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When regulators examine your policy management processes, they're looking for one thing: proof that every policy decision was authorized, documented and communicated properly. Yet most SharePoint environments operate with a critical gap - no automated workflows to create the time-stamped audit trails regulators require.
This checklist exposes exactly what auditors search for and where SharePoint alone falls short. Use it to identify vulnerabilities before your next regulatory examination.
SharePoint provides document storage and basic version control. But without workflow automation, organizations face a fundamental problem: email-based approvals and manual tracking create forensic gaps that auditors exploit.
Whether facing HSE inspections, CQC reviews, FDA audits, banking examinations or ISO certifications, regulators demand proof of systematic controls. SharePoint alone cannot provide this. You need workflow engines that capture every decision, every approval, every acknowledgment with unalterable timestamps.
What auditors demand:
The SharePoint gap: Documents sent via email for approval leave no timestamp records in SharePoint. You have policies, but no proof of who approved them or when. This creates immediate non-compliance with regulatory standards.
The solution: Automated workflows that capture everything during the policy workflow process - every drafter, reviewer and approver clearly identified with a complete audit trail. Task assignments through Microsoft Outlook integration ensure nothing happens outside the auditable system.
2. Version control with business context
What auditors demand:
The SharePoint gap: Native versioning shows document changes but loses the critical "why" behind modifications. Without captured approval workflows for each version, you cannot demonstrate proper change control.
The solution: Version history and audit trails that track all activity during drafting, reviewing and approving. Microsoft Word integration maintains track changes while workflow comments capture business justification - creating the complete story auditors require.
What auditors demand:
The SharePoint gap: Posting policies to SharePoint provides access but not accountability. You cannot prove employees read, understood or acknowledged critical policies - a violation of regulatory requirements across industries.
The solution: Microsoft 365 SharePoint and your email address book to easily assign documents to employees to read and acknowledge. Have employees take a quiz on content if needed to quickly see if they understood the document. Department managers can see exactly who has completed attestations through real-time dashboards.
What auditors demand:
The SharePoint gap: Calendar reminders fail when personnel change. Policies expire without triggering reviews, leaving outdated procedures active - a critical compliance failure.
The solution: Automated alerts for document renewals and revisions ensure no policy expires unnoticed. Configurable review cycles with escalation paths guarantee policies receive timely updates, with every decision documented in the audit trail.
What auditors demand:
The SharePoint gap: SharePoint permissions show current access rights but cannot reconstruct historical access patterns. You cannot prove who could access sensitive policies at specific past dates.
The solution: Roles-based access determined by employee function, region or department with Active Directory integration. Every access, every action, every modification captured in audit logs that cannot be altered or deleted - providing forensic-level documentation.
What auditors demand:
The SharePoint gap: Generating audit reports requires manual data compilation from emails, spreadsheets and SharePoint lists - taking weeks during critical audit periods.
The solution: Generate audit-ready reports quickly and easily. Department managers can quickly see which employees are in compliance and who aren't. Real-time dashboards provide instant visibility while comprehensive reports export in formats regulators require.
The workflow automation imperative
Manual processes and email-based approvals aren't just inefficient - they're non-compliant. Modern regulatory frameworks demand systematic controls, documented processes and comprehensive audit trails. SharePoint provides the foundation, but workflow automation creates the compliance infrastructure.
Ideagen Compliance’s Policy Management Software extends SharePoint with purpose-built workflow engines that:
The critical insight: A comprehensive audit trail that captures every data input, decision, policy version and approval provides a substantive foundation to support a robust and detailed audit.
Transform audit risk into audit confidence
Organisations using manual policy management face escalating regulatory risk. Each undocumented approval, each missing attestation, each expired policy creates liability. But transformation doesn't require months of implementation or data migration.
With SharePoint-native workflow automation, you can:
The question isn't whether you need audit trails - regulations mandate them. The question is whether you'll build them manually through spreadsheets and emails, or automatically through workflow engines designed for compliance.
Ready to close your audit gaps? See how regulated organisations achieve audit confidence with Ideagen compliance’s SharePoint-native workflow automation. Schedule a demo to transform your audit readiness in 30-60 days.
Are you ready to learn more?
Talk to one of our policy management experts today!