What is an audit? Here is a brief explanation of the connection between auditing and certification!

An audit checks the basic requirements for management systems.

The purpose of an audit:

The purpose of an audit is to monitor compliance with an existing certification or to obtain a new certification for a quality management system.
Every three years, a “recertification” must take place, that is, the certification must be reissued. And during those three years, “monitoring audits” are conducted annually to check the effectiveness of the system.

Furthermore, during the audit, the auditor identifies deviations and issues recommendations in order to continuously improve the management systems.

A process audit usually lasts several days. The procedure is defined in the audit plan.

What’s in the audit plan?

This plan is derived from the audit program. The review plan is normally made available in advance. Otherwise, this can be a standard format used by the company being audited. The auditor (and possibly a co-auditor), the type of audit, the purpose of the audit and the auditing criteria, such as certification and internal requirements, can be found in this plan.

What are the different types of audits?

There are generally four types of audits:

• System audit:
  This audit checks the company’s compliance with the standard or the certification. The effectiveness of the existing management system is checked and information is provided about what the company needs to do in order to obtain certification. In a system audit, the entire company is audited.
• Process audit:
  A process audit only audits individual processes. These audits are mainly conducted when management systems have already been in place for some time. This audit may be used to monitor supplementary processes or to examine the effectiveness of existing processes.
• Configuration audit:
  A configuration audit examines a product’s conformity with previously defined product requirements. This may be needed to audit special customer requirements (quality, shelf life, etc.), official specifications (e.g. safety regulations) or requirements specified by the company.
• Compliance audits:
  In a compliance audit, the auditor mainly checks compliance with current legal requirements.
• Internal audit:
  This audit determines the effectiveness of work processes and prepares the company for an audit by an external body

What should the company do if the audit shows any deviations?

If there are any defective processes, they must be remedied by an agreed deadline. The corrective measures to be taken must be submitted to the certification body.