Audit readiness
Audit readiness shows, for each standard you have adopted, how much of the evidence an auditor will look for is in place: approved documents, adopted requirements, closed records and completed training. Only evidence from the last 12 months counts. Administrators see it as a percentage and a list of what is left.
What this is
Each standard you adopt brings a set of items, and each item is either done or not. A standard’s readiness is the share of its items that are done. Your organisation’s figure is the same share across every adopted standard, with an item that serves two standards counted once.
The items come from the documents linked to the standard: documents you linked to it, and documents that hold any of its requirements.
| Item | One for each | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | Linked document | It is Approved and not past its review date |
| Requirements | Linked document that holds the standard’s requirements | Every one of those requirements is adopted, or excluded with a reason |
| Record evidence | Record template on a linked document | At least one of its records is closed and in date |
| Training | Person assigned a linked document’s training | They have completed it |
A document is ready for a standard only when both its approval and its requirements are done. A standard with nothing linked to it reads 0%. Excluding a requirement means recording why it does not apply, which you do in the Statement of Applicability.
Readiness tells you whether the evidence is in Sted, not whether it is good enough. A certification body decides that at audit; readiness tells you where to look first.
Where to find it
Open your organisation’s name in the sidebar, then Audit readiness, for the readiness map. On a computer, the percentage pill marked AUDIT READY at the top right of most pages opens Your audit readiness, a drawer with every item. On a phone, use the Audit readiness row in the menu. Administrators also see each standard’s percentage and a Your progress block on its card in Standards.
Audit readiness opens once onboarding is finished.
How it works
Read the map
- Open Audit readiness under your organisation’s name.
- Select How is readiness calculated? to read the rules in the app.
- Select a standard’s circle to open its card.
- Read the percentage and the Your progress counts on the card.
- Select Show tasks to open that standard’s items in the drawer.
Each adopted standard is a circle, sized by how many items it has, with a ring that fills as items are done. The Your progress counts on the card are plain totals of approved documents, closed records, people assigned training and earlier versions, so they keep counting evidence that has gone out of date. The percentage does not.
Work through what is left
- Select the AUDIT READY pill at the top right.
- Read the two tiles, tasks complete and standards ready.
- Open a standard to see its items.
- Select an item to go to the work it needs.
- Do the work, then return to the drawer to see the item ticked.
Items read as instructions, such as Approve or Review followed by a document’s title, Adopt a standard’s requirements for a document, or Complete a record of a given type. Each one opens the document, its requirements, its records or its training page.
Evidence with a sell-by date
Surveillance audits sample roughly the past year, so only evidence from the last 12 months counts. A repeating record is done only when one was closed in the past 12 months and the next is not overdue; a one-off record stays done once closed. An approved document stops counting when its review date passes, and its item changes to Review and the title. A stale item says why, with the date it was last completed or the date it became overdue. Completed training does not expire, so it keeps counting.
Using readiness before an audit
The drawer is a ready-made list of gaps by standard. Bring it to your internal audit plan, so the auditor starts where the evidence is thinnest, and to management review, where top management needs the status of the management system as an input.
Permissions
| Action | Administrator | Policy and Process Owner | Reviewer | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| See the pill, the drawer and the map | Yes | No | No | No |
| See percentages and Your progress on Standards cards | Yes | No | No | No |
| See the tasks that readiness gaps raise | Their own | Their own | Their own | Their own |
Audit readiness is visible to administrators only for now. Other levels see no pill, no Audit readiness row and no percentages on Standards.
Limits and plan features
Audit readiness is not limited by plan, and it counts every record template and training assignment on a linked document whatever your plan includes. Records are part of the Full Management System plan, and training is in Framework and Users and Full Management System, so on other plans those items stay open.
Sted does not connect to your cloud, code or HR systems to collect evidence automatically; you record it, and readiness counts what you record. Audit readiness is visible to administrators only for now.
Related guides
- How to plan and run an internal audit: turning the gaps in readiness into an audit plan.
- How to run a management review: using readiness as an input to top management’s review.
- The Statement of Applicability in Sted: excluding requirements with a reason so they count as decided.
- Repeating records: keeping recurring evidence inside the 12-month window.
- Audit readiness: the term, and how it differs from certification.
Frequently asked questions
Does 100% audit ready mean I will pass my audit?
No. It means every item Sted tracks for that standard has its evidence in place and in date. An auditor still judges whether the evidence is good enough and whether your processes work as written, so treat 100% as the point to book an internal audit, not the end of the work.
Why did my readiness score go down when I had not changed anything?
Usually because evidence went out of date. Only evidence from the last 12 months counts, so a repeating record closed 13 months ago, a record now past its next due date, or an approved document past its review date stops counting. Each one shows when it was last completed or since when it has been overdue.
Can a Policy and Process Owner see audit readiness?
Not yet. Audit readiness is visible to administrators only for now, including the pill, the drawer, the map and the percentages on Standards cards. Policy and Process Owners still see the tasks the gaps raise for the documents they own.
Why does a standard show 0% straight after I adopt it?
Because nothing is linked to it yet, or nothing linked is done. A standard with no items reads 0%, and items appear once documents for that standard are generated and linked. Approving those documents and adopting their requirements is usually the fastest way up.