Who Should Perform Internal Audits for ISO Certification?

1. Who Should Perform Internal Audits for ISO Certification?

2. Introduction If your company is pursuing the ISO 9001 certification, then you must know the requirements for performing an internal audit. Your organization must take corrective actions based on the outcomes of your internal audits and record all steps for obtaining this certification. However, who should perform the internal audit? This is a question that many organizations ask during their ISO certification, especially small-medium-sized businesses. Lucky for you, the following section has the answer. So, keep reading!

3. Who Should Perform Internal Audits For ISO Certification? According to the ISO 9001 quality management system standard, your internal auditor should be outside of the department they are auditing. Otherwise, it can lead to biased results. So, who should audit your quality management system? An employee You can appoint anyone with sufficient skills to audit your systems when completing the ISO 9001 certification. They can be from your organization, however, as said before, they must not be a part of the department that’s being audited. Also, your auditor must be qualified, competent, and trained to complete the audit. Assigning your existing employee to audit the system will provide you the following benefits. However, there are also some disadvantages, including: • The staff will gain in-depth knowledge about the quality management system • It can be cost-effective in the long term • You will have an auditor who is already familiar with the complexities of your organization • Finding neutral employees can be a challenge • Initial costs can be high

4. A consultant If you don’t have a competent employee to perform an internal audit, consider hiring an ISO 9001 certification consultant. You can hire a consultant only to perform the audits or to assist with every step of your certification journey. The advantages of hiring a consultant include • Highly experienced auditors mean less room for mistakes • An opportunity to learn • Short-term fixed cost • Unbiased reports • Your employees will not be distracted The disadvantages of hiring a consultant include: • Can be more expensive than in-house employees • No in-depth knowledge of the organization

5. Key Qualities of An ISO 9001 Internal Auditor Whoever you hire to perform the internal audit, they must do the following: • Have a great understanding of the ISO 9001 quality management system requirements and your QMS objectives • The ability to identify risks and improvement areas and communicate their findings • Have critical thinking abilities and knowledge about ethics, project management, negotiation, communication and confidentiality • Be able to assess your processes, advise stakeholders, and convey facts • Be independent and imperial

6. Bottom Line To sum up, you can assign an in-house auditor or hire an ISO consultant to audit your QMS for the ISO 9001 certification. The only rule you must remember is that the auditor must not be a part of the department that’s being audited.

7. About the Company Compliancehelp Consulting LLC is a leading ISO consultancy based in the US. Their team offers personalized and complete training and assessment services for a wide selection of ISO standards. You can rely on them for ISO training, guidance, internal audit, gap analysis, implementation, documentation, readiness assessment, and post-certification services.

8. Contact Us 877-238-5855 info@quality-assurance.com Compliancehelp Consulting, LLC 5686 South Redwood Rd, 84123 Salt Lake City, Utah United States https://www.quality-assurance.com

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