Maintain documentation for compliance requirements
18
Communicate outcomes to stakeholders
19
Define next steps or recommendations for future audits
Identify subject areas to be audited
This task involves identifying the specific subject areas that need to be audited in the legal audit checklist. Consider the key areas of legal compliance that are important for your organization. What are the potential risks and challenges in these areas? What resources or tools can be utilized to complete this task effectively?
Gather related legal documents
In this task, gather all the relevant legal documents that are related to the subject areas identified in the previous task. What are the key documents that need to be collected? Identify any potential challenges in obtaining these documents and suggest ways to overcome them.
1
Contracts
2
Policies
3
Licenses
4
Regulations
5
Agreements
Organize legal documents by subject area
Organize the collected legal documents according to the subject areas identified earlier. How can the documents be categorized effectively? Consider the best way to structure the organization of these documents to ensure easy access and retrieval in the future.
Review legal documents for compliance
Review the organized legal documents for compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies. What are the key compliance requirements that need to be checked? How can potential non-compliance issues be identified and addressed?
1
Terms and conditions
2
Privacy policies
3
Labor laws
4
Intellectual property rights
5
Environmental regulations
1
Incomplete documents
2
Outdated policies
3
Missing signatures
4
Unapproved changes
5
Violation of regulations
Prepare a summary of findings
Based on the review of the legal documents, prepare a summary that highlights the key findings. What are the main compliance issues identified? How can these findings be presented clearly and concisely?
Approval: Summary of findings
Will be submitted for approval:
Review legal documents for compliance
Will be submitted
Identify possible legal risks
Identify the potential legal risks that arise from the compliance issues identified in the previous task. What are the specific risks associated with non-compliance? How can these risks impact the organization?
1
Financial penalties
2
Lawsuits
3
Reputational damage
4
Operational disruptions
5
Loss of business opportunities
Evaluate seriousness of legal risks
Evaluate the seriousness of the identified legal risks. How likely are these risks to occur? What is the potential impact of each risk on the organization? Consider the severity of the risks and prioritize them accordingly.
1
Low
2
Medium
3
High
4
Critical
5
Unknown
Develop a plan to address identified legal risks
Develop a plan to address the identified legal risks. How can these risks be mitigated or eliminated? What actions or measures need to be taken? Consider the resources, timelines, and responsibilities required for implementing the plan.
Present plan to relevant stakeholders
Present the developed plan to the relevant stakeholders for review and approval. Who are the key stakeholders that need to be involved? How can the plan be effectively communicated to ensure understanding and support?
Approval: Legal risk action plan
Will be submitted for approval:
Develop a plan to address identified legal risks
Will be submitted
Present plan to relevant stakeholders
Will be submitted
Execute the plan
Execute the approved plan to address the identified legal risks. How can the plan be effectively implemented? Who is responsible for executing each action? Consider the necessary resources and timelines for successful execution.
1
Assign responsibilities
2
Allocate resources
3
Implement changes
4
Monitor progress
5
Document actions
Monitor execution of the plan
Monitor the execution of the plan to ensure that the identified legal risks are effectively addressed. How can the progress be tracked? Who is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the plan's execution?
1
Regular progress meetings
2
Status reports
3
Performance indicators
4
Audits and reviews
5
Issue tracking
Review effectiveness of the plan
Review the effectiveness of the executed plan in addressing the identified legal risks. What are the outcomes and results of the plan? How can the effectiveness be measured and evaluated?
Approval: Review of Plan Effectiveness
Will be submitted for approval:
Review effectiveness of the plan
Will be submitted
Document the entire audit process
Document the entire audit process, including the actions taken, findings, and outcomes. How can the audit process be documented effectively? Consider the information that needs to be captured for future reference and compliance requirements.
Maintain documentation for compliance requirements
Ensure that the documentation generated during the legal audit is maintained for compliance requirements. How can the documentation be securely stored and accessed? What retention period should be followed?
1
1 year
2
3 years
3
5 years
4
7 years
5
Indefinitely
Communicate outcomes to stakeholders
Communicate the audit outcomes to the relevant stakeholders. How can the outcomes be effectively shared? What information needs to be included in the communication?
Define next steps or recommendations for future audits
Define the next steps or recommendations for future audits based on the findings and outcomes of the current legal audit. How can the audit process be improved? What areas need to be focused on in future audits?
