ABSTRACT
Market demand for management system standards has led to an increase in the number of subject and sector-specific standards. The job of the audit team is to act independently and with courage to report the truth, and for management to act in a timely manner upon that truth. There is a real and important difference between an audit opinion provided by an audit team to an auditee, and a performance appraisal handed down to a manager by their boss – though it is easy to see how they can be confused, and easy to understand why some managers find it hard to accept anything other than a 'Good' audit opinion. Since initial publication of ISO 19011 in 2002, numerous new management systems standards (MSS) have been published. The application of ISO 19011:2011 to other types of audits is possible, provided that special consideration is given to the specific competence needed.
