Annual Planning & Resources

Build risk-based annual audit plans, allocate resources, and monitor capacity utilization — with AI-assisted planning recommendations.

What Is Annual Planning?

The Annual Planning module enables Chief Audit Executives and Audit Managers to:

• Create risk-based annual audit plans driven by Audit Universe risk scores
• Allocate auditor resources across engagements with capacity visibility
• Track plan execution through the year with real-time progress
• Generate AI-assisted planning recommendations based on coverage gaps and historical patterns

Key Capabilities

Capability	Description
Risk-Based Scoring	Automated priority scoring using universe risk data
Resource Calendar	Visual calendar showing auditor availability and assignments
Capacity Planning	Utilization bars to prevent overcommitment
Plan Versioning	Full version history with diff comparison
AI Planning Assistant	AI suggests high-priority audit areas based on coverage gaps
Multi-Year View	Compare plans across years for trend analysis
Approval Workflow	CAE approval required before plan is finalized
Progress Tracking	Real-time completion tracking across plan items

Planning Lifecycle

Plan Structure

An annual plan consists of:

Component	Description
Plan Header	Year, title, owner, status, approval history
Plan Items	Individual audit engagements planned for the year
Resource Allocation	Auditors assigned to each plan item with estimated hours
Timeline	Gantt-style view of planned engagements across quarters
Risk Analysis	Risk-based prioritization summary
Coverage Analysis	Universe coverage gaps and recommendations

AI-Assisted Planning

The AI companion helps with planning by:

• "Suggest high-priority audit areas based on last year's findings"
• "Show me business units with no audit coverage in 12 months"
• "Generate a risk-based audit plan draft for FY2027"
• "Identify recurring findings that need follow-up engagements"

AI Governance

All AI planning suggestions require explicit CAE approval before being incorporated into the plan. Every AI interaction is audit-logged.

Getting Started

1. Create Annual Plan → — Start building your plan
2. Resource Allocation → — Assign auditors and manage capacity
3. Risk-Based Scoring → — Understand the prioritization algorithm
4. Field Reference → — Complete field documentation
5. Permissions → — Who can create and approve plans

Related Documentation

• Audit Universe — provides risk data for planning
• Engagements — created from approved plan items
• Dashboards — portfolio analytics for plan tracking