Planning or Pre-Study

After an audit topic has been selected (and approved), the audit’s planning phase begins. The main result of the this phase of the audit process is the audit plan, which usually includes the audit objectives, scope, criteria, and evidence collection and analysis techniques.

This section of the Practice Guide focuses on the key actions and decisions that need to be taken during the planning phase:

• acquiring knowledge of gender issues specific to the selected organization or program,
• assessing risks to inform scoping decisions,
• determining the audit focus,
• drafting audit objectives, and
• selecting audit criteria.

Determining whether gender equality issues (for example, gender mainstreaming, implementation of gender equality policies, or use of gender-based analysis in policy formulation) should be included in the scope of an audit is a crucial decision to be taken during the planning phase. The level of effort and the nature of analysis needed to answer this question will vary for each topic.

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