CQE Quality Auditing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A third-party audit is typically performed by:
- An organization auditing its own departments
- A customer auditing a supplier
- An independent certification body to grant or maintain certification (Correct answer)
- Regulatory agencies for compliance verification only
Correct answer: An independent certification body to grant or maintain certification
Third-party audits are conducted by independent certification bodies (registrars) to assess conformance to standards like ISO 9001 and grant or maintain formal certification.
Question 2: During an audit closing meeting, what is the primary objective?
- To train auditees on quality tools
- To present audit findings, conclusions, and the opportunity for auditees to respond (Correct answer)
- To sign contracts with the certification body
- To determine the auditee's salary adjustments
Correct answer: To present audit findings, conclusions, and the opportunity for auditees to respond
The closing meeting formally presents all findings and conclusions to management, ensures mutual understanding, and gives auditees the opportunity to clarify or respond before the official report is issued.
Question 3: In quality auditing, 'audit criteria' are best described as:
- The auditor's personal quality standards
- The set of policies, procedures, standards, or requirements used as a reference for the audit (Correct answer)
- The financial thresholds for accepting audit costs
- Customer complaint data
Correct answer: The set of policies, procedures, standards, or requirements used as a reference for the audit
Audit criteria are the reference documents — standards, regulations, documented procedures, or contractual requirements — against which audit evidence is compared to determine conformance.
Question 4: What is the primary role of an audit program manager in an organization?
- To perform all audits personally
- To plan, establish, implement, monitor, and improve the organization's audit program (Correct answer)
- To write all corrective actions after audits
- To train production staff on quality basics
Correct answer: To plan, establish, implement, monitor, and improve the organization's audit program
The audit program manager oversees the entire audit system — planning audit schedules, selecting auditors, managing resources, and ensuring the program achieves its objectives across all audits.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes 'audit sampling' in quality auditing?
- Testing every product produced during the audit period
- Selecting a representative portion of records or activities to evaluate the whole (Correct answer)
- Randomly choosing which standards to audit against
- Sampling only from areas with no prior findings
Correct answer: Selecting a representative portion of records or activities to evaluate the whole
Audit sampling involves examining a representative subset of records, transactions, or activities to draw conclusions about the overall conformance of the system being audited.
Question 6: An auditor who has previously worked in the department being audited should:
- Lead the audit because of their expertise
- Disclose the relationship and be reassigned if it creates a conflict of interest (Correct answer)
- Only audit documentation, not processes
- Be required to audit that department annually
Correct answer: Disclose the relationship and be reassigned if it creates a conflict of interest
Prior involvement in an audited area creates a potential independence conflict; auditors must disclose such relationships and be reassigned to maintain audit objectivity and credibility.
CQE Quality Auditing 2
A third-party audit is typically performed by: