There are three (3) options to choose from when it comes to auditing courses available.
They are Internal Auditor, Lead Auditor and Lead Auditor Skill Set.
Which Auditing course is for you?
So where do you start? Which one is right for you and your current or future pathway?
I’ll explain each one of these and also share with you what I course I completed to get me through to where I am today.
Internal Auditor vs External Auditor qualification
When I first started out, I was an internal auditor. I built and maintained a quality management system.
Of course, part of that role included internal auditing. The training that I did back then was a Lead Auditor qualification.
I picked lead auditor because it allowed me to continue all the way through to becoming an external auditor or a certification auditor.
I did this because when I first started out, even though I was an internal auditor, I had these great big dreams of what I wanted to do further down the track, so I went straight for that lead auditor qualification.
The qualification served me perfectly as an internal auditor still and then I was able to transition seamlessly to a self-employed contractor and certification auditor.
Now, if you’re a little bit different to me and you're happy with the internal auditor role where you are, then do the internal auditor course!
That's absolutely fine. You'll get the qualification, just the same and it will serve you perfectly for that role.
What’s different about internal audits then?
I do actually think the challenge with internal audits is that you're dealing with people that you work with.
So, the relationships are a bit more challenging because you're there in an audit capacity, reviewing what they're doing, raising any nonconformance or improvement opportunities. You have to manage that relationship a bit more and it can be a bit challenging because you still stay in that same environment.
There are little tweaks along the way that are important for you as an internal auditor to take into consideration.
As an external auditor – well the name says it all – you are coming from a third party, external perspective. You don't have that challenge of managing day-to-day working relationships.
I always joke about this. As an external auditor you go in and find stuff wrong and leave!
It's not really like that 😊, but it does explain the separation a bit more compared to an internal auditor.
Lead Auditor Skill Set
We do also have the qualification called Lead Auditor Skill Set (BSBSS00128). This course includes the following:
- BSBAUD511 Initiate a quality audit
- BSBAUD411 Participate in a quality audit
- BSBAUD512 Lead a quality audit
- BSBAUD513 Report on a quality audit
So, if you are working in this space, I would recommend checking whether this qualification is what they are after.
If you're not working in that sector and you're a freelance contractor working with all types of businesses, I would recommend the Lead auditor qualification because it will get you all the way through without the need to add this BSB qualification on as well.
What now?
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