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One of the key dates in your organisation’s calendar is the date of the annual audit. An important part of the auditors’ role is to ensure that your organisation’s processes are fit for purpose. Central to that is your organisation’s approach to legal matters and legal risk. As an in-house lawyer, you need to prepare for the auditors’ visit because inevitably they will want to meet with you. While each audit firm has its own standard set of questions for in-house lawyers, the questions tend to follow certain themes, eg:

1. •

   your risk register

2. •

   litigation

3. •

   applicable law and regulation

4. •

   contracts

5. •

   intellectual property (IP)

6. •

   legal work process

7. •

   your knowledge and experience

Since joining your organisation, you have hopefully had the opportunity to meet with the key directors and heads of function. Those meetings will have given you the opportunity to find out more about many of the issues the auditors will be interested in. See Practice Note: Taking up a new role in-house—new role to you and to the organisation—Your