ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Training

Module 6 Conducting On-site Activities 

6.1.5.10 Closing Meeting
The closing meeting is the concluding meeting of the audit and is the formal presentation by the team of the findings and conclusions of the audit. Participants should include the auditee and may also include the audit client and other parties. In many instances, for example internal audits in a small organization, the closing meeting may consist of just communicating the audit findings and conclusions. For other audit situations, the meeting should be formal and minutes, including records of attendance, should be kept.

ISO 9000 Auditor Training - Any diverging opinions regarding the audit findings and/or conclusions between the audit team and the auditee should be discussed and resolved. If not resolved, all opinions should be recorded.

If specified by audit objectives, recommendations for improvements should be presented. It should be emphasized that recommendations are not binding.
The way the meeting is carried out is by conventions developed over the years in which audits have been carried out. As long as the auditee management understands the findings and agrees to the facts surrounding them before the team leaves, the team leader and team have done their job.

Promptly, at the agreed time, the team should make themselves available for the meeting. The team leader chairs the meeting. The team leader should take the initiative and work through the agenda as prepared during the audit team meeting.

The following points need to be covered in some form:

1. List of Attendees
The team leader or the second auditor passes around an attendance list with name and position to be entered by each attendee.

2. Thanks
The team leader should thank the company on behalf of the team for their help, time, etc. If the organization participated in the audit in an open fashion, the team leader should say so and thank them for it. If this was not the case, then silence on the subject is preferred. The team leader should also thank the guides for their assistance.

3. Objectives, Scope, and Criteria
As a formality, and to ensure that the basis for the audit is not in doubt, the objectives, scope, and criteria should be restated. This is for a number of practical reasons. There is usually no real doubt about this in the organization because it has been discussed and agreed before the audit took place. However, some of the people attending the closing meeting may not have been present at the opening meeting and are not necessarily aware of everything that has happened in between. Audits cover a lot of ground, some of it irrelevant (not too much in a well-planned audit). The objectives can become hazy. Therefore, the statement by the team leader of the objective and scope resets the context of the audit.

4. Report
The audit conclusions on system effectiveness will be formally reported and the results to be given to the auditee should be described.
5. Limitations
It bears repetition that the audit was a sample of activities and is, therefore, subject to the risks associated with sampling. Not every conforming or nonconforming area was seen, only a representative selection. Therefore, the possibility exists that there are additional nonconformities in areas not covered by this audit.
ISO 900 Auditor Training - It is recommended that the auditors develop a standard statement covering the essence of the above in their own words, although many Registrars include the appropriate wording in their report documents.

6. Confidentiality
The lead auditor should reassure the auditee that everything seen or heard during the audit is kept in strict confidence. Any documents provided to the audit team will be returned before the auditors leave the premises.   

7. Audit Summary
The audit results should be summarized for presentation to management. Do not forget to start your presentation with ‘accentuating the positive’. Based on your audit, provide sincere and factual feedback on the QMS strengths – departments, processes, resources, controls, documentation, etc. Nonconformity findings may be grouped by functional area (department), clause of the standard, and severity level (major, minor, or concern). Findings could also be categorized by type of failure, for example, intent (defined processes and documentation), implementation (practices), or effectiveness (results).  

8. Presentation of Nonconformities
It is recommended that the nonconformities be read out one after the other until they have all been presented, although it might be necessary to give a summary.

In some cases, the auditee representatives will have copies of the nonconformities, if some were agreed earlier. There are different schools of thought about giving copies of the nonconformities to the auditees at the time of the closing meeting. Generally, there are few disadvantages, and it is recommended here as good practice. There is then no need for auditees to try to make notes. It is also recommended that the nonconformities be read from the report rather than trying to describe them. This limits the tendency to add unnecessary words and comments that should not be necessary if the nonconformity statement is complete in all respects.

Reading the statements also encourages less experienced auditors to present the nonconformities in a clear, firm voice and not apologetically.
Nonconformities may be agreed with the Management Representative or authorized person. Signature usually designates acceptance, however, there will be times when the auditee may disagree with a particular nonconformity and not accept it. In this case, the signature may simply denote acknowledgment of receipt of the nonconformity.

9. Agreement
Each of the nonconformities presented was based on the facts agreed to earlier by a departmental representative. Although agreement was reached at that time, the wording of the nonconformity is unlikely to have been at its most complete and concise. Either at review meetings, or at the Closing Meeting, these nonconformities are signed by the auditee to acknowledge receipt and understanding of the content.

10. Recommendation
The team leader is responsible for presenting the conclusion reached by the team based on the audit results. This is the “informed judgement” of the auditors. It must consider the seriousness of any nonconformities and whether they indicate a departmental or company wide breakdown of the system. The conclusion must be balanced with positive findings made during the audit.

ISO 9000 Training - The recommendation must also reflect what effect the results of the audit will have on the future relationship between the two organizations. Thus, if it is a second party audit, the auditors will have to make recommendations to their own company about business with the auditee. The auditors are often limited in what they are allowed to say to the auditee. Few auditors actually make the purchasing decision, for example. However, they should leave the auditee with a clear idea where they stand.

If it is a third party audit, the team leader has to state whether registration is recommended or not. A copy of the audit report including any nonconformities is left with the auditee.

The summary might need “tidying up”. The basic “sense” of the summary will not change, although the layout and words may be revised in the report.

11. Clarification
The auditee must have an opportunity to ask questions about the nonconformities or the summary and it would normally come at this point. The facts as stated should not be in dispute. Assuming the auditee accepts all the nonconformities or the summary, the auditor may be asked what response is necessary for the points raised. The auditors would expect the auditee to propose some corrective action in a given timeframe.

The closing meeting is not the place to discuss actual corrective action. That should be given very careful consideration by the auditee. The team leader should, therefore, state that a proposed plan of corrective action is necessary within a number of days or weeks after receipt of the report. However, if the recommendation is for a full re-audit, then it will not be necessary to submit a corrective action plan.

12. Departure
Having presented the findings and discussed them to the auditee's satisfaction, the audit team can depart, once again thanking the auditee for time, etc.
However, at various times in the past, and perhaps also to be expected in the future, audit teams are faced with the meeting not going to plan for some reason or another.

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