Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Inspection walkthrough
Introduction
ISO 9001 requires every certified organisation to audit its own quality management system at planned intervals, yet internal audits are often delegated to staff who have never been shown how to prepare, question, sample or write a finding. The result is checklists that repeat the standard, findings that are vague and corrective actions that never close. This Core Concept course builds the practical skills of a first-party auditor through walkthrough audits of real processes. Participants leave with an Internal Audit Pack for one process in their own organisation, ready to use in the next audit round.
Course Objectives
- Interpret the ISO 9001:2026 requirements that apply to a process before auditing it
- Prepare an internal audit plan and a process checklist based on audit criteria, scope and objectives
- Gather objective evidence through interviews, observation and record sampling during a walkthrough
- Write clear nonconformity reports that state the requirement, the evidence and the finding
- Follow up corrective actions and verify that they have removed the cause
- Assemble an Internal Audit Pack that can be reused for the next audit of the same process
Target Audience
- Staff appointed to the internal audit team of a quality management system
- Quality officers responsible for document control, records and audit scheduling
- Process specialists who will audit processes outside their own department
- Supervisors responsible for responding to audit findings in their area
- Staff supporting an organisation's first certification to ISO 9001
Course Outline
Day 1: Quality Management and the Role of Internal Audit
- Seven Quality Management Principles in ISO 9000:2026
- ISO 9001:2026 Clause Structure and the PDCA Cycle
- Clause 9.2 Internal Audit Requirements and Audit Objectives
- Process Approach Basics Using an Organisational Process Map
- Documented Information: Procedures, Records and Retention Rules
Day 2: Audit Guidance and Evidence Methods
- ISO 19011:2026 Principles: Integrity, Fair Presentation and Due Care
- Internal Audit Schedule and Audit Frequency Setting
- Defining Audit Criteria, Scope and Objectives for One Process
- Evidence Methods: Interview, Observation and Record Review
- Internal Auditor Conduct, Independence and Confidentiality Rules
Day 3: Preparing and Conducting an Internal Audit
- Desk Review of Procedures Before the Audit
- Process Audit Checklist Design with the Turtle Diagram
- Opening Meeting Agenda and Audit Plan Confirmation
- Workplace Walkthrough and Evidence Notes Template
- Record Sampling and Transaction Tracing Techniques
Day 4: Findings, Reporting and Follow-Up
- Nonconformity, Observation and Opportunity for Improvement Classification
- Nonconformity Report Form Completion
- Closing Meeting Conduct and Internal Audit Report Template
- Correction Versus Corrective Action Under Clause 10.2
- Follow-Up Audit and Corrective Action Verification Record
Day 5: Walkthrough Audits and the Internal Audit Pack
- Purchasing Process Walkthrough Audit Exercise
- Customer Service Process Walkthrough Audit Exercise
- Nonconformity Report Writing Clinic on Walkthrough Findings
- Internal Audit Pack Assembly for an Own Process
- Peer Review of Audit Packs with Structured Feedback
Skills You Will Gain
- Quality Requirements Interpretation
- Audit Preparation
- Checklist Design
- Evidence Gathering
- Audit Interviewing
- Nonconformity Reporting
- Follow-Up Verification
Why Attend This Course
- Take home an Internal Audit Pack for one of your own processes, reviewed by fellow auditors
- Approach your first internal audits with a tested routine for opening, walking through and closing
- Raise findings that process owners understand and can act on without argument
- Practise walkthrough audits alongside participants from manufacturing, service and public organisations
Conclusion
An internal audit is only useful when the auditor can prepare properly, collect evidence fairly and write a finding that leads to lasting correction. This course builds that competence step by step, from the requirements of ISO 9001:2026 and the guidance of ISO 19011:2026 to the conduct of walkthrough audits and the follow-up of corrective action. The final day produces an Internal Audit Pack for a process in each participant's organisation, so that the next scheduled audit starts from a prepared and consistent basis.