What is a Horizontal Audit?

A horizontal audit involves the examination of the same activity across an organization. This activity is designed to detect differences in how processes are handled in different parts of an organization. Where there are differences from the standard approach, training is used to bring a process back into line with the standard approach. Horizontal audits can also be used to assess how well a process functions in multiple situations; the result may be a change in the baseline process.

Examples of a Horizontal Audit

As an example of a horizontal audit, an audit could review how travel and entertainment reports are processed across every department of a company. Similarly, a horizontal audit could be used to examine how petty cash transactions are being processed within every department of a business, in order to focus on the consistency of transaction recordation.