Systems Audits
In a systems audit of gender equality, the focus is on the management systems and practices, including systems of internal control, used by an organization to achieve, maintain, demonstrate, and improve the gender equality aspects of its services or operations. For example, the audit could identify and analyze the strengths, good practices, weaknesses, gaps, and challenges in the institutional mechanisms and processes for gender equality within the organization. Many organizations, such as the International Labour Organization, have undertaken internal assessments of their achievement of gender equality, including areas such as work allocation, compensation, and workplace environment.
In practical terms, systems audit work means examining the key organizational systems, practices, procedures, and controls supporting gender equality, such as human resource management, performance measurement and reporting systems, and management’s systems for benchmarking organizational performance.
A systems approach may be used in audits of gender equality in one of three ways.
1. The audit may examine the organization’s overall strategy and focus on gender equality.
2. The audit may examine the systems and practices that relate to gender equality in a particular program or activity.
3. The audit may combine these two options.
The particular option chosen will depend on the knowledge of business acquired, the auditor’s mandate, and the auditor’s analysis of significance and risk. Auditing an organization’s overall focus on gender equality may be a good entry point into auditing gender equality. Subsequent audits in particular program areas could follow this first audit. This strategy would provide an audit office with a good overview of an organization’s central approach to gender equality before undertaking more in-depth audits of gender equality in specific programs.
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