Qudos Internal Audit service

Struggling with Internal Audits? Why Outsourcing could be the solution

For many organisations, internal audits of their management system are a recurring challenge —a last minute panic, draining time, resources, and energy. Does that sound familiar? Well, here’s a question worth asking:

Question: Do internal audits actually need to be done in-house?
Answer: No.

It's as simple as that. The term 'internal audits' is common throughout ISO standards but is perhaps misleading. It is intended to differentiate audits performed by an organization as part of its own management system from 'external audits' performed by a client, or an independent certification body.

Outsourcing your internal audits to a professional, independent provider is no different form outsourcing any other operational or support activity. It is not only acceptable but often the smarter approach.

Why organizations are outsourcing internal audits

  • Lack of trained or experienced auditors
    Just like any other business activity, auditing involves a skill set. They include planning, interview techniques, report writing, and so on. Without training, many people simply perform internal audits as a tick-and-flick exercise, without generating any real benefit for the organization. A professional auditor will have received formal training (tip: check their qualifications), and they are likely to have honed their skills over hundreds or thousands of previous audits. They can help achieve real, tangible improvements.
  • Difficulty maintaining independence
    Some organizations have a compliance manager that has been trained and can do a good job of internal auditing. That's great, but what about the work that they are responsible for? Who independently audits that? Even partially outsourcing internal audits can help ensure the independence and objectivity required by the standards.
  • Competing operational priorities for limited internal resources
    Many internal audit programmes begin with good intentions. Setting out who will perform which audits and when. The problem is that when the audit dates get close, those people have other, perhaps more pressing work to do. The audit gets postponed and ...well you probably know the rest

A specialist internal audit service can solve all of these—while still meeting ISO requirements.

Why internal audits matter

Internal audits are not just a compliance exercise—they are a powerful tool to:

  • Identify risks and nonconformities
  • Improve performance and processes
  • Ensure compliance with ISO standards
  • Drive continual improvement (they can and SHOULD be a key driver of improvement)
  • They’re also mandatory for standards like ISO 9001, 14001, 27001, and 45001. Basically, they're mandatory for just about any certification standard.

The challenge and the solution

⚠️ The reality is that poorly managed internal audits are one of the most common causes of nonconformities during certification audits.

💡 The smarter solution - Outsourcing your internal audits gives you:

  • Independent, objective audits
  • Access to experienced auditors
  • Risk-based audit programmes
  • More time for your team to focus on core business

But... we really want to do it in-house (just better)

While fully or even partially outsourcing internal audits is a great solution for many (probably most) organizations, some prefer to keep it in-house. If you definitely want to perform your own internal audits, you should consider internal auditor training and / or getting professional guidance on planning your schedule to be the most efficient and effective it can be.

lf you are curious about outsourcing your internal audits or just want some guidance, call or email us. We are happy to share how other organisations are solving the challenges of their audit programmes—and what might work best for you.