If an airline feels the need to do internal preparation prior to an audit, this signifies one of 2 things:
a) The airline takes the audit and its outcome seriously
b) The airline believes credibly that internal standards might have slipped a little since 12 months ago and considers it a useful exercise to undergo a period of self monitoring
You appear to have missed item "C":
Airline has a short time to paper over the cracks to create the illusion of point "A" or "B"
CHEERS