Auditing is a common practice in corporate governance, however, this simple word often causes tension in the teams that will go through the process. This is normal, and therefore the best way to avoid difficulties at this time is to prepare beforehand.
In this text, we've provided three tips on how to prepare for an audit at your company. Read the guidelines and discover how to plan the procedures to collaborate and facilitate the process.
Keep your company's internal workflows up to date.
One of the most important things to do is to keep your privacy governance program up-to-date. This means not only having the main tool used for data organization updated (even though that's important), but also having a very clear plan and rules.
Furthermore, having a clearly defined policy is essential. It's not enough to simply describe what to do; the processes need to be implemented and used effectively.
A good way to verify the effectiveness of these routines is by conducting tests and simulations regularly. Thinking about how the team and the protocols followed work in real-world situations is a great way to prepare without putting customer data at risk. In this case, it's possible to identify problems in advance and resolve them even before an audit.
Organization is the key word.
Implementing a system to comply with the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) in your company should not be a one-off task, but an ongoing process. Don't wait until the last minute to create new processes before an audit, as it's essential that they are functioning properly.
Furthermore, experts will analyze not only current procedures but also actions taken at other times. Internal documents related to company policies may be requested, as well as other information about security incident histories, contracts with data operators, and requests received from data subjects. It is important to have this information organized.
Stay aligned with your team members.
Auditors are likely to contact various employees from different departments within the company. This practice serves to gather information about how privacy and data protection standards are actually being implemented. Employees from diverse areas, from Data Protection Officers (DPOs) to the company's legal department, may be contacted as part of this process.
Maintaining a practice of recurring team meetings can be a way to facilitate the integration of information between departments. For example, creating a regular communication channel and allowing employees to be more aligned with each of the practices adopted by different sectors of the company is one option. Furthermore, small problems that could drag on for a long time can be resolved much more quickly.
There isn't just one solution to streamline these types of processes, as each company is unique and will work with different types of data. However, using up-to-date strategies that are aligned with your employees and comply with regulations can help your company succeed in privacy audits.
