Internal Audits can provide a valuable insight in to the performance of your management system and are a requirement of most systems under Annex SL Clause 9.2.
However, not all internal audits are conducted equally and you can find a vast difference in quality from one auditor to another.
So how can you ensure that the ISO Consultants you use, or the internal auditors in your company are conducting audits to the expected standard?
ISO 19011:2018 Updated Guidance on Auditing Management Systems
Believe it or not there is an ISO standard that covers Auditing Standards! And it’s been updated in 2018.
Get a Copy of ISO 19011:2018 Here!
At Assent, we’ve used the guidance from ISO 19011 for many years to ensure that we can provide the best assurance services for our clients.
All our support packages involving internal audits reference ISO 19011, and we build our audit programmes around that standard.
Internal Audit Programmes – Look Outside the Audit!
ISO 19011 doesn’t just cover the audit itself but sets out requirements for managing the entire audit programme, including determining the objectives of your audit, selecting the right audit team, sampling techniques and reporting findings.
It offers plenty of flexibility to ensure the audit programme meets the intended objectives, and provides a clear arrangement between the auditee and auditor.
Using an External Internal Auditor
Many of our clients ask us to run their internal audit programme to provide them with an impartial evaluation of compliance against ISO Standards and the company’s own policies and procedures.
We work with clients to sample, test and evidence activities, reporting back with objective evidence that can then be used to find an effective corrective action.
There’s no shame in highlighting weaknesses via an internal audit and often it can prevent the same issues occurring at external audits which could compromise your ISO Certification.
We’re On Your Side
Although our auditors remain impartial through out the process, we are on your side.
We can get to know your business in greater depth which helps us to understand when a problem is (or isn’t) occurring and work with you to drive continual improvement and organisational resilience.
Talk to us about an ISO 19011 compliant Internal Audit Programme, ISO Consultancy or our other Services.
