Different types of ISO audit
The ISO 19011 standard is intended to help businesses in auditing processes. In ISO standards, there are mainly two kinds of audits that can be carried out (see also Figure 8.1):
- Internal audits (first - party): Internal audits are assessments and analyses made by businesses on their own management systems. These audits are carried out by the company. There are several resources available to guide businesses on how to carry out internal audits, but the ISO 19011 standard is the most important of them. Internal audits are a crucial part of meeting the requirements of most standards for management systems. Internal audits for any management systems do not lead to ISO certifications.
- External audits (second -party and third - party): When relevant stakeholders outside the business conduct an audit, it is called a second-party audit (such as those carried out by suppliers). Third-party audits are the most crucial ones and result in certifications...