ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 clause 9.4.5.1 states that audit findings summarizing conformity and detailing nonconformity shall be identified, classified and recorded to enable an informed certification decision to be made or the certification to be maintained.
CAB uses one audit report form for all types of audits, which includes summary with some evidences of fulfilment of requirements of certification standard. There could be included the table of contents (headings) of the certification standard with markings (x) on the fulfilment of the standard requirements by the auditees/departments.
Evidences of how a certified client has met the specific standard requirements can only be found in the auditor’s records made during the audit in the free form, with or without any linkage with the certification standard. They are saved by CAB together with audit report.
In some cases, the decision maker cannot find evidences on the fulfilment of the certification criteria.
Question: could such headings of the certification standard and/or auditor notes be interpreted as minimum of information summarizing conformity as requested by clause 9.4.5.1?
Which document/guidelines/examples could be used as best practice example for documenting audit evidences on conformity?
September 2019
In ISO/IEC 17021-1 clause 9.4.8, defines the required content of an audit report. Also, required information for decision making (clauses 9.5.2, 9.5.3 and 9.5.4) and root-cause analysis (clause 9.4.9) and the evidences of effectiveness of corrective actions (clause 9.4.10) (if available) should be considered.
The information provided to decision makers and as a record of the audit does not all have to be in one document i.e. auditors’ notes can be included as part of the record as long as they are legible and traceable. The totality of records needs to confirm that all relevant aspects have been audited and should demonstrate compliance (and detail on non-compliance to enable effective corrective action by the client). The records must show how all requirements have been fulfilled.