Mrs Fozzle’s complaint

Ross Woods, 2019

Mrs Fozzle's house was not far from Badville. For some reason, she didn’t like the people in Badville, and decided to complain to the police. At the police station, she spoke to the desk officer.

Mrs Fozzle: “Hello. I'm Ethel Fozzle. I want to complain about the people in Badville. They’re bad. They’re breakin’ the law.”
Officer: “Did they break any specific law?”
Mrs Fozzle: “Yeah. Lots of ’em.”
Officer: “What specifically did they do?”
Mrs Fozzle: “Aaaah, jus‘ bein’ bad.”
Officer: “Could you say more specifically what they did?”
Mrs Fozzle: “No. Jus‘ bein’ bad.”
Officer: “Yes, Mrs Fozzle. And who was the person who committed the offence?
Mrs Fozzle: “Oh … lots of ‘em.”
Officer: “Could you be more specific? A name or description, for example?”
Mrs Fozzle: “No. Aaaa … lots of ‘em..”
Officer: “When specifically did they do it?”
Mrs Fozzle: “Aaaa, all the time.”

Do you think the desk officer would register a complaint to be investigated?

Moral of the story: If an auditor finds something non-compliant, the audit report needs to contain enough specific information to establish the conclusion of non-compliance and withstand an appeal. Describe the item (when, where, what, who) and state the exact nature of the deficiency. Otherwise, a statement of non-compliance is no more than a vague allegation.