1. PEOPLE
AUDITING
more limited than for an audit with the an audit, but to be able to deploy those Meanwhile Nina issues a warning:
objective of continuous improvement.” skills is a lot more difficult.” “When auditors become very expe-
That said, certain knowledge, skills At certification body Lloyd’s Register rienced there is a danger of making
and behaviours are particularly desired Quality Assurance, third-party auditors assumptions and it is so important in
by organisations employing auditors, are expected to have knowledge of auditing not to be judgemental. Expe-
those being audited and those relying LRQA’s business assurance methods rienced auditors must be careful they
on the outcomes of audits. Knowledge and the specific standard being audited are not pre-judging a situation simply
of the standard being audited against against. They also need knowledge of because they may have seen some-
and the organisation being audited are the cultural norms for the location of the thing similar before.”
key and it is universally agreed that deft client, business and technologies that
time management and communication are specific to the client and the specif- Keeping up standards
skills are crucial. Auditors must also ic organisational structure of the client. General consensus is clear: manage-
have the practical skills associated with This is alongside more generic auditing ment systems auditors have an im-
conducting audits such as the ability skills and, as Alexander Sutherland, portant, influential role and they need
to understand audit scope, plan audits, LRQA corporate technical director, puts a diverse range of skills in order to
sample effectively, interview auditees, it: “Auditors are expected to be ethical, perform accurate, value-adding audits.
analyse data, write coherent audit open-minded, diplomatic, tenacious, However, opinions diverge on exactly
reports and work well both independ- observant, self-reliant and have moral how to assess an auditor’s ability and
ently and as part of a team. courage”. so ensure that they are sufficiently
Unfortunately, unlike the capabili- To ensure its auditors have the competent. Organisations with internal
ties listed above, many of the important correct knowledge and skills, LRQA audit functions, such as Selex Galileo,
skills needed by good auditors are has an intensive training programme. create their own documents to assess
dependent on personality and cannot Alexander explains: “Each of our the competence of those involved but
necessarily be gained through training. assessors goes through an assessor- for third-party certification bodies the
Basil Dutton, a quality management sys- under-training process managed by issue of auditor competence is becom-
tems auditor who represents Canada in qualified lead supervisors. This ensures ing increasingly important.
the development of ISO 19011, says: “A they learn about the strategic intent In the words of the CQI’s policy on
good auditor must possess the funda- behind our business assurance and third-party certification: “There is still
mental skill of effective communication equips assessors with the tools to not significant variation in the quality and
− having a personality that supports this only verify compliance with standards, value of third-party certifications… and
is an obvious advantage. Being person- but also help clients to improve current for this reason some purchasing or-
able is a huge asset.” and future performance. Initial training ganisations have reduced confidence”.
Gary Illingworth, FCQI CQP, head is supplemented throughout audi- Such worries mean that ensuring the
of quality, battlespace, protection and tors’ time working with LRQA through professionalism of auditors has become
awareness at Selex Galileo, leads a compulsory classroom and e-learning crucial. One way in which auditor’s
quality assurance team of 30 who are training packages as well as mentoring competencies are assessed is through
involved in internal auditing. For Gary and coaching while on the job.” the requirements of professional cer-
the value of internal auditing is in an Because auditees look for more infor- tificates from organisations such as the
auditor’s ability to identify risk early mation on how continuous improvement International Register of Certificated
on and to mitigate it. He argues: “More will improve their business, a broader Auditors and the American Society for
important than whether someone has understanding of business is important Quality. There are also useful guidance
experience of auditing is the set of says Nina. “Business acumen is very documents on specific standards such
behaviours they have – how they work important for auditors these days. They as the Auditing Practices Group’s series
in a team, how they communicate, how definitely need both technical knowl- of papers on auditing against ISO 9001
authoritative, flexible and adaptable edge of the organisation being audited and the International Accreditation Fo-
they are. and the wider industry sector in which rum’s mandatory documents. Most nota-
“Essentially, internal auditing is it performs.” bly in recent years, however, have been
about being able to influence the busi- Other important skills not to be for- the concerted efforts by ISO to define
ness. Anyone can say ‘this is wrong, gotten are objectivity and the ability to and regulate auditor competencies.
what are you going to do about it?’ but create an atmosphere of trust. Dominic ISO first acknowledged the need
that doesn’t fix the problem. It’s about Wilson, senior manager, change audit to address auditors’ abilities with ISO
how we behave and how we work at all at Aviva, says: “Without creating an air 10011 parts 1, 2 and 3 published in the
levels of the business to improve it. of trust, those being audited will never early 1990s. These guidance docu-
“A person’s knowledge or skills gaps open up and be honest with you. With- ments for quality management systems
can be addressed easily if they have out their honesty it is unlikely you will examined audit planning, managing an
the correct behaviours. People can be truly identify and fully appreciate the audit and auditor competence criteria.
trained fairly quickly in how to perform issues they face.” The guidelines were later echoed for
38 | APRIL 2010 | qw www.thecqi.org
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