (how they will be evaluating the audit topic); and
• the timeline (how long each phase of the audit will take).

In the planning phase:

• The Assistant Auditor General sends a notice of planning letter to the Assistant Deputy Minister (or equivalent). This is the official notice that an audit is going to be conducted. The letter also requests that a key contact be identified, if this was not done during the Identification phase.
• The audit team identifies the expertise needed to develop the audit plan. In some cases, this may mean hiring subject matter experts to supplement the audit team’s knowledge and research.
• The audit team meets with the key contact and others as appropriate to discuss the audit topic and confirm access to the information they will require for the planning phase (including staff interviews and document requests).
• A challenge group is assembled, including an Engagement Quality Control Reviewer (EQCR), as a key part of the the OAG's quality assurance process. An EQCR is required under Canadian Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and is responsible for providing an objective evaluation of the audit team's judgments and the conclusions reached in the report. The use of a challenge group is a further step taken by the OAG to ensure the crediblity and validity of our work
• The audit team collects the required information and creates a draft audit plan, which is reviewed several times before being finalized. This includes meetings with:
  • the Assistant Auditor General;
  • the challenge group; and
  • the audited organization.
• The final plan is submitted to the Auditor General. As in the Identification phase, the Auditor General will either:
  • approve the plan (in which case the audit proceeds to the Examination (conducting) phase);
  • return the plan to the audit team for further work;
  • postpone the audit until a later date; or
  • cancel the audit.
• The Assistant Auditor General informs the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Auditor General's decision.