ISO 19011:2018 Guidelines for Auditing Management Systems

ISO 19011 is defined as the standard that sets forth guidelines for auditing management systems. The standard contains guidance on managing an audit program, the principles of auditing, and the evaluation of individuals responsible for managing the audit programs. An audit program consists of the arrangements made to complete all of the individual audits needed to achieve a specific purpose.

ISO 19011:2018 provides valuable information on how to improve an audit program systematically, just as other departments in an organization are expected to improve. One aspect of such improvement is continuously ensuring the audit program objectives are in line with the management system policies and objectives. Organizations, in pushing for auditing improvements, should consider the needs of customers and other interested parties.

An area of increasing importance in auditing management systems and business in general is the concept of risk. As of the 2011 edition, risk has been integrated throughout the audit program management section of the ISO 19011:2018 standard.