Management Systems Internal Auditing Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Internal Auditors, Quality Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-QP-035

Before you join: Participants should understand their organisation's core processes, documented procedures and basic management system terminology.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Internal auditors must test whether management system processes meet stated requirements, produce intended results and address operational risks. Poorly planned audits can become clause-by-clause inspections that miss process failures, while weak evidence or vague findings can create disputes and ineffective corrective actions. Organisations need auditors who can assess conformity impartially, identify meaningful gaps and report conclusions that management can act on.

This course develops the methods used for first-party management systems audits, based principally on ISO 19011 guidance. Participants learn to interpret audit criteria, apply the process approach and PDCA cycle, develop risk-based audit programmes, prepare audit plans and conduct evidence-based interviews. They practise following audit trails through processes, selecting samples, recording objective evidence, writing nonconformities and assessing corrective-action effectiveness. Examples draw on quality, environmental and occupational health and safety management systems.

Instruction combines short technical briefings with cases, group audit planning, interview simulations, evidence-review tasks and report-writing work. Participants work with realistic records such as process maps, procedures, performance data, customer complaints, training records and corrective-action logs. Each participant leaves with a reusable internal audit toolkit containing planning, evidence, reporting and follow-up materials, plus a 30-day plan for applying the methods in their own workplace. The course is delivered over five instructor-led days in a classroom or live online format and includes a certificate of completion.

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret ISO 19011 audit principles and management system audit requirements
  • Plan a risk-based internal audit programme using process performance data
  • Prepare audit plans, checklists and sampling plans against defined criteria
  • Conduct opening meetings, process-based interviews and evidence-gathering activities
  • Collect and evaluate objective evidence through observation, document review and triangulation
  • Write clear nonconformity statements linked to requirements and verified evidence
  • Evaluate corrective-action plans using root cause and effectiveness verification methods
  • Produce audit reports and follow-up records suitable for management review

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Conduct internal audits with a repeatable evidence-based method
  • Write findings that withstand challenge from process owners
  • Interview staff confidently without leading or accusatory questioning
  • Assess corrective actions beyond simple completion of action lists
  • Build credibility for internal auditor and management system roles

For your organisation

  • More consistent audit coverage of critical processes and operational risks
  • Clearer findings that shorten debate and corrective-action delays
  • Earlier detection of control failures, recurring defects and documentation gaps
  • Better evidence for management review and external certification audits
  • Stronger corrective-action follow-up and reduced repeat nonconformities

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can explain the purpose, principles and boundaries of internal management systems audits.

  • Purpose, scope and value of first-party management system audits
  • ISO 19011 auditing principles: integrity, fair presentation and due care
  • Evidence-based and risk-based approaches to audit planning and judgement
  • Audit criteria, objectives, scope and boundaries defined without ambiguity
  • First-, second- and third-party audits distinguished by relationship and purpose
  • Auditor independence, confidentiality and conflict-of-interest controls within assigned audit responsibilities

Participants can translate management system requirements into auditable process criteria.

  • ISO 9001 process approach: inputs, outputs, controls and performance measures
  • PDCA cycle linked to process risks, objectives and improvement
  • Annex SL high-level structure across management system standards
  • Context, interested parties and scope requirements traced to evidence
  • Documented information controls: approval, versioning, retention and access
  • Process maps and turtle diagrams used to identify audit trails

Participants can create a risk-based audit programme aligned with organisational priorities.

  • Risk-based audit programmes built from process performance and change
  • Annual audit schedules prioritised using risk, maturity and previous findings
  • Audit objectives, criteria and scope aligned with management priorities
  • Audit team selection based on competence, independence and technical knowledge
  • Resource estimates cover preparation, interviews, sampling and reporting time
  • Programme monitoring uses completion rates, findings trends and corrective-action status

Participants can prepare a focused audit plan, working papers and sampling approach.

  • Audit plans sequence opening meetings, process trails and closing meetings
  • Stage one and stage two audit logic applied appropriately
  • Checklists derived from clauses, process controls and identified risks
  • Sampling plans define populations, sample sizes and selection rationale
  • Remote audit arrangements address access, security and communication protocols
  • Working papers organise evidence, notes, records and interview questions

Participants can manage audit activities while following process trails and maintaining impartiality.

  • Opening meetings confirm objectives, scope, methods, roles and timetable
  • Process-based auditing follows inputs, activities, outputs and performance measures
  • Audit trails connect customer requirements through delivery and feedback
  • Time management techniques preserve coverage when evidence changes direction
  • Professional conduct maintains impartiality during difficult audit interactions
  • Daily team briefings reconcile evidence, gaps and emerging issues

Participants can obtain, record and corroborate objective evidence during an audit.

  • Interview funnel technique moves from open questions to focused verification
  • Active listening separates explanations, assumptions and verifiable facts
  • Triangulation compares interviews, documents, observations and system data
  • Audit sampling tests representative evidence without claiming statistical certainty
  • Objective evidence recorded using source, date, location and requirement
  • Conflicting evidence resolved through follow-up questions and expanded sampling

Participants can evaluate evidence and state findings accurately against defined requirements.

  • Nonconformity statements link unmet requirements, evidence and precise locations
  • Major and minor nonconformities classified using defined organisational criteria
  • Observations and opportunities for improvement kept distinct from findings
  • Five Whys and fishbone diagrams support cause analysis boundaries
  • Correction, corrective action and preventive thinking distinguished clearly
  • Finding grading calibrated through evidence review and peer challenge

Participants can communicate audit conclusions clearly, factually and professionally.

  • Audit reports present scope, criteria, methods, evidence and conclusions
  • Executive summaries communicate material risks without unsupported opinions
  • Finding wording uses requirement, evidence and statement of nonconformity
  • Closing meetings present results factually and handle disagreement professionally
  • Report review checks traceability, accuracy, confidentiality and timely issue
  • Follow-up dates, owners and verification methods recorded in action logs

Participants can assess whether corrective actions address causes and prevent recurrence.

  • Corrective-action requests specify containment, cause, action and due dates
  • Root cause analysis distinguishes systemic causes from individual errors
  • CAPA plans assign owners, resources, milestones and effectiveness measures
  • Effectiveness verification tests implementation, results and recurrence prevention
  • Repeated findings analysed for trends, systemic weakness and escalation
  • Management review inputs convert audit results into improvement decisions

Participants can assess their audit competence and plan a supervised workplace audit.

  • Auditor competence criteria cover knowledge, skills, behaviour and sector expertise
  • Personal audit development plans target observed competence gaps
  • Ethical dilemmas assessed using independence, evidence and escalation routes
  • Integrated audits coordinate quality, environmental and occupational safety requirements
  • Audit metrics measure programme value, closure performance and recurring issues
  • Thirty-day application plans schedule a supervised workplace audit

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Risk-based audit programme template
  2. Process-based audit plan template
  3. Audit checklist and sampling worksheet
  4. Objective evidence recording form
  5. Nonconformity statement guide
  6. Corrective-action effectiveness verification checklist

Who should attend

  • Internal Auditors — need a disciplined method for planning, conducting and reporting audits
  • Quality Managers — oversee audit programmes and need consistent findings across departments
  • Operations Managers — require audits that test process control and performance results
  • Compliance Officers — need defensible evidence trails against management system requirements
  • Environmental and HSE Professionals — conduct or support integrated management system audits
  • Process Owners — need to prepare for audits and respond effectively to findings

Skills and tools covered

Audit programme planningProcess-based auditingEvidence evaluationAudit interviewingNonconformity reportingCorrective-action verification

Tools and standards

ISO 19011:2018, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish ISO 19011 methods, followed by realistic audit cases and group work. Participants prepare audit programmes, plans, checklists and sampling approaches from supplied management system information. Interview simulations build questioning, listening and evidence-recording skills. Teams review records, test evidence against requirements, classify findings and draft audit reports. Corrective-action cases are used to assess root cause, action quality and effectiveness verification. Individual application planning connects the course tools to a forthcoming workplace audit.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand their organisation's core processes, documented procedures and basic management system terminology. Familiarity with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 or a similar standard is helpful, particularly for those who will audit against those requirements. Some workplace experience in quality, operations, compliance, environmental management or health and safety is expected. Prior auditing experience is not required, and participants do not need to hold a lead auditor qualification, statistical qualification or formal certification.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand your organisation's processes and have basic familiarity with management system documents such as procedures, records and objectives. Prior internal audit experience is helpful but not required.

Bring examples of your organisation's audit forms, procedures or a management system standard if these can be shared appropriately. You will not need specialist audit software or statistical tools.

It suits new and developing internal auditors, quality professionals, compliance staff, HSE professionals and process owners. It is also useful for managers who supervise audit programmes or receive audit findings.

This course focuses on planning and conducting internal, first-party audits within your own organisation. Lead auditor programmes commonly prepare participants for external certification or supplier audits and place greater emphasis on leading formal audit teams.

Participants can use the planning, evidence, reporting and follow-up templates for an upcoming internal audit. The final application plan identifies a suitable audit, stakeholders, required documents and early preparation actions.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours, excluding breaks. Time is divided between instruction, cases, planning work, interview simulations, evidence review, report writing and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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