3 tips to have your building ready for an audit all year round

The state governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland are conducting audits of building safety, and Strata Managers are in for a tedious, time-consuming task if they don’t have their building’s books and records organised and easily accessible.

'There are several benefits in using a secure, cloud-based platform to store building records, for exactly this reason,” says Julie Grove, founder of StrataVault' When the time for auditing comes around, managers are going through stockpiles of documents to collate the relevant information. By creating a more efficient and streamlined process for recording data, and having the peace of mind that the information is stored safely, will enable managers to be prepared for an audit all year round." 

Here are 3 ways to prepare your building so it’s ready for an audit all year round: 

Use one secure cloud-based platform where you store all your information

The everyday potential to misplace that critical email or document at the worst possible moment is heightened when there are multiple ways and places documents are saved. 

By making an overall business discussion to store all of your information on one secure platform, you instantly create transparency, accessibility and improve your efficiencies. 

When choosing a platform, ensure you check how secure it is, meaning what protective measures or software are installed to protect your building's assets and ask if the platform is designed for corporate or personal use. This can be a critical consideration, as many of the mainstream cloud-based platforms are made for personal use with the end goal being user experience, not security. 

StrataVault, is a cloud-based platform designed by Strata Managers for Strata Managers, using Amazon cloud and has twice daily security checks and monitored 24/7.  

Use a cloud-based platform that enables you to provide information seamlessly to stakeholders 

The platform you decide to use should have the ability for a Strata Manager to provide their auditor or any stakeholder access to the documentation they need to review with ease, whether it’s via sharing, email or via a link. 

StrataVault provides this option in a secure way. Strata Managers have the authority to tailor viewing permissions and access to a vault, with just a click. Permissible access to documentation means as a manager you can grant transparent visibility of relevant information to auditors and other relevant service providers, for a set period of time. A link via email is received by the auditor/stakeholder to enter the vault and access the information at their fingertips. Time spent on the exchange of physical documents between manager and stakeholder is eliminated. 

Implement one filing software & process across the whole business

If your filing system consists of a bunch of paperwork stuffed away in a box because you "might need it someday", specific documents are not going to be easily accessible to provide to your auditors or lots and lots of minute books.

Create one online filing process on the platform you can implement in the earlier stages of new management and requires just an email from a developer at handover. A structured platform guarantees consistency and no loss of your client's important information.

 'No longer will time be spent rummaging through emails, online portals or physical documents that may be kept at multiple sites; as it will now be available at one’s fingertips no matter where they are.’ Julie states. 

When using an online platform such as StrataVault, there is a drag and drop option to upload documents, all documents are organised and filed with tags for each aspect of the building. Strata industry-specific tags and terminology ensure everyone is on the same page whilst email correspondence, tasks, discussions, and events can also be tracked and filed in the Vault. 

'I use StrataVault on a daily basis,' says an early adopter Strata Manager from NSW. 'It’s part of my normal routine; it’s like second nature to me now The highlight for me is the virtual filing instead of paper filing and secondly, the email function has made it easier for us to give Owners and stakeholders more access; so yes definitely we’re better managers overall using StrataVault.’