Who this is for: Template builders (needs Manage My Audit Templates) to switch the fields on, and auditors to complete them.
Two optional fields on the Audit Summary step let the report say what held the audit back and what the auditee made of the conclusions.
Field | What to write | Example |
Limitations | Anything that restricted or constrained the audit | The night-shift supervisor was on leave, so night-shift permits were checked from records only |
Auditee Response | What the auditee said about the findings and conclusions | The site manager accepts both minor nonconformities and will set actions by 15 November. Disputes the observation on signage |
Each field takes up to 2,000 characters.
There's no separate login or portal for the auditee. You record the response on their behalf, usually straight after the closing meeting. Note who gave the response and when.
Switching the fields on in a template
Go to Audits › My Audit Templates and edit the template.
Open ⑥ Audit Summary. Make sure Include Audit Summary is on (the two switches only appear when it is), then turn on Limitations, Auditee Response or both.
Publish a new version of the template.
Audits started after you publish the template get the fields. You can't change a template while one of its audits is in progress, so finish those first. When you duplicate a template, the settings are copied.
Completing them on an audit
Open the audit and go to the Audit Summary step.
Below the summary, complete Limitations and Auditee Response, whichever the template includes.
Your text saves automatically as you go.
Both fields are optional. Leaving them empty never stops the audit being published. If there were no limitations, it's still good practice to say so, for example "None. All areas in scope were accessible."
These boxes take plain text. Line breaks are kept; formatting such as bold or bullet points isn't.
Who can edit them: the audit's assigned auditor or owner, while the audit is in progress. The technical reviewer can read them but can't change them.
In the published report
The report and export show Limitations and Auditee Response after the audit summary, as part of the executive summary. A field only appears if the template includes it and you filled it in, so an empty field never leaves a blank heading.
Once the audit is published it's locked, and neither field can be changed.
If this doesn't work
The boxes aren't on the Audit Summary step. The template has them switched off (or has Include Audit Summary off), or the audit was started before the template was changed. Ask your template builder to switch them on and publish a new version.
I can't type in the boxes. You're the technical reviewer, you aren't assigned to the audit, or the audit has been published.
My text stops. Each box holds up to 2,000 characters.
The auditee wants to change their response after publication. It can't be edited once the audit is published. Record any later comments against the relevant findings or actions.
Related articles
Writing the audit summary
⑤ Linked documents and ⑥ Audit Summary
Choosing what appears in the published report
Recording objectives, boundaries and exclusions for an audit