Assessing impact of external quality assurance is a critical component of the professional practice reflection of external quality assurance agencies. This paper analyses the responses of universities in Aotearoa New Zealand to recommendations made in the most recently completed cycle of academic audits using artefacts (universities' one-year follow-up reports on responses to recommendations) from the quality assurance process. This approach allows for an assessment at system level and qualitative analysis provides further insight into thematic areas where response to recommendations is further advanced. One year after the release of audit reports, impact has been greater in the areas of leadership and management of teaching and learning and research student supervision. An index developed in the paper can support inter-institutional and inter-system comparative analyses of impact.