The ISO Certification Audit Poster serves as a cheat sheet to prepare auditees of an organization for an upcoming ISO management system (e.g. ISO 9001:2015 QMS) audit by an ISO certification body. It provides practical tips on how to handle an audit session, and the do's and don'ts when interacting with auditors. The poster comes in two themes: color and monochrome. Formatted in PDF and in editable PPTX, the poster can be easily printed on an A3-sized paper from an office copier machine and displayed on employee workstations, or distributed together with your briefing session handouts. The poster complements our ISO 9001:2015 and other similar awareness training presentation material. It is an excellent takeaway material and summary of your internal employee briefing session. The ISO Certification Audit Poster consists of the following key information: 1. Key focus of ISO certification audit 2. Principles of ISO management system auditing 3. How to handle an audit session? 4. Auditee's conduct 5. Interacting with auditors - Do's 6. Interacting with auditors - Don'ts 7. Types of ISO audit findings

1. ISO Certification Audit
© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved.
§ Do not panic
§ Ask and clarify
§ Admit obvious non-conformities
§ Offer evidence and explain patiently
§ Take note of improvement areas
highlighted by the auditor
§ Show internal audit report, when
necessary
HOW TO HANDLE AN AUDIT SESSION?
§ Be polite
§ Be professional
§ Be positive or receptive
§ Be sincere
§ Demonstrate commitment
§ Be formal but not overly serious
AUDITEE’S CONDUCT
1. Be honest and open
2. Recognize they may be experts
3. Realize they may not be subject matter
experts
4. Understand the purpose of the meeting
and review related records prior to
interviews
5. Turn mobile phones to silent mode
6. Get the right person in to answer the
question
7. Listen carefully and understand each
question before answering – Be sure
responses are complete and accurate
8. If you don’t understand the question,
ask the auditor to clarify
9. Respond only to the question asked –
keep answer simple and direct
10.If you don’t know the answer, tell the
auditor – I don’t know
11.Weigh answers carefully, being certain
you have the facts to back them up
12.Limit comments to areas where you
have “first-hand” knowledge
INTERACTING WITH AUDITORS – DO’S
1. Assume auditors are familiar with your
organization’s ISO management system
2. Challenge auditors
3. Show more competence in the ISO
management system standard (e.g. ISO
9001)
4. Argue internally
5. Express unfairness
6. Ask for solution
7. Fix non-conformities on the spot
8. Speculate or answer hypothetical
questions
9. Agree or disagree with opinions
10.“Ramble” or provide irrelevant
information (such as office gossip)
11.Get offended by ‘why’ questions
12.Sign anything on behalf of the company
INTERACTING WITH AUDITORS – DON’TS
PRINCIPLES OF ISO MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AUDITING
KEY FOCUS OF ISO CERTIFICATION AUDIT
A major non-
conformity relates to
the absence or total
breakdown of a
required process or
a number of minor
non-conformities
listed against similar
areas.
TYPES OF ISO AUDIT FINDINGS
A minor non-
conformity is an
observed lapse in
the system’s ability
to meet the
requirements of the
standard or your
internal systems,
while the overall
process remains
intact.
An observation or
opportunity for
improvement relates
to a matter about
which the Auditor is
concerned but
which cannot be
clearly stated as a
non-conformity.
Minor
Non-conformity
Major
Non-conformity
Observation
To determine the effectiveness of the ISO
Management System (e.g. ISO 9001) in achieving
the organization’s objectives and in providing
products and services that conform to customer
and applicable regulatory requirements.

2. ISO Certification Audit
© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved.
§ Do not panic
§ Ask and clarify
§ Admit obvious non-conformities
§ Offer evidence and explain patiently
§ Take note of improvement areas
highlighted by the auditor
§ Show internal audit report, when
necessary
HOW TO HANDLE AN AUDIT SESSION?
§ Be polite
§ Be professional
§ Be positive or receptive
§ Be sincere
§ Demonstrate commitment
§ Be formal but not overly serious
AUDITEE’S CONDUCT
1. Be honest and open
2. Recognize they may be experts
3. Realize they may not be subject matter
experts
4. Understand the purpose of the meeting
and review related records prior to
interviews
5. Turn mobile phones to silent mode
6. Get the right person in to answer the
question
7. Listen carefully and understand each
question before answering – Be sure
responses are complete and accurate
8. If you don’t understand the question,
ask the auditor to clarify
9. Respond only to the question asked –
keep answer simple and direct
10.If you don’t know the answer, tell the
auditor – I don’t know
11.Weigh answers carefully, being certain
you have the facts to back them up
12.Limit comments to areas where you
have “first-hand” knowledge
INTERACTING WITH AUDITORS – DO’S
1. Assume auditors are familiar with your
organization’s ISO management system
2. Challenge auditors
3. Show more competence in the ISO
management system standard (e.g. ISO
9001)
4. Argue internally
5. Express unfairness
6. Ask for solution
7. Fix non-conformities on the spot
8. Speculate or answer hypothetical
questions
9. Agree or disagree with opinions
10.“Ramble” or provide irrelevant
information (such as office gossip)
11.Get offended by ‘why’ questions
12.Sign anything on behalf of the company
INTERACTING WITH AUDITORS – DON’TS
PRINCIPLES OF ISO MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AUDITING
KEY FOCUS OF ISO CERTIFICATION AUDIT
To determine the effectiveness of the ISO
Management System (e.g. ISO 9001) in achieving
the organization’s objectives and in providing
products and services that conform to customer
and applicable regulatory requirements.
A major non-
conformity relates to
the absence or total
breakdown of a
required process or
a number of minor
non-conformities
listed against similar
areas.
TYPES OF ISO AUDIT FINDINGS
A minor non-
conformity is an
observed lapse in
the system’s ability
to meet the
requirements of the
standard or your
internal systems,
while the overall
process remains
intact.
An observation or
opportunity for
improvement relates
to a matter about
which the Auditor is
concerned but
which cannot be
clearly stated as a
non-conformity.
Minor
Non-conformity
Major
Non-conformity
Observation

3. © Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved. 3
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