Got audited yesterday..  A potential customer sent their QA person in and we did the whole examination in detail thing again.  First time with this potential, I should say, but not the first audit.  Been through quite a few of them in fact, and the strange thing is:  I rather enjoy these things.  It's fun to step away from what I know and watch someone else who has no preconceived notions of how we do things observe our operations and ask WHY we do things and HOW we confirm that things are being done that need to be done.

My advice is to not think of these things as a nuisance but as an opportunity to learn.  You'd be surprised what you find.  Sometimes you find that all is well and we've got that covered.  Other times the auditor comes from a completely different spot than you, and puts his or her perspective on the table.  Either way, it's a great chance to learn about your own organization, and see what really is going on.

Plus sometimes, there's pizza...

With all of this money the government is going to waste, er, I mean, stimulate the economy with, at least us printers will be busy printing up all of the dollars that will be shoveled out the door..  Or at least a few of the printers.  Those controlled by the government.....

Hmmmmm..

I always knew I was in the wrong line of work.  Must be nice to be in one of those favored industries.  I'm sure somewhere in there, some large printing conglomerate made sure it got itself an invite to the money ball, but for most of the rest of us, we just have to trust that someone in Washington knows what they're doing..

Now that is truly a scary thought.

I just read that US auto sales are down 37% to a 28 year low and that the tight credit markets are to blame..  Has anyone considered that maybe people are just putting off any major purchases for awhile, and that no amount of available credit is going to convince anyone to buy a car at this point?

I'm just asking..