Knowledge audits: a challenge for knowledge management in universities

Knowledge is an important asset in organizations that must be properly managed. Techniques and tools for knowledge management have been progressively incorporated, including knowledge audits. This article aims to analyze the importance of knowledge audits as part of knowledge management in universities. Documentary analysis was used as a method and the document review technique applied to the bibliography retrieved through a search for exhaustive information. A compilation of the bibliography referring to these topics was made. From the review of the literature, it is deduced that knowledge management is a process that creates value for organizations and allows them to obtain competitive advantages. Knowledge audits shows their ability to identify the state of knowledge and draw strategies. Development and evolution of models for knowledge management, as well as methodologies and models for knowledge audits, show that importance is attached to both. Likewise, it is inferred that knowledge audits constitute a useful and necessary tool for knowledge management in higher education institutions. However, the scarcity of studies about the execution/application of knowledge audits in universities shows that this is a challenge to face in academic context.