---
title: DAO Audits
tags: DAO Masons
---

- Audit Scope
- what we can audit
- what we don't audit
- Methodology
- what steps to take to access a DAOs various systems
- Team
- what our core team can do
- where we might need contractors
- how to attract contractors
- Pricing
- flat fee?
- hourly?
- subscription
- services trading
- Marketing and Outreach strategies
- content to establish expertise
- establishing clientelle
- Ongoing Support
- establishing a support network to assist in implementing
- custom DAO apps by DAO Masons

## Audit Scope

### What we audit

- governance
- documentation
- DAO ops
- UI/UX
- marketing
- community management
- treasury structure
- compensation structure

### What we don't audit

- Smart Contracts (There are services that offer this and competing with them is probably not gonna happen)
- Legal or regulatory compliance

### Audit Types

- Comprehensive
- Selective as per our available expertise (core members and contractors)

### Audit Timeline

- This should be consistent, broken down per module of audit (ie. governance audit, two weeks, comms audit-2 weeks etc.)
- Comprehensive Audit determined by accumulating selective audit types, minus the ability to run modules concurrently based on available resources.

### Sample of potential timeline

[](https://mermaid.live/edit#pako:eNpd0U1vgzAMBuC_EuXMJArtDtymVt1p2teViyEujVYcZAxSVfW_z2kp7YY4WMpjJ29ysnVwaAvbAImUZPQTLwc0L4PzYj44NAxtSdelHmvxgcx71SOPEOvrwjq0He-Rej-iKWCRmCzN8qdUf63z1F3ZaxiRCaiOKPuLVpPZhHpokeQyXVmeGNgJsokNywm9Af-geGoULGeQ34EeqB3Iy1EpQYNxotrVbLXr2f3P9YVd4JgaO-SHeBvWrsdV4Ol41WKeuLpnmOTnWkF2A5HmE9h6gsONFdWcMepsMrpPf7-Hao4Z9eJydJvYFrkF7_QFT7GrtLLXrKUttHR6SaUt6awOBgnfR6ptITxgYofOgeDGQ3xeW-zg0OP5F8TWpZ0)

### Audit Output

- Audit report outlining our findings. Highlight areas that the DAO is doing well and in areas that, in our opinion, need to be improved. Include specific recomendations for improvement.
- executive summary. High level summary of Audit report.
- dashboard to provide insights into kpis (ie governance participation, community engagement etc.)
- scorecard to access performance (similiar to dashboard but w/o charts and graphics)

## Methodology

### Approach
- Specific steps to assess operations, including:
- docs review and quality assesment
- stakeholders interviews
- contributor interviews
- community interviews
- UX/UI review
- design
- code
- surveys

### Tools and Techniques

## Sample Size
- How long a timeframe should observations take place
- complete documentation review or partial.
- assement of scope should take place in the estimation phase
- percentage of community to interview
- survey complexity
- how much data will need to be processed

## Audit Documentation and Results Format

- How extensive a report is requested
- detailed or summary
- charts and graphics
- community and or executive presentation
- Audit QC proc
- How to audit the audit for quality

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*below are oiriginal, unrefined notes*

### Project Description

To objectively observe DAO practices and offer our best opinions as to the effects of the processes.

### How we will do this

Consistency and a methodical approach will be required. We will need to show clients that we are professional and that, if our instructions are followed, the chances of their DAO suceeding will increase.

Our methods will aim to simplify a DAO to its basic components to understand how it can improve from the very basis of the DAO on up. We will consistently obseve patterns that we find and institute practices to improve any patterns that cause lasting damage to a DAO.

### Key Areas to Focus

- Governance and decision making
- How are decisions made?
- Who makes decisions?
- How are decisions executed?
- DOes anyone follow up?
- How are proposals sumitted?
- How do people vote?
- How long is the voting period?
- How long is a discussion period?
- Member Management
- How does someone become a member?
- How do they leave?
- How to handle disputes?
- Do members have roles?
- Do members get paid to contribte?
- Financial Management
- Does the DAO manage a treasury?
- Is it managed by the entire DAO or a multisig wallet?
- How do funds move from the treasury?
- What does the DAO spend money on?
- Is it all done onchain?
- Does the DAO maintain it's financial docs?
- Are there tax implications for your DAO?
- Security and Risk Management
- Are there whales in the DAO that control a majority of the DAO?
- Does the DAO hold risky/volitile assets?
- Performance and Efficiency
- Are all the processes in the DAO documented?
- Is there a place or documents, someone can go to to learn about your DAO?
- Is onboarding well documented?
- Transparency
- Can anyone in the DAO access financial information about the DAO?
- Are meeting held in the open?
- Consultation
- Discuss with DAOs core team guidance on how to implement any recomended changes.

### Results

Providing a score on each of the above areas to focus on and an overall score to a DAO. We will follow that up recomendations on how to improve the DAO and key areas to focus on.

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