Internal Audit vs. Internal Quality Audit - What is the difference

D

Dd777

#21
I get what the OP is asking and their is a distinctive and definite interest. Bearhk by bringing up the defined difference was closest. You have two audit disciplines - QMS audit, and internal audit. Both are "internal audits" but they serve different functions.

QMS audit - These audits are limited in scope. The main function is to verify a set of prescribed guidelines, usually ISO. Because ISO is so specialized, a business (my company for instance) will have a seperate QMS/ISO audit function.

Internal Audit - if you are a publicly traded company, with business in the US, you have an internal audit function. Trust me QMS auditors, you do, even if you don't know it. It is required by Sarbenes-Oxley (SOX). The scope is much more broad, not only finance - but the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, verification of internal control, compliance with laws and regulations, safegaurding of assets. Their focus is not on a set of prescribed guidelines - but added value to the company. Some of it may indeed overlap into QMS. However, QMS audit is merely a tiny component of the broad "internal audit" landscape. Again using my company as an example - we will audit QMS auditors to make sure they are doing their job.

Another example to point out - the scope of my IA certification (issued by the Institiue of Internal Auditors) included business law, finance, statistics, ethics, fraud training, etc, and covered 5 exams taking a half day each - Certified Internal Auditor. The failure rate rivals CPA exams. My QMS "lead auditor" training certification class, in contrast, was a joke - open book test at the end of a week session. I don't think anyone failed.
 
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Randy

Super Moderator
#22
My QMS "lead auditor" training certification class, in contrast, was a joke - open book test at the end of a week session. I don't think anyone failed.
That's where you're not quite correct, after conducting more QMS Lead courses than I can count, and not just in the USA or even N America, I can tell you that I've failed lot's of folks (sometimes not just for the exam score), and I have direct 1st person knowledge of my fellow instructors failing students as well (I did the 2nd, and even 3rd grading, and sometimes beyond, with failure still in the equation)

There were many, many people by the end of the 1st break on the 1st day I thought were a shoe-in for passing...Hooooooooooonk! That dog didn't hunt. So the ones you thought were gonna fail may actually have had the #1 score, and the brainiacs dumped out.
 

Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Staff member
Admin
#23
I get what the OP is asking and their is a distinctive and definite interest. Bearhk by bringing up the defined difference was closest. You have two audit disciplines - QMS audit, and internal audit. Both are "internal audits" but they serve different functions.

QMS audit - These audits are limited in scope. The main function is to verify a set of prescribed guidelines, usually ISO. Because ISO is so specialized, a business (my company for instance) will have a seperate QMS/ISO audit function.

Internal Audit - if you are a publicly traded company, with business in the US, you have an internal audit function. Trust me QMS auditors, you do, even if you don't know it. It is required by Sarbenes-Oxley (SOX). The scope is much more broad, not only finance - but the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, verification of internal control, compliance with laws and regulations, safegaurding of assets. Their focus is not on a set of prescribed guidelines - but added value to the company. Some of it may indeed overlap into QMS. However, QMS audit is merely a tiny component of the broad "internal audit" landscape. Again using my company as an example - we will audit QMS auditors to make sure they are doing their job.

Another example to point out - the scope of my IA certification (issued by the Institiue of Internal Auditors) included business law, finance, statistics, ethics, fraud training, etc, and covered 5 exams taking a half day each - Certified Internal Auditor. The failure rate rivals CPA exams. My QMS "lead auditor" training certification class, in contrast, was a joke - open book test at the end of a week session. I don't think anyone failed.
Welcome to the Cove! :bigwave:

QMS auditing is very different from the subjects you cite, which I could argue are more technical than analytical and QMS auditors must have interviewing skills that can thwart some otherwise really smart people. However, if it helps to say so I'll be taking a three day AIAG course for auditing automotive management systems - and I must then pass all ten hour-long test modules in order to do 3rd party audits for TS 16949.
 
S

Shady M Salman

#24
in short

Quality Audit is auditing the quality of the QMS, its processes products and services. this is usually within the quality department, this audit is compliance audit

whereas, Internal audit is risk based audit, refers to the internal function within the organization who report independently and directly to the board. their main agenda is the following:
1 financial risks, its controls and implementation measures
2. Strategical risks ts controls and implementation measures
operational risks (its inputs derived from different audits such as quality, HSE, BCM ...etc) ts controls and implementation measures
3. reputation risks ts controls and implementation measures
4. legal risks ts controls and implementation measures
...etc


I Hope this clear the difference.
 
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