What is knowledge audit?

Knowledge audit should be the first step in any Knowledge Management initiative. Properly done, it would provide accurate identification, quantification, measurement and assessment of the sum total of tacit and explicit knowledge in the organization (Ann Hylton, 2002).

Knowledge audit may also identify the following (Wiig, 1993):

1. Information glut or scarcity
2. Lack of awareness of information elsewhere in the organization
3. Inability to keep abreast relevant information
4. Significant ‘reinventing’ the wheel
5. Common use of out of date information
6. Not knowing where to go for expertise in a specific area

Knowledge audit assesses what knowledge assets are possessed by a specific organization. By knowing what knowledge is possessed, it is possible to find the most effective method of storage and dissemination (Liebowitz, 2000). There are many more definition of knowledge audit in Liebowitz’s publication.

But, in short, knowledge audit is the process to identify every knowledge produced by an organization, who produce and use it, how frequent is the knowledge used, and where is the knowledge stored.