Creating an audit plan

An audit plan ensures that all parties, including the Lead Assessor, the auditor(s) and the business being audited have a clear understanding and common expectation of the audits, including the format of the report and the information to be contained in it.

The more information you can collate in advance the better, as it will help to focus the audits.
The audit plan should be developed before any of the audits begin and should be retained in the ESOS evidence pack.

You will want to consider including the following information in your audit plan: 

• Name and details of the Lead Assessor
• Name of the auditors that will be used along with their skills and experience
• The assets and activities of the organisation including name, location(s) and basic details such as building use, type of construction and age
• The categorisation (if applicable of the different assets/activities)
• The sites to be visited
• The assigned auditor for each site visit.
• The date and time of the site visit
• The site personnel assigned to accompany the auditor in each instance
• Any comments regarding the site visit e.g. required personal protective equipment, site access arrangements
• Details of the required audit outputs including the availability of a report template and the required timescales for writing up the report
• Proposed methodologies for profiling the energy use at sites which are not subject to a site visit
• Proposed methodologies for how the energy saving opportunities at sites not subject to a site visit will be deduced/estimated