3 OKR examples for Audit Department

What are Audit Department OKRs?

The Objective and Key Results (OKR) framework is a simple goal-setting methodology that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s. It became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s, and it's now used by teams of all sizes to set and track ambitious goals at scale.

Creating impactful OKRs can be a daunting task, especially for newcomers. Shifting your focus from projects to outcomes is key to successful planning.

We have curated a selection of OKR examples specifically for Audit Department to assist you. Feel free to explore the templates below for inspiration in setting your own goals.

If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read more about the OKR meaning online.

Best practices for managing your Audit Department OKRs

Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.

Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇

Tip #1: Limit the number of key results

Having too many OKRs is the #1 mistake that teams make when adopting the framework. The problem with tracking too many competing goals is that it will be hard for your team to know what really matters.

We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.

Tability's audit dashboard will highlight opportunities to improve OKRs

Tip #2: Commit to the weekly check-ins

Setting good goals can be challenging, but without regular check-ins, your team will struggle to make progress. We recommend that you track your OKRs weekly to get the full benefits from the framework.

Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.

Tability's check-ins will save you hours and increase transparency

Tip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row

Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples below). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.

As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.

Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.

Building your own Audit Department OKRs with AI

While we have some examples below, it's likely that you'll have specific scenarios that aren't covered here. There are 2 options available to you.

Use our free OKRs generator
Use Tability, a complete platform to set and track OKRs and initiatives
including a GPT-4 powered goal generator

Best way to track your Audit Department OKRs

Your quarterly OKRs should be tracked weekly in order to get all the benefits of the OKRs framework. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:

It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
It will highlight poorly set OKRs
It will surface execution risks
It improves transparency and accountability

We recommend using a spreadsheet for your first OKRs cycle. You'll need to get familiar with the scoring and tracking first. Then, you can scale your OKRs process by using a proper OKR-tracking tool for it.

Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRs

If you're not yet set on a tool, you can check out the 5 best OKR tracking templates guide to find the best way to monitor progress during the quarter.

Audit Department OKRs templates

We've covered most of the things that you need to know about setting good OKRs and tracking them effectively. It's now time to give you a series of templates that you can use for inspiration!

We've added many examples of Audit Department Objectives and Key Results, but we did not stop there. Understanding the difference between OKRs and projects is important, so we also added examples of strategic initiatives that relate to the OKRs.

Hope you'll find this helpful!

OKRs to efficiently meet annual audit plan commitments

Efficiently meet annual audit plan commitments
Finalize and implement a resulting action plan from 80% of audits
Develop action plans based on audit results
Analyze findings from 80% of completed audits
Implement devised action plans systematically
Achieve 100% on-time completion for all scheduled audits
Regularly monitor audit progress and completion rates
Create a structured, detailed audit schedule
Assign and communicate specific deadlines to auditors
Identify and deliver financial improvements in 2 or more audited areas
Analyze recent audit reports to identify areas of financial improvements
Develop feasible strategies to improve audited financial areas
Implement and track the impact of the improvement strategies

Track these OKRs

OKRs to reduce overall IT expenditure per employee

Reduce overall IT expenditure per employee
Decrease hardware renewal cost by 20%
Identify and eliminate unnecessary hardware assets
Implement preventative maintenance strategies on existing hardware
Negotiate better contracts with hardware vendors
Implement software use audits to identify 15% cost-saving opportunities
Identify key software used in organization operations
Analyze audit findings to identify cost-saving opportunities
Develop and implement a software auditing process
Achieve a 10% reduction in IT service contractor expenses
Explore cheaper alternatives or in-house solutions for IT services
Evaluate current IT service contracts for potential cost-saving opportunities
Negotify renegotiations or cancellations of costly contracts

it-expenditure-reduction cost-saving-opportunities it-manager audit-specialist it-department audit-team

Track these OKRs

OKRs to enhance company security standards to safeguard against potential threats

Enhance company security standards to safeguard against potential threats
Achieve a 100% completion rate of all recommended security updates and patches
Conduct routine audits to ensure all devices and systems have the latest security patches
Provide ongoing training and awareness programs to educate employees on the importance of installing security updates
Implement an automated system to regularly scan and identify available security updates
Establish a policy for prompt installation and deployment of all identified security updates
Implement a comprehensive training program on cybersecurity for all employees
Create an online platform to provide ongoing access to cybersecurity resources and learning materials
Schedule regular training sessions to ensure all employees receive cybersecurity education
Assign qualified trainers to deliver interactive and engaging cybersecurity training sessions
Develop a customized cybersecurity training curriculum tailored to different employee roles
Reduce the average response time to security incidents by 20%
Streamline incident response workflows to remove unnecessary steps and improve efficiency
Develop a clear escalation process and ensure all stakeholders are aware and trained
Conduct regular simulations and exercises to enhance incident response readiness and identify areas for improvement
Implement automated monitoring systems to identify and alert on security incidents promptly
Increase the frequency of security audits to at least once every quarter
Assign specific personnel responsible for conducting security audits
Develop a standardized reporting format for security audit findings and recommendations
Implement regular communication channels to track and monitor security audit progress
Review and update security audit checklist to ensure comprehensive coverage

cybersecurity security-audits security-auditor cybersecurity-trainer security-department it-department

Track these OKRs

More Audit Department OKR templates

We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.

OKRs resources

Here are a list of resources to help you adopt the Objectives and Key Results framework.

To learn: Complete 2024 OKR cheat sheet
Blog posts: ODT Blog
Success metrics: KPIs examples