[aJamaa] Report writing

Allow me to share one of the aspects of my job I detest most. Auditing is basically fun, one goes and talks to a few people, pretends to understand what they do, finds faults and recommends corrective action. The talking to people part is always fun since one gets to pick up alot of new knowledge. Infact I dont think I can have a job where I report to the same office everyday and spend the whole day at the same desk.

However, since there is no free lunch, a guy has to write a report at the end of every audit. This guyz have refined the art of report writing it basically involves the KYM in the ground doing all the writing, a manager reviewing the report and a partner doing the final review and sign off. It sounds easy doesn't it? Well you are wrong, the thing is I did Comp sci because I could not get into any course that required a descent grade in any of the languages, during my four years of campus a report was prepared by copying and pasting stuff from the net with the understanding that neither the student nor the lecturer would ever read the damn thing. So nothing I have ever done before has prepared me for report writing.

Another problem is that the reviewer on occasion has no idea what happens in the ground and as such require me to report on issues that are non-existant and make recommendations that cannot be implemented. The other issue is that the review process is iterative. I write, the reviewer requests amendments, I correct, the reviewer requests other amendments, I amend, and then the reviewer requests amendment to their own amendments. On occasion we go back to the version I had initially. There have been times when a report reviewed by a manager is completely trashed by a partner and so the manager who had initially okayed the document comes baying for my blood as if the trashed document did not involve them.

Report writing, however is nothing compared to timesheets. I will talk about this evil another day.