Leading the audit team: communications, conflict and competence
The team leader's role
Plan and allocate work, brief and guide team members, manage the interface with the auditee, control the schedule, resolve disagreements within the team, and take responsibility for the report. The leader represents the audit team, but cannot unilaterally change the audit scope or criteria - those are agreed with the client.
Competence (ISO 19011)
Competence is the ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve intended results. It requires knowledge of the standard, Annex A and risk concepts, of the organisation's technology and legal context; skills in interviewing, note-taking, analysis and reporting; and personal attributes such as ethical conduct, open-mindedness, diplomacy, perceptiveness, tenacity and decisiveness. Competence is evaluated, maintained and improved, and may be supplemented by technical experts who work under the leader's direction.
Communication
Run an opening meeting covering purpose, scope, criteria, method, confidentiality, health and safety, and escalation routes; hold short daily team meetings to re-plan; close with a meeting that presents findings factually and states next steps. Keep the auditee informed of accumulating evidence so nothing arrives as a surprise.
Conflicts and objectivity
Conflicts of interest include prior consultancy, auditing a function the auditor manages, or close personal relationships. Certification bodies ordinarily apply a cooling-off period (commonly two years) after consultancy; declare and avoid conflicts rather than rely on good intentions. Handle disagreement factually and privately, escalate through agreed channels, and record unresolved divergent opinions in the report rather than suppressing them ('fair presentation').
Traps
- Letting a team member issue a finding the leader has not reviewed.
- Treating an auditee's disagreement as a reason to weaken valid evidence.
- Assuming technical expertise substitutes for audit competence.
Rule of thumb
Praise in public, challenge in private, and put every disputed point in writing with the evidence attached.