7 Tips on Writing an Effective ISO 9001 Internal Audit Report

ISO internal audit is important for gaining ISO 9001 Certification. This article contains some essential tips that can help you write your ISO 9001 internal audit report in the best possible way. 

Internal audits provide companies with a wide range of benefits, and with ISO 9001 Certification, internal audits play a vital role. That’s why the top management of every company should understand the importance of the results of internal audits. To achieve ISO 9001 certification, you need to pass the certification audit, and before this it is important to perform the ISO 9001 internal auditing program. This program will let you explore nonconformities and areas, which need improvement. This blog will help you learn how to prepare an effective report for ISO 9001 Internal Audits. 

Before you start the internal audit, you should have a clear understanding of ISO 9001 requirements, because you need to perform and report the audit as per the standard. You need to know the value of an internal audit report, which is a document that records the formal results of an audit. The internal auditors record their findings to show what they have examine, and highlight the positives and negatives outcomes along with a logical conclusion to help you determine what is going well and what should be improved. The audit report should be prepared carefully. The writing must be clear, objective, and impartial so that the reports can guide the organization into compliance with ISO 9001 Standard.

 

 

The main benefit of an internal auditing program is to explore opportunities for improvement. Based on this report, external auditors will be able to make the final decision-whether the organization should be provided with the certification or it needs further improvement. No matter whether you are performing ISO 9001 quality management audits or ISO 27001 internal audits, you need to avoid the following issues:

• Accusing guilty parties or specifically identifying that a particular person made a mistake,

• Finding universal problems,

• Generating evasive reports,

• Use of unnecessary technical terms,

• Being biased to the Quality Management Team.

The cover is a detail that can help the audit report be effective, an internal auditor’s main responsibility is to leave a good impression on the external auditors who will conduct the main certification audit. The cover is important because it contains vital information in an organized way. It should contain;

• A report title,

• Name of the auditor assigned to the internal audit,

• Audit starting and ending date,

• Name of the company or business unit that is being audited.

An introduction is used to provide an overview with information on the areas and processes audited along with supporting standards (in this case, ISO 9001). It should have any historical information that may be required even before reading the entire document. This way, anyone reading this report will understand the reasons for the audit.

 

When you are drafting an executive summary for ISO 9001 Internal Audits, always remember that it should contain a comprehensive discussion of the conclusions of the work done. The structure of this summary should be as follows:

• A compact description of what was audited along with the objectives of the audit, the scope, and the end dates,

• A discussion containing the auditor’s conclusion.

This section should present a list of terms and technologies you have used in the audit report. Anyone who reads the report should understand the recorded information. 

You may know what the audit plan is, but the external auditors and other readers of the report do not. Therefore, you should give a brief of your audit plan before explaining the findings, and then readers can understand the results. 

Now, you need to explain the findings. You should make this section as simple as possible, a simple approach will help the external auditors go through the report quickly. 

Finally, it’s time for recommendations based on the audit report. Recommendations should be clearly stated in the audit report so that top management can follow up on the recommendations and improve areas which need further improvement.

Following these tips, you will be able to write an effective internal audit report. However, it would be better if you hire professional internal auditors. They will perform the audit and draft the report in a template that suits your business.

Damon Anderson is a proficient ISO internal auditor with expertise in ISO 9001 internal audits. He provides quality management audits and auditing training. His informative blogs have been helping businesses for many years. 

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