1st Party Audit Being Practiced Like 3rd Party Audit

 

In recent years of my 3rd party audit and assessment works, I'm seeing trend of internal audit aka 1st party audit is being conducted exactly like the 3rd party audit. Consequently, the internal audit fails to initiate timely correction of non-compliance on real-time basis and unable to prevent potential occurrence of non-compliance.

In fact, the organization accepts the idea that it is alright for management system's PDCA cycle is "broken" in-between its annual internal audit. Internal audit is one of the management system's quality assurance tool which is meant to ensure the organization continuously maintains its 365-day operation complying to its own policy, objectives and customers/ stakeholders expectation (stated/ implied/ obligatory). Conducting internal audit once a-year in several days does not reflect comprehension of continuous improvements of the operation that emphasizes prevention of failure thru timely corrections, corrective actions and preventive actions.  

The 3rd party audit by the certification/ accreditation body is meant to attest the organization has implemented/ maintains its implementation of the management system in accordance to requirements of the selected standards. It does not have adequate strength to replace the internal audit program performed by staff who knows in-depth the daily operational processes that transform the allocated inputs to the expected outputs, using available resources under real-time constraints within the inherent organizational behaviour.

Thus, the implementation of the internal audit program illustrates the sincerity by management to continuously improve their management system or just for the sake to fulfill the certification/accreditation body expectation, i.e. "Melepaskan batok di tangga". 

 

Note: About the photo, it shows the an old traditional practice of Malay culture to place an earthen jar in front of house next to staircase. A dipper made of coconut shell is known as "batok" in malay language. It is used to take water to wash feet before going into the house. Those days, people walk bare footed. There is an old Malay proverb "Melepaskan batok di tangga", translated in English "Leaving dipper on the staircase". It is a bad manner of a person when he does not place the place back the dipper on the cover of the jar, after washing his feet. The proverb is said when someone does something just for the sake of doing it without comprehension.