The audit letter arrives
A lender panel manager or your quality scheme assessor writes to say they will audit a sample of files. The head of conveyancing asks the team to check their recent files: ID and verification, source of funds, the report on title, lender requirements, post-completion registration. Case handlers stop progressing live files to open old ones and hunt for documents.
Gaps turn up: a missing funds document on one file, a registration still pending on another, a report on title without the lender's special condition mentioned. Some can be fixed; some cannot.
Why audits cause a scramble
File checks tend to be event-driven: done when an audit, a panel review or a problem forces them. Between those events, gaps accumulate silently. The checklist exists, but it is applied to a sample after the fact rather than to every file as it moves.
Evidence is also scattered. ID results are in the verification provider, funds documents in email, reports in the document system, and post-completion steps in a spreadsheet. Proving that a step happened means finding the evidence, which takes time on every file.
| Audit point | Where the evidence usually is |
|---|---|
| Client ID and verification | Verification provider and file notes |
| Source of funds | Email attachments, sometimes the file |
| Lender requirements | Offer, handbook and case handler's notes |
| Report to client | Document system |
| Post-completion steps | Post-completion spreadsheet |
What the scramble costs
Case handler time spent on audit preparation is time not spent on live files, and it comes in a concentrated burst. Gaps found late cannot always be fixed, and gaps found by an auditor can affect panel membership or require remedial action. Partners lose sleep over it.
The same work repeats for every audit, because the checks were not kept up between them.
How we build ongoing file checks
- Your checklist as rules: we turn your file checklist (and the points your lender panels and quality scheme focus on) into checks that can be run against each file's data and documents.
- Checks as files progress: at key stages (instruction, exchange, completion, post-completion), each file is checked automatically, and missing items are listed for the case handler.
- Evidence links: for each checklist point, the tool records where the evidence is, so it can be shown quickly later.
- Gap list: team leaders see open gaps across all files, by case handler and by type, and can deal with them while the files are live.
- Audit pack: when an audit is announced, the sample files' checklists and evidence links are produced in one pack for review.
- Themes: recurring gaps are reported, so the firm can change the process that causes them.
The checks follow your checklist and your compliance team's judgement. The tool does not decide what the rules are.
What audit time looks like afterwards
Gaps are found while files are live and fixable, not months later. When an audit is announced, the checklist and evidence for each sampled file already exist, and the team keeps working on live files. Partners see the firm's position all year, not just at audit time.
Case handlers also get prompts at the right stage, which reduces gaps in the first place.
Check your own audit readiness
- File checks happen mainly when an audit is announced.
- Audit preparation takes case handlers away from live files.
- Evidence for checklist points is scattered across systems.
- The same gaps are found at each audit.
- Post-completion steps are tracked separately from the file.