Improve Audit Results with Root Cause Analysis

I recently read an article about financial firms that are improving audit results by using root cause analysis (RCA) to solve their problems. Of course, I found this intriguing, as we have been conducting RCA training and investigations for more banks and financial firms in recent years. I also found it interesting because RCA can help professionals in other functional areas to improve their audit results. 

Whether you work in EHS, quality, reliability, IT, or another area, having an effective root cause analysis program will help you achieve greater scores in your audits, as well as to helps you to resolve any negative audit findings.

Now, if you do end up having an issues identified through an audit, don’t panic. Use your RCA skills to get you through to the other side. Remember, the intent of an audit is to identify gaps, and gaps are opportunities for improvement. The person responsible for the area where the gaps are found is then in charge of closing them. A general strategy for applying Sologic RCA to audit findings starts with listing the finding itself as the Focal Point.  Immediately after the focal point, add two causes – one stating the requirement (“Plan”) and the other stating the gap (“Actual”). For example:

RCA Cause and Effect Chart - Audits

Normally, the Plan branch is not examined. However, it is certainly possible that the Plan itself may require adjustment. If so, this branch would help to provide answers as to how the Plan was created, approved, modified, etc. The Actual branch will determine the causes for the gap.  It is along this branch that solutions will be found to close the gap.  The auditor can examine the analysis, evidence, and solutions to determine whether he/she is satisfied that the gap will be closed.

Now, let’s examine a few basic RCA program pieces you should have in place:

• Threshold/Trigger Criteria: develop and communicate the plan for when an RCA is required. You may not find the right balance at first, so be prepared to adjust based on the # of incidents and the capacity of your facilitators. You may find you’re attempting to handle too many RCAs, and need to raise thresholds, or that you’re seeing too few RCAs, and need to lower thresholds to ensure you keep your facilitators’ skills fresh.
• Clear Roles in the RCA Program: make sure everyone knows what is expected of them, and when. Develop a rotation for your facilitators, and consider getting some basic introductory training for RCA participants to help speed up the process. Also, select facilitators based on those who are naturally interested in problem solving. See our prior post on what makes a good facilitator.
• Effective Documentation: if the RCA is not documented and its solutions not implemented, it’s almost as though the RCA never happened. It is crucial to have a central storage area for your RCA data. Whether you use something homegrown, or an RCA specific application such as Causelink Enterprise to conduct, document, and manage your RCAs, you should have something in place that can illustrate the organization’s steps towards due diligence and commitment to problem solving.

Learn more about Sologic RCA