Project Audit Process

Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD ASSIGNMENT NO.2 ON PROJECT MANGEMENT (569) Topic:- The role of audit in management of a project. Select a project undertaken by a business organization and analyze the role of audit team being played in that specific project, e.g. pre audit, post audit, and its impact on the project SUBMITTED BY_ ASAD HUSSAIN SUBMITTED TO – SIR ATAULLAH SHAH SB. 1 Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 ROLL NUMBER – 508195455. MOB. NUMBER – 03335174447. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT All praises to Almighty Allah, the most Gracious, the most Beneficent and the most Merciful, who enabled me to complete this assignment. There is always a sense of gratitude one expresses to others for the helpful and needy service they render during all phases of life. I have completed this assignment with the help of different personalities. I wish to express my gratitude towards all of them. It gives me immense pleasure to express my deep regards and sincere sense of gratitude to Mr. Salman Baig, Deputy Director Rural Cell, PTA H/Qs, Islamabad for his support which helped me throughout my assignment. I would also like to thank my teacher MR. ATAULLAH SHAH SB for steering my confidence and capability for giving me insight into assignment by giving me exposure to the arena of competitive and real world. Lastly I would like to thank my parents and friends for their constant support during the duration of my training. Thank You One and All ASAD HUSSAIN. 2 Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 ROLL NO. 508195455. MBA (HRM). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This assignment is a research-oriented activity, which represents both the theoretical and practical implication of the topic. In the first section of this assignment, I explain the theoretical aspect of the topic and all major parts has been explained which are involved in the Audit of any project. For empirical study, I select Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) which is a regulatory authority for telecom sector and me the employee of country’s biggest telecom company i.e. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, to analyze the audit process of a PTA project for installation of Telecentres throughout the country. 3 Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 CONTENTS: TITLE PAGE…...………………………………………………………… 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………… 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………….. 3 CONTENTS...…………………………….………………………………. 4 INTRODUCTION OF TOPIC……………………………………………. 5 REPORTING SCHEDULE………………………………………………. 5 FINAL REPORT…………………………………………………………. 6 PHASE-I………………………………………………………………….. 7 PHASE-II………………………………………………………………….. 8 PHASE-III……..………………………………………………………….. 9 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………… 10 PROJECT AUDITING…………………………………………………… 11 PURPOSE OF EVALUATION……………………………………………. 12 DEPTH OF AUDIT………………………………………………………. 13 MEASUREMENT………………………………………………………… 15 PRACTICAL STUDY (PTA)…………………………………………….. 16 DEPARTMENTALIZATION……………………………………………. 17 THE PROCESS OF AUDIT……………………………………………… 19 FINANCIALS…………………………………………………………….. 20 OBSERVATIONS………………………………………………………… 20 DATA COLLECTION METHOD………………………………………… 21 SWOT ANALYSIS……………………………………………………….. 21 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………. 22 4 Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………………….. 23 Project Audit Process Introduction The process of auditing any project starts out with a formal notification being sent to the project members, informing them of the impending audit. The notification will also inform the project members of the audit team's objective and what compliance issues the team will be examining. After sending project members notification of the impending audit, the audit team will schedule and conduct a face-to- face meeting with the project head and any administrators. The audit team will examine the project's records and data files ahead of the full audit. Reporting Schedule After the formality of the initial inquiry is over, the audit team begins a full-fledged inquiry into the project. The team will attempt to glean a further idea of how the project is functioning by going over the project's background documents and conducting interviews with the project head and the project's sponsor. The audit team will also conduct a series of interviews with members of the project, mapping out their individual roles in the project, to get a more detailed idea of 5 Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 the project's hierarchy and the validity of each member's role. During the inquiry and reporting phase of the audit, the audit team will periodically report its finding back to the project's sponsor. The audit team will also examine the project members' efficiency in following their set timelines and will record any inconsistencies in the project's goals and individual project member's performance. Final Report After sufficient data has been gleaned from the project's data files and group member interviews and the audit team has a firm idea of how the project is supposed to be carried out, the audit team will create a formal draft of its report. After the management team presiding over the audit team has reviewed the formal report and decided whether to recommend any amendments or further inquires into the project, the audit team will construct the final draft. The final draft of the audit report will contain a summary, list background and key issues raised, and provide an assessment of the quality of the project members' performance in carrying out its said goals. A project audit provides an opportunity to uncover the issues, concerns and challenges encountered in the execution of a project. It affords the project manager, project sponsor and project team an interim view of what has gone well and what needs to be improved with the project to successfully complete it. If done at the close of a project, a project audit can be used to develop success criteria for future projects by providing a forensic review. This review will provide an opportunity to learn what elements of the project were 6 Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 successfully managed and which ones presented some challenges. This will help the organization identify what it needs to do so that mistakes are not repeated on future projects. Regardless of whether the project audit is conducted mid-term on a project or at its conclusion, the process is similar. It is generally recommended that an outside facilitator conduct the project audit. This ensures confidentiality but also provides the team members and other stakeholders with the opportunity to be candid. They know that their input will be valued and the final report will not identify individual names, rather it will only include facts. It is common that individuals interviewed during the project audit of a particularly badly managed project will find speaking with an outside facilitator provides them with the opportunity to express their emotions and feelings about their involvement in the project and/or the impact the project has had on them. This “venting” is an important part of the overall audit. A project audit consists of three phases: • Phase 1: Success Criteria and Questionnaire Development • Phase 2: In-depth Research Phase 3: Report Development Phase 1 - Success Criteria and Questionnaire Development 1. Success Criteria Development 7 Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 Interview the core project sponsor and project manager to determine their “success criteria” for the project audit. This ensures that their individual and collective needs are met. 2. Questionnaire Development • Develop a questionnaire to be sent to each member of the core project team and selected stakeholders. We find that individuals will often complete the questionnaire in advance of an interview. It helps them to focus their thoughts. The actual interview provides the facilitator with the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the interviewee’s comments. The questionnaires help them to reflect on the project’s successes, failures, challenges and missed opportunities. 3. Project Audit Questions • There are many questions that can be asked. It is easiest to develop open-ended questions for the interviews. These questionnaires can be used for team members and/or other stakeholders who cannot attend an interview. Develop the questions so that they will help to identify the major project successes; the major project issues, concerns and challenges; how the team worked together; how vendors were managed; how reporting and meetings were handled; how risk and change was managed, etc. Phase 2 - In-Depth Research 8 Asad Hussain MBA HRM Roll No. 508195455 1. Conduct individual research interviews with the Project Sponsor, Project Manager and Project Team members in order to identify the past, current and future issues, concerns, challenges and opportunities. 2. Conduct individual research interviews with stakeholders including vendors, suppliers, contractors, other project internal and external resources and selected customers. 3. Assess the issues, challenges and concerns in more depth to get to the root causes of the problems. 4. Review all historical and current documentation related to this project including; • Team Structure • Scope Statement • Business Requirements • Project Plan • Milestone Report • Meeting Minutes • Action Items • Risk Logs • Issue Logs • Change Logs 5. Review the Project Plan to determine how the Vendor Plan has been incorporated into the overall project plan. 6. Interview selected Stakeholders to identify and determine what their expectations of the project had been and to identify

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