Lead Auditor vs. Internal Auditor

One of the major questions when training auditors is: Which is better: developing Internal Auditors or Lead Auditors? To be able to make the best decision first we have to understand what are the responsibilities of each type of auditor.

Let us first look at the internal auditor.

What does she do?

He's planning his audit. that is, identifying the process to audit, researching it, identifying audit risks and opportunities, and determining the documented information needed to demonstrate requirements compliance.
Do the audit. Their main responsibility is conducting the audit and identifying objective evidence of conformity or nonconformity with the audit criteria defined in the plan. Evidence may come from documents, observations or interviews.
To identify findings. Once an auditor identifies evidence that indicates compliance with or non-compliance with the requirements, an auditor identifies if findings exist and makes them known to the owner of an audited process.
Prepare the Audit Report. Finally, prepare the audit report describing findings and attaching objective supporting evidence, then classify the findings together with the lead auditor.
Acquiring new skills. The last of the internal auditor's responsibilities is to be involved with the development processes that have been identified to improve his or her skills.

Now let's see what the Lead Auditor does

It manages the audit program. It is responsible for defining at planned intervals how often internal and external audits should be performed.
Prepare the audit plan. For every internal audit, define its scope, objective, participating audit teams, assessment criteria, processes, dates, schedules and the people who will be audited.
To conduct an opening and closing meeting of each internal and external audit. The first is to present the audit processes, objectives and scope to the teams, and the second is to present the results.
Coach audit teams. During the audit, remain attentive to any support the teams request.
Classify audit findings. Determine the extent of noncompliance represented by a finding.
To identify the development needs of internal auditors. Provide training needs required by internal auditors.
To evaluate internal auditors. conduct internal auditor competency evaluations at planned intervals.

Another great difference

The difference between Internal Auditors and Lead Auditors is their auditing competency. Internal auditors can audit only their own system. A Lead Auditor can audit their own system, customers and, with appropriate training, other organizations for certification purposes. For the latter;

It is important to ensure that the training received has an endorsement such as that granted by Exemplar Global.

At JS Training & Consulting, we can help you develop Internal Auditors and Lead Auditors. Our training has international endorsement from Exemplar Global.