Just went through a session of selecting a registrar and the question of whether the MR can also be the Lead Internal Auditor was part of our decision process.
In all cases we had a representative from the registrar and the potential auditor. They all unanimously said that, yes, the MR can be the LIA as long as they do not audit areas that they are responsible for.
In my situation that means that I cannot audit 4.1 management responsibility, 4.5 document control, and 4.17 internal audit.
We do have an internal audit team that would audit the areas that I could not, although it is still my responsibility to produce and report the audit results to management and issue corrective actions.
Along with this responsibility I also realize that I must ensure that my areas of responsibility are conforming to standards and requirements. If not, there would be no credibility to my position. It comes down to personal and corporate integrity.
Would you mind posting the name of your lead auditr trainer?
All companies are continually striving to reduce costs and the cost of having a full time internal auditor can be prohibitive to small and medium sized companies. We all wear many hats and reputible registrars and auditors realize this.
Hell, most of the lead auditors probably started out as managements reps and internal auditors!
ASD...