Audit Evidence, Objective or Judgement

What is Audit Evidence?

As a CQI and IRCA Approved Training Partner, QCS International provides auditor training to an advanced level across all of the core ISO standards; quality ISO9001, environmental ISO14001, health & safety ISO45001, medical device ISO13485, and information security ISO27001. One recurring theme in audit is the gathering of objective evidence.

Objective v’s Judgement

In order to determine the degree of conformance evidenced in a management system we are told that in our audits we must gather and record objective evidence. As a definition, ISO9000:2015 Fundamentals and Vocabulary includes the following:

Objective Evidence ‘data supporting the existence or verity of something’. It goes on to say that objective evidence can be obtained through observation, measurement, test or by other means. For the purposes of audit, that evidence may include, for example, data, records, what people say or other verifiable information. Simply – these are facts.

How to audit ISO9001 using professional judgement

If verifiable objective evidence is so important in an audit, when can we apply judgement?

To consider where an auditor may apply professional judgement, we must first look at ISO 19011:2018, Guidelines for the Audit of Management Systems, and consider too the use of the word ‘professional’.  Surely that implies competence? If competence can be defined as a combination of skills, knowledge and experience how can we assess auditor competence? In other words, if auditors are to apply judgement when assessing a management system, we must ensure that they are, for example, suitably trained, having successfully completed Lead Auditor examinations or perhaps they meet the membership requirements of a professional body such as the CQI and IRCA.

The ISO published auditor guidelines state that ‘Auditors should apply professional judgement during the audit process and avoid concentrating on the specific requirements of each clause of the standard at the expense of achieving the intended outcome of the management system’

What ISO clauses should I audit?

It goes on to say that some clauses within standards do not lend themselves to comparison between a set of criteria and the content of an operating procedure or work instruction. ‘In these situations, auditors should apply their professional judgement to determine whether the intent of a clause has been met’.

In audit sampling we again encounter the use of judgement-based sampling in ISO19011. Where its deemed impractical to examine every record, we’re encouraged as auditors to sample in order to gain confidence or form a conclusion using statistical sampling, we may apply judgement-based sampling. Judgement based sampling depends on the competence of the audit team.

Whether gathering objective evidence during an audit or through the use of professional judgement where criteria is not available, what is clear is that auditor competence is key.

Auditors and those organisations employing auditors must ensure competence which can be supported through auditor training. Participating in training courses and additional learning associated with professional development can be a great place to start. QCS International provides a range on introductory, foundational courses in addition to providing the training associated with Internal Auditor and the progression to Lead Auditor.