Some Basic about ISO 27001 Audit Checklist for Information Security Management System

If you are planning your ISO 27001 internal audit for the first time, you are probably puzzled by the complexity of the standard and what you should check out during the audit. So, you are looking for some kind of ISO 27001 Audit Checklist to help you with this task.

Although they are helpful to an extent, there is no universal checklist that can fit your company needs perfectly, because every company is very different. However, you can create your own basic ISO 27001 audit checklist, customised to your organisation, without too much trouble.

Some Basics Steps in the ISO 27001 Internal Audit:

1. Document Review

In this step, you have to read ISO 27001 Documentation. You will need to understand processes in the ISMS, and find out if there are non-conformities in the documentation with regard to ISO 27001

2. Create the checklist

You make a checklist based on document review. i.e., read about the specific requirements of the policies, procedures and plans written in the ISO 27001 documentation and write them down so that you can check them during the main audit

3. Planning the main audit

Since there will be many things you need to check out, you should plan which departments and/or locations to visit and when - and your checklist will give you an idea on where to focus the most.

4. Performing the main audit

The main audit is very practical. You have to walk around the company and talk to employees, check the computers and other equipment, observe physical security, etc. Your previously prepared ISO 27001 audit checklist now proves it's worth - if this is vague, shallow, and incomplete, it is probable that you will forget to check many key things. And you will need to take detailed notes.

5. Reporting

Once you finish your main audit, Summarize all the non-conformities and write the internal audit report. With the checklist and the detailed notes, a precise report should not be too difficult to write. From this report, corrective actions should be easy to record according to the documented corrective action procedure.

6. Follow up

It's the internal auditor's job to check whether all the corrective actions identified during the internal audit are addressed. Your checklist and notes can be very useful here to remind you of the reasons why you raised nonconformity in the first place. The internal auditor's job is only finished when these are rectified and closed

What to include in your ISO 27001 Audit Checklist

Normally, the checklist for internal audit would contain 4 columns:

Reference - e.g. the clause number, section number of a policy, within the standard.

What to look for - what to examine, monitor, etc., during the main audit - whom to speak to, which questions to ask, records to look for, facilities to visit, equipment to check, etc.

Compliance - Simply, has the company has complied with the requirement?

Findings -Details of what you have found during the main audit - names of persons you spoke to, quotes of what they said, IDs and content of records you examined, description of facilities you visited, observations about the equipment you checked, etc.

So, the internal audit of ISO 27001, based on an ISO 27001 audit checklist, is not that difficult - it is rather straightforward: you need to follow what is required in the standard and what is required in the documentation, finding out whether staff are complying with the procedures.

With a good ISO 27001 audit checklist audit checklist, your task will certainly be a lot easier.

Source: 27001securitycertification.wordpress.com

Dacey Lyle has published so many articles regarding ISO Certification Documentation. As ISO Consultant profession since last many years Dacey has rich experience in preparing such certification documents within ISO guideline to her global clients to