Re: Key Performance Indicators for Internal Audit System
ISO 9001 requires the organisation to establish quality objectives at 'relevant functions and levels' (5.4.1) and also to 'monitor and measure' processes (8.2.3). In addition, clause 8.2.2 requires internal audits to be conducted, part of which is to verify that processes are 'effectively implemented and maintained'.
Many organisations audit purely for conformance i.e. does the practice meet the procedure - which is fine, but has limited value over time. So we encourage internal auditors to look beyond conformance and try to include an element of verification that not only are we doing what the procedure said, but is it helping us to achieve our objectives.
Obviously, we need some objectives to check against and this is where KPI's come into it. Many organisations do have departmental KPI's, if not, some can be created and we ask the internal auditor to use these as part of the audit criteria.
As for the internal audit processes itself, just like any other process it should be able to be measured for effectiveness too.