Internal auditing is performed for a variety of reasons and some of the major benefits include:
- To catch issues before they become issues.
- To prevent our customers from receiving nonconforming material.
- To ensure that the business practices and processes are being followed.
Normally companies will have a schedule that is written to audit their entire quality system on an annual basis. Usually the quality manager or engineer is responsible for creating this schedule. The schedule consists of the elements of the standard to be audited, who will be auditing and when the results are due.
An internal auditor is the person who will be asking the questions at the audit. The auditee is the person who is answering the questions and providing evidence that they are in compliance to the established criteria.
The internal auditor will contact the auditee to schedule a date and time for the audit. The auditor will prepare a checklist in advance of the audit. The checklist will include questions to ask and documents to be viewed as evidence of compliance. The auditor must also review the previous audit and any corrective actions that were issued. The corrective actions must be implemented and closed.