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1. The information audit: Its contribution to decision making............................................................................ 1

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The information audit: Its contribution to decision making

Author: Dubois, C P R Publication info: Library Management 16.7 (1995): 20. ProQuest document link Abstract: Information audits are a useful information management tool with respect to the identification, costing, development, and rationalization of information resources and services. In addition, the results of the audit can be used to make clear the contribution made by information and information services to the work of an organization, which is of particular importance for decision making. A methodology for the various stages of the auditing process is described. A case study of a partial information audit conducted at the International Coffee Organization is presented. Full text: Although the information audit may be considered one of the most important tools in information management, it is important to accept that as yet there are no standardized guidelines let alone methodologies for such a procedure[1]. The parallel with standard financial auditing is therefore a loose one. Nevertheless, information auditing can make an enormous contribution not only to good management of information resources and services, but also, perhaps more importantly, to corporate awareness of the part played by such resources and services in the work of an organization, whether it be in the private, government or non-profit making sector. In the UK, decision making at board or top management level is heavily dependent on internal financial information. Relatively less attention is given to external information either on competitor activity or on the general economic, social and political environment[2]. Internal data are frequently expressed in terms of conventions which categorize information services and resources as non-productive overheads. In these circumstances expenditure on information resources and services is often under threat when policy decisions to cut costs are taken, and such cuts can indeed produce obvious short-term gains. The situation is less acute where information services are seen as an integral part of research and development but, as is well known, even the latter has often been subject to cost-cutting pressures. Moreover, information typically should be able to support decisions on a much wider corporate or institutional basis than research only. One recent study[3] found that two-thirds of UK companies have no formal information policy. In the area of external information, 41 per cent of respondents considered newspapers and journals as the most valued source, followed by word of mouth (21 per cent) and online services (12 per cent). With respect to internal information only four out of 515 respondents made any use of corporate libraries, and 91 per cent rated meetings and word of mouth as the most important information source. This is not to say that expenditure on information is insignificant. It is often both substantial and disorganized, with frequent reliance on expensive external consultants when a situation arises requiring research on a particularly pressing matter. The contribution of such consultancies can of course be highly cost-effective, but if the internal capacity to identify and evaluate information is not transparent to decision makers the means to decide on appropriate action becomes much more difficult. An information audit, undertaken preferably at corporate level, but applicable also to any significant accounting unit such as a specialist division, allows the resources devoted to information to be mapped, analysed, costed and rationalized. The contribution of such resources to the organization can therefore not only be assessed but in many cases become visible in a way which may not have been possible previously. At the same time undocumented formal and informal communication flows may be revealed which can contribute to the development of optimal management structures. The audit is specifically intended to further this process by: * identifying resources, services and information flows; 22 November 2013 Page 1 of 5 ProQuest

* verifying the existence of appropriate services; * rationalizing resources; * controlling costs; * improving the marketability of services by increased visibility; * exploiting the resulting improvements. A useful definition of an information audit process is provided by Stanat[4], although there is no mention of follow-up mechanisms. Using this as a starting point, I believe that the audit procedure can be broken down as follows: * planning phase; * survey (of resources, services, flows and needs); * blueprint of situation; * report (with recommendations for action); establishing regular monitoring mechanisms. Planning Careful planning is essential to realize the full benefits of an information audit. Both objectives and constraints should be defined and backing secured from senior management. The latter is particularly important as not only will it assist in securing the resources needed for the audit but will establish channels for future communication. Organization charts should also be obtained; these are important as a starting point for mapping communications flows and for identifying potential survey respondents. The survey methodology should then be established and a sample of respondents identified. Finally, the audit team should be established. The size and nature of the team will depend on the size of the organization or department to be audited and that of the survey sample. Its composition may vary between the use of outside consultants or internal staff or a mix of both. It is important that key members of the team should be able to understand the dynamics and rationale of the organization as a whole while having professional expertise in information systems and services. External consultants have the advantage of being able to devote full-time attention to the audit and may add weight to the exercise as a whole in the eyes of senior management. Their disadvantage is their likely lack of indepth knowledge of the organization. A mix of internal staff and external consultants may work well but it is strongly recommended that the consultants be chosen by the in-house information team to ensure that they possess genuine information expertise as opposed to being conventional management consultants. Finally, all survey respondents should be contacted before the survey starts to explain what will occur and to give them some time to address the issues in general terms. The survey The choice of survey respondents may be based on organization charts complemented by other sources of information. It should be representative of all areas of the organization. It is recommended that the survey be carried out using a questionnaire supplemented by interviews with respondents. The survey questionnaire should seek first to elicit general information about the work of the respondent and his or her department. This should include the perceived role of the department and the respondent, internal, external and interdepartmental relationships, strategic goals and challenges and obstacles. It is important to give priority to critical success factors as perceived by respondents rather than information needs as such, in order to get an accurate picture[5]. The questionnaire should then identify information sources used, both internal and external, before attempting to elicit responses on information needs in terms of strategic goals and communications. Finally, if appropriate, hardware and software needs can be discussed and ways in which results are measured. The key element in this process is to look at information in terms of core areas of work rather than as a marginal extra. It is recommended that the data obtained from the survey should be easily transferable to an appropriate database structure to facilitate analysis, preferably using systems which are well known in the organization. Audit blueprint 22 November 2013 Page 2 of 5 ProQuest

The results of the survey can then be used to create a blueprint of what actually happens in the organization with respect to the creation, identification, cost, use and communication of information. The blueprint, which can take the form of charts, resource listings, itemization of cost elements and descriptive analysis, will identify, in a fully costed manner, resources in terms of staff, services and materials (e.g. journals, databases, equipment), and where they are located. It allows gaps to be pinpointed as well as the identification of areas of duplication, overlap, underutilization of resources and technology problems. In effect the blueprint should reveal what actually happens and show up corporate nerve centres and gatekeepers together with informal communications networks. In many cases the communication flow charts shown in the blueprint may well be significantly different from those indicated in the standard corporate organization charts. Report The results of the information audit as revealed by the audit blueprint need to be incorporated into a written report, pinpointing areas for rationalization and areas of unfulfilled needs, with recommendations for action. Using the blueprint, a picture can emerge not only of the financial costs of information use but the contribution it makes to the basic functions of the organization. Depending on the findings, it may also be possible to quantify the benefits of information. Whether this be done or not, the audit report can make visible to senior management the role of information resources and systems, and the areas where additional resources are needed. This visibility factor alone may be sufficient to justify the audit in terms of its contribution to general management. Monitoring mechanisms The report should also recommend the setting up of mechanisms to ensure that the data revealed in the blueprint can continue to be monitored. To do this a number of transactional databases may be required, some of which, e.g. subscriptions costs, may already exist, but can be integrated into the framework revealed by the audit. If this is done, a repetition of the full-scale audit process may not be needed in the future unless substantial organizational restructuring occurs or there is a general change in corporate aims and strategy. Case study A partial pilot information audit was recently undertaken at the International Coffee Organization (ICO). The ICO is a small, intergovernmental organization based in London aiming to promote international co-operation on coffee matters and to act as a centre for statistical and other information on coffee. Since it was intended to be a pilot exercise the audit concentrated only on information resources and services identified in the organization's resources database. This identifies objectives and tasks carried out in the organization with responsibilities broken down by staff member. As a result it is possible to cost objectives and tasks, based on cost of materials, labour costs, and overheads (premises, equipment, communications, etc.). Table I shows annual expenditure on information-related objectives.(All tables omitted) Figures are given in percentages and the number of tasks per objective are identified. Table II lists the eight most important tasks accounting for 65 per cent of the total costs of the ICO information unit. The remaining 35 per cent is spread over 19 further tasks. These tables should be seen as part of the audit blueprint; they need to be complemented by input and output figures to provide a full picture of the work undertaken, and are presented largely as an example of costing and task identification. This pilot audit produced some useful results which have been used for the establishment of a pricing policy for ICO information services. For instance, it established that the cost of each record added to the main bibliographical database (identification, acquisition of the physical record and processing) was L14.90, while the cost of answering enquiries was L7.75. Nevertheless, the exercise was incomplete in that it did not address the question of information on a fully corporate basis and ignored the area of communication flows. The organization is currently embarking on a new programme of action and hopes to undertake a more complete audit once programme priorities have been determined. 22 November 2013 Page 3 of 5 ProQuest

Concluding remarks Information audits, although a basic information management tool, need also to be seen in terms of the contribution they may make to an understanding of how organizations function. Not only can they lead to more efficient general management but they can also promote a much more positive perception of the benefits accruing from the employment of qualified information professionals to manage the frighteningly wide range of information resources and services available in this last decade of the twentieth century. References 1 Robertson, G., "The information audit: a broader perspective", Managing Information, Vol. 1 No. 5, 1964, pp. 34-6. 2 Harris Research Centre/KPMG Peat Marwick, "Information for strategic management: a survey of leading companies", cited in Barclay, K. and Oppenheim, C., "An evaluation of InfoMapper software at Trainload Coal", Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 46 No. 2, 1994, pp.31-42. 3 Taylor-Nelson AGB, "The politics of information", Firefly Communications, London, 1994, cited in Information World Review, April 1994, p. 20. 4 Stanat, R., "The strategic information audit", in Stanat, R. (Ed.), The Intelligent Corporation, AMACOM, New York, NY, 1990. 5 LaRosa, S.M., "The corporate information audit", Library Management Quarterly, Vol. 14 No. 2, 1991, pp. 7-9. C.P.R. Dubois is Chief of Secretariat Services at the International Coffee Organization, London, UK. Subject: Resource allocation; Information management; Auditing; Location: UK Company: International Coffee Organization Classification: 9175: Western Europe; 5200: Communications & information management Publication title: Library Management Volume: 16 Issue: 7 Pages: 20 Number of pages: 5 Publication year: 1995 Publication date: 1995 Year: 1995 Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing, Limited Place of publication: Bradford Country of publication: United Kingdom Publication subject: Library And Information Sciences ISSN: 01435124 Source type: Scholarly Journals Language of publication: English Document type: PERIODICAL

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Accession number: 01094953 ProQuest document ID: 198861516 Document URL: http://search.proquest.com/docview/198861516?accountid=25704 Copyright: Copyright MCB University Press Limited 1995 Last updated: 2010-06-06 Database: ABI/INFORM Global

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