New Book Offers Timely Solutions for Establishing Policies and Procedures!

Book Review by Jim Kaplan

Date Reviewed: February 20, 1999

Book Title: Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures

Author: Stephen Page spage@columbus.rr.com

Ordering Information: http://members.ee.net/~spage/manual/index.htm

There are two schools of thought on auditing. Some auditors concentrate on making sure that their clients are doing things right. Other auditors focus on whether their clients are doing the right things. Whichever group you fit in to, a well-designed set of policies and procedures will help you meet your objectives. If you are telling your clients they need to establish policies and procedures, it would be helpful if they had a guide or tutorial that could walk them through the process. In all of my years as an auditor, I had only come across one book (in a public library) that focused on the very subject of designing policy and procedure manuals. Unfortunately that book was out of print and unavailable for purchase. Fortunately Stephen Page has filled the void with his new book, Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures.

In my opinion this is a must book for every auditor's professional library. It will come in handy both for use within the audit department as well as a source recommendation for clients that have to develop policies and procedures. The book walks the user through the thinking process starting from why there is a need for policies and procedures, methods for researching subject areas, how to manage forms, writing format and style, getting the documents approved, distribution and training. If the author stopped there it would have been more than we could have ever expected on the subject. But Mr. Page continues by covering the subject of putting the manual online. Internet technology has become an integral part of organizational internal communication. Putting polices and procedures on organizational intranets has become commonplace in large entities. This book provides the rest of us with guidance on how we should be integrating our policies and procedures into our organizational network.

This book won't write the policies and procedures for you but it will provide you with all the information you need to develop them. Share the information contained in this book with all those involved in developing, reviewing, and maintaining policies and procedures. Developing clear, consistent and relevant policies and procedures will help management do things right while doing the right things. That's good for the auditors, management and the organization!

If you want more information about the book and read some excerpts go to the author's Web site at http://members.ee.net/~spage/manual/index.htm or send an e-mail to Stephen Page spage@columbus.rr.com    Include AuditNet in the second address line or mention that you heard about the book through AuditNet and you will receive a 5% discount when ordering.