A management audit designates a procedure for the evaluation of managers and high-level personnel, accomplished usually by enterprise-external consulting firms, in the management economics - in particular in the personnel management -. Auditing represent thereby a combination of different analysis and advising methods, which are often conceived and/or arranged for the concrete individual case. The management audit avails itself here of most diverse methods and contents from the suitability diagnostics, the organizational development, the Cultural Due Diligence and the classical management consultation.

Demarcation and special objective

Compared with other unequally far common analysis methods the goal of an audit is less the isolated suitability-psychological analysis of a candidate than rather the concrete view and evaluation of individual management abilities and development potentials as well as the interaction of management resources in organisational structures, - units, teams up to management committees. The analysis carries out itself thereby in principle before the background actually available more in business, more organisationaler and industry-specifically more common and/or critically antizipierter conditions in the surrounding field of the enterprise.

Measuring pole for evaluations and evaluations in the audit form the respective cultural and job market-specific characteristics; this explains, why the straight large transact supraregional, in recruiting of high-level personnel advisors specialized mentioned service in recent time to a considerable size of the market led (among other things Egon Zehnder, Ray & Berndtson, KornFerry, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds).

Application type

The audit beginning assumes the "“management"” represents central a factor of risk and/or success to an enterprise/an organization in a set of special business situations. In particular in these situations management audits are used by external advisors:

• Acquisition, participation and post office Merger management

• Restructuring/reorganizations

• Management Buy Out/Buy in

• Outsourcing of projects for businesskritische processes

• Evaluation of change measures

• Systematic high-level personnel development/pool formation/internationalization of the management

Development and historical background

The advisory service achievement "„management audit "“has its origin in the Germany of the 80's-years.

For a long time management audits are used by a multiplicity of personnel advisors - however to approximately to the second half of the 1990er years only to a very much limited extent. Frequently any more than ten high-level personnel was not audited. Auditing of 20 high-level personnel in an order was to date already considered as extremely rare - and among other things because of the creation associated uncertainties and herd of unrest in the enterprise besides as "„daringly "“.

Always with the audit results on the part of the advisors like also managements carefully and sensitively enough one went around; or however the results disappeared in the deep drawers of the executive committee desks; "„emotional the Impact "“of the measure verpuffte - from feedback and transparency in relation to the audited high-level personnel and the overall organisation often was no trace.

Only toward end of the 1990er years changed itself the requirement in relation to the audit as advisory service achievement. The reasons for this essentially were:

• the liberalisation of the postal service, the telecommunications industry as well as the energy industry

• the renewed acquisition boom and the associated fusion topic as well as ever openly the problem definitions of the post office Merger integration stepping to day

• company-wide "„restructuring rage "“, establishment of Business unit, profit of center up to independent organizational units

• as well as those increasingly critical attitude of venture Capitalists and backers from that private Equity range in the context of risky start Ups, Buy Outs (Leveraged Buy Out, management Buy Out) and spin Offs.

By market-spreading pagings management audit was suddenly very in demand - and this no longer only than singular and isolated measures, but as if advisory service line with increasing affinity for problem definitions of the international management integrated.

Internationally active One Firm Personalberatungen used these market chances and began to offer and accomplish audits on a large scale also transnational. Meanwhile the market for audits changed itself and in principle developed further. Above all the two Executive search companies, Egon Zehnder and Ray & Berndtson very strong in Europe and the Emerging Markets Eastern Europe, concentrate strongly on the audit activity as the second consulting support leg.

As consequence of ever more briefly becoming world-economical change cycles, an increased risk sensitivity of the decision makers as well as the tendency to secure weighty personnel decisions by external advisors the demand for (external) auditing constantly continues to rise. Also cause shorter radioactive half-lives, the Credo CHANGE management as well as the business course obligation to as it were constantly invent itself as learning organization again a continuous, professional occupation with questions of the human capital, with which internal personnel departments are often overtaxed due to standards of valuation lacking. Continuous auditing of point high-level personnel is accordingly today's days no more rarity; it became rather the rule.

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