What Is an Independent Audit?

Internal audits are sometimes called first-party audits and are conducted by or on behalf of the organization. The object of the audit is the organization's own management system to verify that the organization's management system continues to meet the required requirements and is running. It provides information for effective management review and corrective and preventive measures. Its purpose is to verify the effectiveness of the organization's management system and can be used as the basis for an organization's self-declaration of conformity. In many cases, especially in small organizations, this can be done by someone who is not responsible for the activity being audited to demonstrate independence.

internal review

Right!

Internal audits are sometimes called first-party audits and are conducted by or on behalf of the organization.

The reasons for conducting internal audits are:

a) the requirements of international management system standards for quality, environment and occupational health and safety;

b) an organization manager

The internal audit basis of the organization is mainly organized

8.2.2 Internal audit

The organization shall conduct internal audits at planned intervals to determine whether the quality management system:

a) meet the planned arrangements (see 7.1), the requirements of this standard, and the requirements of the quality management system determined by the organization;

b) Effectively implemented and maintained.

The organization shall plan the audit plan, and shall consider the status and importance of the process and area to be audited and the results of previous audits. The criteria, scope, frequency and method of audits should be specified.

As long as the internal audit activities of the organization meet the following eight requirements, they can basically meet

Compared with external audits, the basic characteristics of internal audits are:

Internal audit awareness

Sometimes the internal audit activities may be carried out to meet the standard requirements to correct the deficiencies before the external audit, but the most important thing is the manager's awareness and support. Without the support of managers, it will be difficult to carry out, and it will not achieve its due results. Internal audit should be a conscious and continuous internal management action, not a passive coping activity. External audits, for third parties, are mainly certification and registration activities carried out by organizations; for second parties, they are mainly for the purpose of selecting and controlling suppliers for certification and registration activities.

Roots of internal audit

Each internal audit should be dedicated to identifying problems and improvements, which is one of the criteria for measuring the effectiveness of internal audits; while external audits focus on evaluation and use it as a basis for certification registration or selection and control of suppliers.

Internal audit confirmation personnel

Internal audits are performed by internal auditors in the name of their own organization, and third-party or second-party audits are performed in the name of the auditing agency or customer. Third-party auditors must be nationally recognized and qualified personnel, and second-party auditors are usually internal customers.

The meaning of internal auditors

Because internal auditors are more familiar with their own organization, certain procedures can be simplified during the audit, such as document review, first meeting, etc., but in some areas have been strengthened, such as corrective measures, follow-up audits, and so on.

Deficiency of internal auditors in internal audits

Internal audit is also a standardized activity. If a plan is required, the auditor should be qualified, and the audit results should form a report. However, its degree of standardization is lower than that of third-party audits. Internal audits often have the flexibility to correct existing standardized practices and requirements because of improving effectiveness and efficiency.

Advantages of internal auditors

The tracking and control of the implementation process and results of corrective actions. Not only can the internal audit be timely, but also the effective part can be included in the document, so it is more effective; the tracking and control of the external audit can only be performed on a regular basis, and only the correction results are evaluated .

Internal audit is not only about the quality management system, it can also involve the improvement of other systems of the organization; external audit is mainly concerned with the compliance of the quality management system. Internal audit is more abundant in time than external audit, and it is more extensive in content than external audit. Internal auditors can work with the auditee to study and formulate corrective actions. Third-party auditors usually only request corrections and do not recommend corrective actions.

Internal audit can be used as an important tool for managers to intervene in quality management. Its purpose is to keep the quality management system running normally and effectively. External audit is a tool for third party or second party to evaluate the organization's quality management system.