Tips to help you avoid common challenges and pitfalls that risk delaying an examination's completion.

• Position: Brief article

Commit to the process: Companies often fail to appreciate the sustained organizational effort required to complete the examination and struggle with varying levels of commitment between senior management and staff.

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Assign one point of contact: Service auditors need to maintain a number of different communication channels. A single point of contact to oversee the entire process on behalf of the service provider will help streamline this process.

Educate on controls: Control owners and other relevant stakeholders at the service provider often don't understand the nature of the...