Assumption
Departures are removed from the systems within the announced timeframe.
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Method and evidence
On-site assurance method
A visit addresses a precise hypothesis and produces observations linked to commitments.
Question addressed
Observe on site only what remote review cannot establish.
Some gaps are only visible on site: the badge lent at the entrance to the delivery centre, the shared screen left open, the backup "tested" that no one knows how to restore, the subcontractor present on the premises but absent from the register. A site visit does not replace document review; it verifies what documents cannot show.
An iKNSA visit always responds to a precise hypothesis — never to general curiosity. It comes to verify identified commitments, with an observation plan, prepared interviews and clear rules on what will be recorded. Travel is organised and funded when the engagement is set up, before any booking is made.
Observation log
Each observation responds to a hypothesis prepared before arrival on site.
Sample
Recent departures, contractors and privileged accounts.
Observation
Tickets, directory, workstations and team interview.
Conclusion
Supported, partial or not established within the scope visited.
Decision enabledYou know what an auditor would see within your walls — before they see it, and with time to correct it.
Reading a conclusion
Turning a local observation into a controlled conclusion
What is seen at a site or during an interview is not silently extended to the whole company. The sample, the people met, the systems observed and the access restrictions all remain attached to the finding.
The report explicitly distinguishes local observation, a contact's statement and a conclusion extended to a wider population.
Starting questionObserve on site only what remote review cannot establish.
- 01Objective and eligibility before booking
- 02Samples and interviews prepared
- 03Observation without staging
Implementation
Prepare the observation before mobilising the site.
- Objective and eligibility before booking
- Samples and interviews prepared
- Observation without staging
- Traceable findings and restrictions
01
Scope the hypothesis and eligibility
What commitments must the visit corroborate? Which locations, which teams, which local constraints? Eligibility (access, security, feasibility) is confirmed before any ticket is booked.
02
Prepare the sample
Workstations, accounts, procedures and people to be observed are chosen in advance — precise enough to be effective, broad enough to avoid staging.
03
Observe without staging
Interviews are held with the people who do the work, not only their managers. The actual actions are examined: login, escalation, restoration, an employee's departure.
04
Return as usable records
Each observation is linked to the commitment it corroborates or contradicts, with authorised photos or extracts, distribution restrictions and proposed actions.
Terms of use
The decisions that make a visit useful and proportionate.
The site visit is used to test prepared hypotheses, not to widen the examination without limit once on site.
Can the site prepare for and skew the visit?
Partially, as with any audit. This is why the sample is not fully disclosed and observation favours persistent records (logs, tickets, configurations) over demonstrations.
Who sees the visit report?
The principal, according to the rules agreed before the engagement. If a European client is funding a visit to a supplier, the sharing rules are set out in writing and accepted by both parties before travel.
When is a site visit worth the cost?
When a high-stakes engagement depends on physical or human realities: execution centre, SOC or NOC, handling of sensitive data, on-site subcontracting. For everything else, remote verification is often sufficient.
Continue reading
Link documentary preparation to on-the-ground observation.
The engagement page sets out the starting elements, the site mobilisation and the deliverables expected from an on-site observation.