ISO Internal Audit Failures to Avoid

This article discusses some of the serious failures that an organization can face while performing an internal audit of their management system before ISO certification.

ISO certification is the biggest benchmark for businesses today, but to achieve it they make it through the process of internal audit. The ISO certification audit is an essential process that businesses need to perform for ISO certifications in order to prepare for the final stage of acquiring the certification. The audit assesses every aspect of the management system and makes sure that it complies with each condition of the desired ISO standard.

There are multiple challenges that an organization may face during internal auditing and failing to overcome them can cause delay or even cancelation of the certification. It is henceforth essential to be aware of the consequences of audit failures and make necessary preparations to avoid them.

Here are some of the most common audit failures.

Avoiding Management System’s Scope Limitations

Many times, an organization’s leaders deliberately try to shield the areas in the management system that they know are problematic. Because of this, internal auditors may miss these critical areas resulting in the risk of the problems not being identified until the final external audit by the certification body. Those hidden issues may be the cause for certification delay and thus, the more aware an organization’s management is, the better it is. They should try to be as transparent as possible in the internal audit process and consider it a critical improvement tool.

Not Considering Organizational Culture

Whatever management system is implemented, either quality, environmental impact management, or any other, it reflects the organization’s culture. Internal auditors must be made aware of the culture so that they can find out any issues that are not in line with the organization’s culture.

Auditors Allowing for Non-Process Based Approach

The ISO management standards are based on a process approach i.e. works in the integration of processes that already exist in the organization. Any procedures or controls introduced by the management system should also be aimed at continual improvement of the processes and not just fulfill the requirements of the standard. Only then an implemented ISO management system can add value to your organization. If the external certification auditors find it out that your system is not process-based, they cannot do anything about it but ask you to reform your system. As a result, internal auditors should be careful, know your processes, and make sure your management system is based on them. If not, they should be able to assist you in implementing a process-based approach sooner.

Unclear Representation of Issues

Even if internal auditors act responsibly in preparing the auditing reports, they should be careful in how they are reporting the issues. A balanced and clear auditing report means it states all the issues clearly and there should not be any hiding or misrepresentation of the facts. Many times, auditors, especially the ones who are appointed in-house, try to make issues look less serious than they actually are to prove the efficiency of the organization. If auditing reports are not clearly presented and honestly mention the severity of problems, they are less useful and even harmful to businesses. Not Doing a Follow-up

Any audit is simply not complete without a proper follow-up. All the issues pointed out in the auditing process must be worked on, improved, and corrected by the organization. Internal auditing officials should visit again for a quick follow-up to see whether all issues are addressed satisfactorily. Without a follow up, you can never be assured that you have competently solved all the issues.

The process of internal audit is presumably a steppingstone for ISO certification success and if it is done correctly, you should be on a clear path to certification. Committing any of these audit failures can have a significant negative impact on your certification process and may even delay it for months. To be on the safer side, your organization should have internal auditing by a professional team of auditors from a third-party agency who can give a totally unbiased perspective of your management system and give objective results.

Damon Anderson is the director of an ISO certification consultancy which advises businesses in different sectors to achieve a required ISO certification easily.