From Exact Extract:
Explanation for A (Sole Responsibility of Audit Team Leader):
The audit team leader is ultimately responsible for ensuring the audit team has the necessary competence and resources to conduct the audit effectively and achieve its objectives. This includes the crucial task of selecting the appropriate team members, considering their individual competencies, sector experience, and linguistic capabilities to cover the audit scope. While the certification body might provide a pool of auditors, the specific selection for a given audit is the team leader's responsibility to ensure the team is fit for purpose.
[Reference:, ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, Clause 7.3 "Audit team": This clause details the requirements for forming the audit team. Specifically, Clause 7.3.2 "Selection of the audit team" states, "The certification body shall select the audit team, including the audit team leader and technical experts, as required, for the specific audit." While the CB "selects," in practice, the audit team leader is often delegated or directly responsible for the specific selection of their team members based on the audit's needs, and the CB formally approves. The team leader's direct involvement in team composition is critical for audit effectiveness. This is a task that cannot be fully delegated to individual team members or entirely to an administrative role within the certification body without the team leader's input and approval., Explanation for B (Not Sole Responsibility):, While an audit team leader will certainly review, guide, or approve audit checklists, the actual compilation of detailed checklists can be performed by any competent auditor within the team, or even by a central function of the certification body. It is not exclusively the team leader's task., , Reference:, ISO 19011:2018 (Guidelines for auditing management systems), Clause 6.4.3 "Preparing documented information for the audit": This clause mentions that the audit team should prepare documented information, such as checklists, for the audit. It does not specify that this is solely the audit team leader's responsibility., Explanation for C (Not Sole Responsibility):, While the audit team leader holds the primary authority and responsibility during the audit and certainly acts as the main representative of the certification body, all members of the audit team are expected to uphold the professionalism, ethics, and procedures of the certification body. Thus, "acting on behalf of the certification body" is a collective responsibility of the entire audit team, though the leader bears the ultimate accountability., , Reference:, ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, Clause 4 "Principles": Outlines principles like impartiality, competence, and responsibility, which apply to all personnel involved in certification activities., ISO 19011:2018, Clause 5 "Principles of auditing": Principles like ethical conduct, due professional care, and independence apply to all auditors., Explanation for D (Not Sole Responsibility):, Identifying non-conformances is a fundamental responsibility of every auditor on the team. Each auditor, as they review documented information, conduct interviews, and observe processes in their assigned areas, is expected to identify and report any non-conformities against the audit criteria. The team leader then reviews, consolidates, and ensures proper categorization and documentation of these non-conformances, but they are not the sole identifier., , Reference:, ISO 19011:2018, Clause 6.4.8 "Conducting audit activities": States that "evidence of conformity and nonconformity should be collected." This is an activity carried out by all auditors., ISO 19011:2018, Clause 6.4.9 "Identifying and recording audit information": Specifies that "audit findings... shall be recorded." This applies to all auditors., , , ]
