This presentation is intended as an introduction to the audit process for employees of entities being audited by MACD.
Please refer to the manual for more detail
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• Audit Notification
• Pre Audit Meetings
• Data Submission
• The Audit
• Exit Meeting
• Audit Report
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• Audits are not “out to get you”
• “Trust but Verify” is the philosophy for the process
• The Audit team must, in their professional judgment, be satisfied that the evidence demonstrates compliance
• If the Audit team cannot confirm compliance to a standard, the report will indicate potential non compliance which MAY trigger an investigation
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Your company’s Audit Coordinator
• The Single Point of Contact for the audit
• Will do all coordination with MACD
• The person you should talk to with any concerns or questions
• The only person who should identify concerns or issues to the MACD Audit Team
• The person responsible for all logistics with the
MACD Audit Team
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Subject Matter Expert
• The person your company has identified as being able to discuss audit information with the audit team
• Essential to your company’s ability to demonstrate compliance with standards
• May be interviewed by the Audit Team to discuss reliability standards
• Should discuss any questions about the audit in advance with your Audit Coordinator
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Audit Team Lead
• An employee of MACD
• Coordinates all audit efforts for MACD with your Audit Coordinator
• Discusses any issues or concerns with your
Audit Coordinator
• The local decision maker for MACD
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• At least 90 days before your audit, you will receive a notification
– Audit Team
– Scope
– Off Site vs. On Site
– Date of Audit
– Pre Audit Survey
– Initial Data Requests
– Pre Audit Schedule of Activities
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• Audit Team Members:
– are responsible for producing an opinion on adherence to standards
– have experience in the industry and/or auditing
– have completed NERC Audit Training
– have confidentiality agreements in place
– are independent, have not worked in your company in the recent past
– issues? Discuss with MACD in advance
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Scope - Standards, Audit Period, Sample Size
• Standards:
– Responsible for all applicable Reliability Standards
– Audit will focus on a sub set chosen by MACD
– Subset reflects industry trends, impact on reliability
• Period is a rolling six years, audit team can examine compliance during entire six years
• Data requested is usually for previous 12 months
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Pre Audit Survey
• A tool for the audit team to learn more about your organization.
• Generic, some questions may not apply to your organization.
• Questions about assets, organization structure, physical location and neighbours
• Some logistical information and contact information
• Helps the audit progress more smoothly
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RSAWs – Reliability Standard Audit Worksheet
• Tool to help you demonstrate your compliance
• Guides you through providing evidence to demonstrate your compliance
• Assists you in organizing and packaging the information
• Clearly identify appropriate sections in the files for evidence, reference the standard
• Submited to MACD through the Portal
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• It is important to annotate documents
• If using the same document for multiple requirements, put a copy of the document in each folder!
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• The IESO Portal is a secure system already in use for providing this information to the audit team
• Portal training material is available on the IESO website
• http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/marketplaceTrainin g/showCourses.asp?id=15
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• It is important to organize information to show where it ties to the standard (to show compliance)
• Include the RSAW for each
standard in the top folder, and then evidence documentation with annotation for each requirement.
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• Open dialogue is important during the audit process. Opportunities for 3 pre audit meetings.
• Pre submission meeting – date agreed to, allows for general questions and discussion
• Pre Audit meeting, optional, done after MACD has reviewed the data submission
• Pre Audit Logistics – At least one week prior to audit to discuss the logistics of the audit week
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Audit Team will require:
• Rooms to work in
• Lunch/coffee (working lunch delivered to room)
• MACD to be invoiced
• Access to projector, internet, printers, if possible via our laptops – All evidence should be electronic unless otherwise agreed by the MACD audit team
• Access to site as needed, with appropriate escorts
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The Audit team will start the audit with a brief opening presentation.
• Introducing the team
• Expectations for the process
It can be helpful if the MP makes a brief opening presentation to
• Introduce the MP audit team
• Provide some background on the company and the facility
• Explain any safety/security requirements
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• The Audit Team may want to talk to SMEs
(Subject Matter Experts) and other staff
• Your Audit Coordinator will arrange interviews
• The Audit Team may want to ask questions about procedures, their implementation, data
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At the end of the audit period, the team will give an exit presentation. This presentation will give an overall summary:
• Recap of the audit review
• The Audit Team observations, preliminary findings and recommendations
• Schedule for remainder of process, including when the final report will be issued
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• The audit report would identify if the team was unable to confirm compliance with a reliability standard
• The potential non compliance is turned over to the investigation unit in MACD for follow up.
• There is no “penalty” from the audit itself
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• If the Audit Team identifies an immediate risk to reliability, the Team Lead will immediately communicate this to your Audit Coordinator and then to MACD for investigation
• For other potential non compliance observations that do not have an immediate impact on system reliability, these will be reported at the conclusion of the audit
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Any questions or concerns during the audit:
• Discuss with your company Audit Coordinator
• The Audit Coordinator from your company should discuss with the Audit Team Lead as soon as possible.
• If not satisfied after discussing with the Team Lead, your
Audit Coordinator can escalate the issue to the MACD supervisor/director
• If still not satisfied, your company can take issues to the
Dispute Resolution Panel (very formal process) – OEB process
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• A minimum of 90 days notice
• Initial Information Request - before the audit begins, submit information to demonstrate compliance
• Subsequent Information Requests may come during the audit
• SMEs and other staff may be interviewed
• The Audit Team will provide an exit interview with preliminary results
• The Audit Report will follow with details
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Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Audit
Program -
The Audit Process
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