Quality assurance and effectiveness of audit systems

Quality audits are prominent and proven management tools for assessing compliance and effectiveness of quality systems. They are commonly used in the effort to improve overall business performance. However, similarly to any other physical or conceptual system, they may fail to achieve objectives set forth, raising concerns among auditees and clients alike. Argues for the provision of adequate confidence to various interested parties in the quality of auditing services. A quality audit is conceptualized using the systems approach. Subsequently, a quality assurance framework based on the application of the 1994 and 2000 versions of the ISO 9001 standard in auditing is presented. Audit system effectiveness is modeled using the concepts of audit reliability, availability and suitability. Audit failures, risks and maintainability are addressed in detail. It is concluded that audit managers must ensure appropriate levels of quality and effectiveness of quality audit systems.