Auditing horizontal and vertical analysis

A horizontal audit is when you audit one process across many departments in the organization

One example would be if you chose to only look at document control everywhere it happens throughout the organization, or only focused on training records across many different departments

A vertical audit is when you audit all the processes used by a department

This could be done when you audit the purchasing department and do a review of the purchasing process, documentation process, training process, records retention, corrective actions, non-conforming products, contract control, etc

Both horizontal and vertical analysis each have a role to play in a company’s financial management, business process management, and overall strategic and competitive planning

Also known as trend analysis, this method is used to analyze financial trends that occur across multiple accounting periods over time—usually by the quarter or year