ISO AUDITOR ISO Audit Planning & Preparation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When developing an audit plan for a multi-site organization, which factor most influences the sampling strategy for selecting sites?
- The size of each site's workforce
- The nature and criticality of activities performed at each site (Correct answer)
- The geographic distance between sites
- The number of nonconformities found at previous audits
Correct answer: The nature and criticality of activities performed at each site
ISO 19011 specifies that sampling of multi-site organizations should be based on the nature and risk of activities, not simply workforce size or geography.
Question 2: An audit checklist is best described as:
- A mandatory document required by ISO 9001 for every internal audit
- A tool to ensure audit coverage and consistency, not a rigid script (Correct answer)
- A document that replaces the need for auditor judgment
- A record that must be submitted to the certification body
Correct answer: A tool to ensure audit coverage and consistency, not a rigid script
Checklists are guides for coverage and consistency; auditors must still exercise professional judgment and follow evidence-based leads.
Question 3: During audit preparation, an auditor discovers that the previous audit report identified 12 open corrective actions. What is the appropriate response?
- Disregard them since they are from a prior audit cycle
- Include follow-up on these actions as part of the current audit scope (Correct answer)
- Immediately close them without verification to streamline the audit
- Report the open actions to top management before starting the audit
Correct answer: Include follow-up on these actions as part of the current audit scope
ISO 19011 requires that follow-up on previous audit findings be incorporated into subsequent audit planning.
Question 4: Which document provides the highest-level authorization for an internal audit program?
- The audit plan
- The audit schedule
- The audit program mandate from top management (Correct answer)
- The auditor's work instructions
Correct answer: The audit program mandate from top management
ISO 19011 requires that the audit program be established with authority from top management, giving auditors the organizational backing needed.
Question 5: A 'documented process' in ISO 9001:2015 means the organization must:
- Always maintain a written procedure document
- Ensure the process is implemented as planned and controlled, with appropriate documentation (Correct answer)
- Post process descriptions on the facility wall
- Obtain external certification for the process
Correct answer: Ensure the process is implemented as planned and controlled, with appropriate documentation
ISO 9001:2015 uses 'documented process' to mean the process is controlled and maintained, not that a specific procedure document is always mandatory.
Question 6: When determining audit objectives for a supplier audit, which input is MOST important?
- The supplier's location and size
- The supplier's impact on product and service conformity (Correct answer)
- The length of the business relationship with the supplier
- The supplier's price competitiveness
Correct answer: The supplier's impact on product and service conformity
Audit objectives for supplier audits should be driven by the supplier's potential impact on the auditee's product and service quality.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes the difference between audit criteria and audit evidence?
- Criteria are what auditors observe; evidence is what auditors expect to find
- Criteria are the reference standards used to evaluate; evidence is the factual information gathered during the audit (Correct answer)
- Criteria are findings; evidence is the auditor's opinion
- Criteria are audit conclusions; evidence is the audit report
Correct answer: Criteria are the reference standards used to evaluate; evidence is the factual information gathered during the audit
Audit criteria are the policies, procedures, or requirements used as a benchmark, while audit evidence is the verifiable information supporting audit findings.
ISO AUDITOR ISO Audit Planning & Preparation 2
When developing an audit plan for a multi-site organization, which factor most influences the sampling strategy for selecting sites?