Auditor competence, personal attributes and ethical conduct
What competence means
ISO 19011 clause 7 defines competence as the ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve intended results. It has three strands: personal attributes, knowledge and skills (generic, discipline-specific and sector-specific) and the evaluation that demonstrates them.
Personal attributes expected of an auditor include being ethical, open-minded, diplomatic, observant, perceptive, versatile, tenacious, decisive, self-reliant, acting with fortitude, open to improvement, culturally sensitive and collaborative. Generic knowledge covers audit principles, methods and management system standards; discipline knowledge covers QMS requirements, the process approach, sector practice and applicable legal requirements; skills include interviewing, note-taking, report writing, sampling, planning and using technology.
Competence is developed through a cycle: identify needs, plan, provide (training, coaching, shadowing), evaluate (examination, observation, report review, feedback from the team) and maintain through continuing professional development.
Ethical traps
- Offering or accepting gifts and hospitality that could influence judgement - decline politely and record the offer.
- An auditee pressing to soften or withdraw a finding - integrity and fair presentation require the finding to stand on its evidence; escalate to the team leader or client.
- Disclosing client information, or using audit knowledge for personal advantage - confidentiality.
- Accepting an assignment to audit your own work or a process you advised on - self-review threat.
Rule of thumb (three-way independence test): do not audit your own work, do not audit work you advised on, and do not take on any interest you would not be comfortable disclosing in the audit report.