Defining audit universe

The process of defining an audit universe involves selecting and organizing auditable entities, which can be performed individually or based on hierarchy levels. It also includes merging or splitting entities as needed. The defined audit universe is used to guide audit activities and ensure comprehensive coverage of the organization's operations.

Perform the following steps to define audit universe:

1. In the Audit home page, select the Define audit universe button under the Audit universe tile.

2. In the Integrated Audit universe page, select the Let's start button.

   The Define audit universe page appears. This page contains two sections. The top area named Coverage displays the extent to which the various elements within an organization gets included in the audit universe. The bottom area named Select auditable entities lists the org units and processes to support selection of auditable entities.

3. On the Define audit universe page, under the Select auditable entities section, select the arrows against the auditable entities that you want to include in your audit universe.

   Note

   It is recommended that you first use the Select multiple dropdown list to select multiple auditable entities together. If you select single entities and then use the the Select multiple option, then it discards all your previous selection and may split the currently merged auditable entities.

   See Select auditable entities options to understand and use the various options available in this section.

   Note

   • A higher-level auditable entity and its lower-level auditable entity cannot be selected simultaneously, as it creates duplicate org units/processes in two auditable entities.

   • If a higher-level auditable entity is selected, all its lower-level auditable entities are automatically included.

   • Selecting a lower-level auditable entity excludes its higher-level auditable entity. If you select a higher-level auditable entity and a lower-level entity, then the selection of the higher-level entity is removed.

4. If required, you can also use the Merge mode to combine multiple auditable entities into a single auditable entity. Select Split to reverse a merge and restore individual org units/processes as auditable entities.

   Note

   • Only auditable entities selected in the Select mode can be merged in merge mode.

   • You can merge only elements within the same branch/level.

   • After a group is merged, it cannot be merged further.

5. After selecting the required auditable entities, select the Define button on the top right corner.

After the audit universe is successfully defined, the Audit universe home page appears displaying the details of your newly defined audit universe.

Coverage

This section provides statistics indicating the percentage of organizational units and processes that are included in the audit universe. This is a measure of how many auditable entities are included in the audit universe compared to the total number of active auditable entities. The coverage details are visualized and updated in real-time as selections of auditable entities are made.

Select auditable entities options

You can use the following options while selecting auditable entities to define your audit universe.

Field name	Description
Select mode	Select entities either one by one or based on a hierarchy level.
Merge mode	Combine multiple auditable entities into a single entity.
Expand/Collapse	Collapse all Displays items linked to the root Expand all Displays all items Collapse to selected Displays all selected items and their parents, while collapsing the children
Select multiple	Select multiple auditable entities at once, rather than selecting them one by one.
Search by	Use this option to filter auditable entities by using org unit and process names as keywords.
Org units and processes	This column lists the organizational units and processes that were used to define auditable entities and populate the audit universe. These organizational units and processes are defined within the Diligent One Platform.
Auditable entities	This column lists the auditable entities that you selected. These are a combination of organizational units and processes.
Auditable entity statuses	Not covered Indicates that no higher-level or lower-level org unit and process objects are covered by one or more auditable entities in order to define the audit universe Partially covered Indicates that at least one lower-level org unit and process objects is covered by one or more auditable entities in order to define the audit universe Covered Indicates that all lower-level org unit and process objects are covered by one or more auditable entities in order to define the audit universe