FOCUS ON AUDITS Don't Be Afraid of the A-wordUnlike the tax v

Unlike the tax v

By MAURA SZENDEY and BRYAN TERPSTRA

For most of us, when we hear the word "audit," our gut instinct is to run and hide. We've been trained to think an audit means a review of our finances, and sometimes that can be downright scary!

But there are other types of audits that can be a lot less stressful and have a big impact on your bottom line. There are two common, basic audits, for example, to help evaluate the annual performance of a direct marketing program: a creative audit and a file audit.