NERC Compliance Assessments Services
Evaluating compliance programs and their associated evidence periodically, for example prior to an audit, is an important part of a robust program and reflects a strong culture of compliance. This can be conducted in several ways, depending on the needs of your organization. Many industry entities refer to these evaluations as “gap analyses,” “mock audits,” or “readiness reviews.” Utility Services offers many assessment services designed to meet your specific needs and desired outcome. Below are examples of assessments Utility Services offers:
Readiness Reviews
With a Utility Services Readiness Review, an entity can enter a compliance engagement process with confidence knowing that their program has been evaluated against expected performance requirements. This evaluation provides you with a quality gap analysis of your program against the applicable reliability standards. We offer you a sense of your strengths and weaknesses, plus provide suggested improvements to better align your performance to the expected demands.
Mock Audits
A Mock Audit acts as a practice audit of your NERC Reliability Standards compliance program. These audits are traditionally considered a staple of robust internal compliance programs. This proactive strategy includes evaluating your site-specific information and overall compliance program in a manner similar to an actual NERC or FERC compliance audit. The benefits of performing a mock audit can include gaining an understanding of what to expect during an actual audit, reduce anxiety and uncertainty, identify and address any gaps in systems or processes, eliminate potential issues, ensure the right documentation is available, identify improvement opportunity, demonstrate continuous improvement, have everything prepared and accessible for the external auditor, feel confident about your upcoming audit, and increase your chance of a successful audit. Utility Services’ goal when performing a mock audit is to identify possible weaknesses or areas of growth and development for your site(s), offer your staff insight on how a CMEP audit would be administered, and help you to identify any gaps or enhancements needed in preparation for an upcoming audit.
Subject Matter Expert (SME) Interviews
Audits can be hard, and it can be stressful for your Subject Matter Expert (SME) to go through, especially those new to this role. SMEs bring a deep understanding of their specific field, ensures evidence is accurate, up-to-date, and aligned with the applicable Requirements. It is important to ensure your SMEs ability to facilitate knowledge transfer with auditors. The stronger your SME training program the more successful they will be during an actual audit. We can help prepare your SMEs through interview session(s) designed to facility what is expected, best practices associated with an interview, and what not to do during an audit.
Compliance Training
Delivering up-to-date training in an effective way allows you to prove compliance when audited and enables your business to be protected from hefty fines and other legal consequences.
