Audit Roles & Responsibilities Flashcards

During an audit, a team member notices a potential major environmental incident risk unrelated to the audit scope. The auditor should:

Answer: Document it and report it to the lead auditor for communication to appropriate parties

Significant risks observed outside the audit scope should be reported through appropriate channels without formally including them as nonconformities in the current audit.

The lead auditor's responsibility during the closing meeting includes:

Answer: Presenting audit findings and conclusions and allowing the auditee to respond

The lead auditor presents findings, conclusions, and any unresolved diverging opinions at the closing meeting, giving the auditee the opportunity to respond.

Which of the following BEST represents an auditor's responsibility regarding audit evidence?

Answer: Gathering sufficient, appropriate evidence to support all audit findings and conclusions

Auditors must collect evidence that is sufficient (enough of it) and appropriate (relevant and reliable) to substantiate every finding and conclusion.

A second auditor on the team disagrees with the lead auditor's classification of a finding. How should this be resolved?

Answer: The disagreement should be discussed within the team; unresolved issues are reported to the audit program manager

ISO 19011 recommends that diverging opinions be discussed and resolved within the audit team, with unresolved disagreements reported to the audit program manager.

An EMS internal auditor is asked by their supervisor to soften the wording of a major nonconformity to avoid embarrassing the department head. The auditor should:

Answer: Refuse, as auditor integrity requires that findings reflect objective evidence accurately

Auditor integrity prohibits altering findings under organizational pressure; the report must reflect objective evidence regardless of political consequences.

How should the audit team handle information that is classified as confidential by the auditee?

Answer: Use it only for audit purposes and protect it from unauthorized disclosure

Confidential information collected during an audit must be safeguarded and used exclusively for the purposes for which it was collected.

The role of the audit client in a follow-up audit after nonconformities are found is BEST described as:

Answer: Determining whether and when a follow-up audit should be conducted to verify corrective action effectiveness

The audit client decides whether follow-up audits are required and determines their timing and scope to verify that corrective actions have been effectively implemented.