Business Continuity Plan Audit Checklist

Business continuity planning (BCP) provides businesses with an effective means of responding to emergencies, helping to avert potentially devastating situations while aiding in recovery efforts.

BCP audits should be completed regularly to keep your plan current and avoid being caught unprepared when an emergency strikes. This will also prevent that “deer in headlights” feeling that often results from crises.

1. Inventory of Critical Assets
Business continuity plans provide an effective framework for keeping your company operating during an emergency or disaster situation. They outline key processes and functions to be protected as well as recovery strategies in case of disruptions; additionally they explore various “what ifs”, giving your team confidence that they will be able to respond no matter the circumstance.

Locate and identify essential equipment necessary for business operations, such as generators, laptops, cell phones, servers, facility space and specialized machinery and equipment. Determine if any of this will be hard or impossible to source during a crisis and create a backup plan accordingly.

Document all procedures thoroughly, and make them available to all members of your organization. Documenting procedures will enable an audit to ensure the appropriate steps are being followed in case of disaster, while at the same time helping identify any red flags that were missed during initial planning process.

2. Inventory of Critical Business Processes
An audit checklist for business continuity plans can be an essential way to assess whether recovery procedures will function effectively during a disaster scenario. It enables evaluation of whether emergency procedures will achieve their intended goals, detect weaknesses and realign them with ISO 22301 standards, company objectives and best practices in your industry.

Step two involves performing a comprehensive analysis of all business processes and functions to identify those which are crucial. This step works closely with risk assessments & Business Impact Analyses (BIAs), so as to help prioritize operations during any disaster event.

At this stage, you will also need to identify who will be in charge of notifying staff during a crisis and how they should communicate among themselves and clients/customers. Finally, key equipment like generators, cell phones and personal protection devices as well as facilities housing specialized machinery or equipment will need to be identified as well as emergency medical supplies that may be required during such times of uncertainty.

3. Inventory of Critical Resources
An inventory of critical resources is essential to the success of any business continuity plan, from backup data and cell phones, specialized equipment and facilities – when disaster strikes without these assets in place, your company may face severe financial loss, reputational harm or even permanent closure.

This step should work hand-in-hand with your risk analysis and business impact analysis (BIA). Once you’ve identified all of your risks and their impacts on the business, then it is possible to begin to identify critical business functions (CBFs).

In an emergency situation, it’s crucial that you know who’s in charge and their responsibilities. By outlining key personnel you will create a clear chain of command which will reduce miscommunication and ensure proper management of emergency situations. Furthermore, secondary contacts should be listed just in case primary stakeholders cannot fulfil their responsibilities as expected.

4. Inventory of Key Personnel
Contrasting with disaster recovery plans that focus exclusively on IT infrastructure, business continuity plans take into account all areas of an organization including human resources, sales and marketing as well as providing procedures for dealing with customers during times of emergency.

Once a business continuity plan has been developed, it must be monitored regularly in order to detect weaknesses or flaws within it. Testing should include both simulations and real-life interruptions so as to expose any weaknesses or flaws within it.

As part of the BCP development process, it is vital to create an inventory of key personnel who would make up a response team in case of disruptions. This should include details on each member including name, position and role; contact information for each; alternates should also be designated to ensure the team can function effectively during an emergency situation. It is advisable to regularly update this information when roles and responsibilities change so your BCP stays up-to-date and ready for emergencies that might arise.