Legal Audit
A legal audit is a way for management to identify, prioritise and resolve the important legal issues that a business faces. An audit will identify areas of legal non-compliance and inefficient processes and in doing so, reduce the risk of future legal liabilities. It will also assist in building a culture of compliance within the business and help avoid later distraction of management and financial loss should a legal issue arise.
Legal audits can cover many different areas:
- Corporate Structure:
- Corporations Act compliance and obligations
- Corporate structure
- Board and company secretarial matters
- Corporate governance policies
- Financial Issues:
- Internal processes and controls
- Taxation issues
- Audit processes
- Insurance coverage
- Operational Processes:
- Standard contracts and agreements
- Contract review policies and registers
- Related party contracts or relationships not adequately documented
- Human Resources:
- Employment agreements
- Human resource policies
- Industrial instrument and legislation compliance
- OH&S policies and compliance
- Property:
- Owned and leased properties
- Environmental issues
- Legal and Compliance:
- Existing or threatened litigation
- Licences, permits and authorities
- Protectable intellectual property
- Information Technology:
- Websites
- Software and hardware contracts
- Privacy policy and document retention
Businesses that are growing rapidly often overlook essential areas of governance and compliance. A legal audit can identify those areas and allow a business to deal with issues before they become too large to rectify easily.
