This checklist checks the business continuity plan covers the risks identified, has current contacts, and has been tested.
Prepared using the F-Q2A Audit Checklist form template.
The file is supplied in fully editable MS Word format and can be easily customised, with all text in Calibri font for improved readability.
The following document labelling is included in the footer:
- Checklist number and title
- Information-classification
- Version
- Page number / total pages
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Business Continuity Audit Checklist Template
A process audit checklist for auditing business continuity: the business continuity plan, whether it covers the risks identified, its contact details, and testing of the arrangements. It is set out on the F-Q2A Audit Checklist format, with the scope, criteria, site, participants, auditor and date recorded at the top, and each question alongside the auditee and the evidence viewed, response and findings.
Questions Covered
- Whether there is a business continuity management plan in place
- Whether it covers all the risks that have been identified
- Whether contacts are defined and up to date
- Whether the continuity arrangements have been tested
Carrying Out the Audit
Compare the plan with the business continuity risk register to see every risk has a response, and check a couple of the contact details are still right. The test record should show what was tested, what did not work and what changed afterwards. If there has been a real disruption, such as a power cut, IT failure or supplier problem, the record of how it was handled is better evidence than any test. Check also that the people named in the plan know their part in it.
Planning the Audit
Have the business continuity plan, the business continuity risk register and the record of the last test to hand. Ask who holds copies of the plan and whether they can get to it if the office or the IT systems are unavailable, as a plan that is only kept on the server may not be there when it is needed.
Who Should Carry Out the Audit?
Anyone trained in internal auditing who is independent of the area being audited. The questions are written in plain language, so the checklist also works well for training new internal auditors.
Included in the ISO Toolkits
This checklist is part of the ISO 9001 Toolkit and is also included in the ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 toolkits, including the integrated toolkits that combine them.
Related Documents
Documents that work alongside this checklist:
Part of the Process Audit Checklists
This is one of the alphaZ process audit checklists, each covering a single area of the management system, so audits can be spread across the year using the ER11 Audit Schedule. The completed checklist becomes the record of the audit, and the results can be written up using the F-Q31 Audit Report.
Adapting the Checklist
The questions can be edited, added to or removed to suit the way the organisation works, and the scope and criteria at the top changed to match the area being audited. Because every alphaZ audit checklist uses the same F-Q2A layout, audit records look the same whichever area was audited, which makes them easier to review and compare.
Using the Findings
Risks without a planned response, out of date contacts or an untested plan are raised as actions, with a test planned before the next audit. Lessons from tests and real incidents are used to update the plan.
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