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The compliance audit: the essential tool for assessing your company's compliance with regulatory obligations

By Rita Hassani Idrissi

Published: July 4, 2025

A compliance audit enables a company to carry out an objective and precise assessment of its regulatory obligations in a particular field or service (data protection, financial situation, working conditions, etc.).

It is used to identify minor or major deviations, with a view to making corrections and ensuring compliance. Different types of audit (external, RGPD, pre-certification...) are feasible.

👉Discover how this assessment tool is organized (data collection, analysis, avenues for improvement...) and what its objectives are.

What exactly is a compliance audit?

Compliance audit: definition

A compliance audit is a control and assessment tool that enables a company or institution to determine the level of compliance of an existing system with a legal, regulatory or normative benchmark.

The existing system may be :

  • its business sector in general, or one of its departments (human resources, payroll, etc.);
  • protection of personal data ;
  • working conditions ;
  • the environment ;
  • its territory...

Why conduct a compliance audit: objectives and benefits

A compliance audit enables us to take stock of the situation and identify areas for improvement. Its aim is to verify and measure an organization's compliance, with the following objectives :

  • identify risks and provide concrete solutions;
  • better manage activities ;
  • modify practices where necessary;
  • protect against sanctions linked to non-compliance...

Compliance audit vs. efficiency audit: are they the same thing?

Not quite. These two types of audit pursue different objectives, even if they often rely on the same information.

A compliance audit verifies that the company is complying with current regulations. It assesses the level of compliance with internal or external standards, laws and policies. In other words, are the rules being followed to the letter?

An efficiency audit goes a step further. It analyzes whether the processes in place are really achieving the expected results. It's no longer enough to say "it's done", but rather "it's well done".

💡 Let's take an example. An organization may be perfectly compliant with personal data protection rules (RGPD), but have a slow and inefficient process for responding to user requests. The first point passes the compliance audit, the second fails the efficiency audit.

Ideally, the results should be cross-referenced to reinforce both compliance with regulatory obligations and internal performance.

What types of compliance audit are there?

There are several types of audit designed to assess a facility's compliance with regulations or standards.

External audit

This is carried out by a person from outside the company , and can cover a wide range of areas:

  • financial statements,
  • work organization,
  • workplace safety, etc.

It helps to identify any malfunctions or understand an existing incident, and to implement improvements.

💡An external audit can also be used to check the compliance of a supplier's system with the requirements of a standard or the company's own rules.

Pre-certification audit

Also known as a "blank audit" or "pre-audit", this enables a company to carry out a test before the actual certification or labeling stage , whatever the latter may be:

  • ISO 9001,
  • ISO 14001,
  • Qualiopi,
  • IFS, etc.

💡The pre-certification audit is also suitable for preparing and reassuring the players and staff involved before the certification process; but also for working on identified weak points.

RGPD compliance audit

The RGPD or European General Data Protection Regulation obliges companies and organizations in all sectors of activity to better manage and protect personal information.

The RGPD compliance audit is used to find out whether the European directive is being applied, and to what extent. In particular, it takes into account the following points:

  • the technical operation of the information system and, more specifically, the processing of personal data ;
  • the documentation in place (data-processing charter, data-processing register, consent form, etc.);
  • the security and reliability of the current information system.

💡By ensuring RGPD compliance, companies ward off the risk of sanctions and can optimize the security of their information systems.

How to conduct an effective compliance audit: 4 key steps

1 - Carry out a documentary study and an inventory of the activities concerned.

These two steps enable us to identify the standards and guidelines applicable in the chosen fields.

2 - Choose the type of data collection for the audit

The audit can be carried out in several ways and using different tools:

  • On-site observations;
  • Interviews with stakeholders;
  • Examination of documents, etc.

These are the most common techniques used to gather information for an audit. All the elements gathered are then examined and compared with standards and regulations to identify the possible presence of deviations.

💡These non-conformities are generally classified. We find :

  • Minor non-conformities, which have no real impact on the company's activity or safety;
  • Major non-conformities, which may have repercussions on the organization's operations.

3 - Call in a service provider or equip yourself with suitable software

Numerous professionals (internal or external to the organization) can support you in setting up and carrying out a compliance audit:

  • independent experts,
  • specialized firms,
  • consulting firms...

However, to benefit from an effective, relevant and proactive review, you need to turn to a service provider with the essential knowledge and experience. An IT security expert can support you in an RGPD compliance audit, a chartered accountant in an accounting compliance audit, and so on.

You can also rely on specific software that provides a regulatory watch. This tool enables you to :

  • perform regulatory searches by theme (fire, cybersecurity, occupational health and safety, etc.) ;
  • access all regulations (decrees, contracts, etc.) to be complied with;
  • keep track of legislative texts (to keep pace with new developments);
  • manage your compliance strategy ;
  • implement a compliance action plan.

4 - Reporting on compliance status

The audit report presents the strengths, opportunities for improvement and non-conformities identified. Recommendations are of prime importance, as they enable you to make corrections and achieve compliance with regulations and standards.

Sample compliance audit report to structure your own

Need a little help writing your audit report? Here's a sample report that can be adapted to suit your company, activities and type of audit. Fill in the missing fields with your own data.

1. General information

Name of organization audited: [....................................................]

Audit date: [....................................................]

Type of audit: [Internal audit / External audit / RGPD compliance audit / Other]

Audit manager: [....................................................]

Auditor(s): [....................................................]

2. Objectives and scope

Main objective: [Assess regulatory compliance, identify non-compliances, etc.]

Audit scope: [Departments concerned, processes analyzed, type of activities covered, etc.].

3. Methodology

Information gathering: [Documentary study, interviews, questionnaires, field observations, etc.]

Compliance criteria used: [ISO standards, RGPD regulations, internal policies, etc.].

4. Findings

Points of compliance:

  • [Example: Processing of personal data is documented and up to date]
  • [Example: Internal forms comply with legal requirements]

Non-conformities identified:

  • [Example: No data processing register]
  • [Example: No procedure for managing security breaches ]

5. Recommendations

Proposed corrective measures:

  • [Example: Set up an RGPD register within 30 days]
  • [Example: Train teams in personal data processing]

6. Conclusion

Overall level of compliance: [Compliant / Partially compliant / Non-compliant]

Auditor's comments: [....................................................]

Signature: [....................................................]

Top 5 compliance management tools

When it comes to compliance auditing, the right tools make all the difference. All-in-one platforms, specialized RGPD solutions or internal control software: here are our top 5 to keep your business on track (and sleeping easy 💤).

Auditool

🛠 Auditool, a comprehensive platform that helps you continuously improve your products and processes. With Auditool, companies can manage their QHSE, cyber, internal control audits, and much more! Auditors share their work, annotate repositories and automatically generate relevant deliverables to help you. Monitor compliance statistics and the progress of corrective actions in real time, while providing tailored reports for each company stakeholder.

MasterControl

🛠 MasterControl is a world leader in compliance management for highly regulated sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals and aerospace. The software centralizes your data, automates your audit reports and tracks your ISO or FDA compliance status in real time. Its integrated workflow engine prevents errors and saves you precious time in your quality processes. Bonus: everything is traceable and secure, from internal audits to final reporting.

Netwrix Auditor

🛠 Netwrix Auditor is the benchmark for monitoring your sensitive data and ensuring compliance with regulations such as RGPD or Sarbanes-Oxley. The software detects deviations, traces all modifications, and alerts you to suspicious behavior. Ideal for reinforcing the security of your IS and proving that your company is compliant.

VComply

🛠 With VComply, say goodbye to unmanageable Excel spreadsheets! This cloud software lets you pilot your regulatory compliance and risks via a clear, intuitive interface. You create your criteria, assign tasks, track corrective actions and generate reports at the click of a button. Simple, visual and collaborative, VComply adapts to all types of organization, from SMEs to large corporations.

Witik

🛠 Witik, a 100% made-in-France compliance solution that helps SMEs, ETIs and major groups steer their various compliance programs (RGPD, the Sapin II law and ISO). Thanks to its third-party assessment module, you can easily deploy compliance audits at your subcontractors to protect yourself against any CNIL sanctions, while reinforcing transparency in your customer-supplier relationship. What's more, Witik provides personalized, secure support for your entire compliance process: automated registers, a collaborative module, a powerful alert system, and much more!

Compliance audit in brief

For a company, a compliance audit is a reliable and effective way of finding out where it stands in relation to current legislation and standards.

It is based on a snapshot of the current situation at a given point in time, and provides detailed suggestions for improvement. You can call on specialists to carry it out, or rely on appropriate software.

Article translated from French