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QualityTerm

Internal audit

An internal audit is a systematic, independent check that your own organisation carries out to see whether your management system meets the requirements and works in practice as intended.

Explanation

In an internal audit, an auditor looks at processes, documents and the shop floor and compares them with what has been agreed: your own procedures, legislation and the standard or scheme you work to. That way you find weak spots yourself, before an external party or an incident does.

Internal audits are usually planned in advance in an audit programme, so that all processes and locations are covered within an agreed period. The auditor does not assess their own work. In small organisations this is often a colleague from another department or an external auditor who audits on your behalf.

The result is a report with findings: nonconformities, observations and improvement points, and also what goes well. Each nonconformity leads to a corrective action. An internal audit is different from a certification audit: that is carried out by an external certification body, and your internal audits show it that your system monitors itself.

Example from practice

A quality coordinator audits the purchasing process and sees that two suppliers have not been evaluated for a year. That becomes a nonconformity with an action, an owner and a deadline.

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In BrydgeOne

Where you work with Internal audit

AuditsPlan internal audits and log findings. ActionsFollow up corrective and preventive actions. Audit-ready checkSee what is still missing, clause by clause. ISO 9001Quality ISO 14001Environment ISO 45001Health and safety
Knowledge base

Keep reading

Carrying out an internal audit: step-by-step plan and checklistAn internal audit tests whether your management system does what you agreed and whether it works. With a fixed plan it becomes a source of improvement rather than a paper exercise. This article walks through the seven steps, with a checklist. Writing an audit report: structure, phrasing findings and an exampleWriting an audit report means turning what you saw, heard and checked into a text that others can act on. A good report is short, factual and traceable, and also says what works well. Here is how to structure it and phrase your findings.
Glossary

See also

Non-conformityNon-conformityCAPACorrective and Preventive ActionCertificationCertificationISO 9001ISO 9001 Quality management systemsManagement reviewManagement review

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