Select the words that best complete the sentence:

“In a third-party audit an observation can indicate conformity at organisation is not required to take action.”

According to the PECB Candidate Handbook1, an observation is “a statement of fact made during an audit and substantiated by objective evidence”. An observation can indicate conformity or nonconformity, but it does not require any corrective action from the audited organisation. A recommendation, on the other hand, is “a suggestion for improvement based on an observation”. A recommendation may or may not be accepted by the audited organisation.

According to the Fundamentals – Third parties2, a third-party audit is “an audit conducted by an external organisation that has the legal right to audit an organisation’s processes and procedures”. A third-party audit can result in a finding, which is “a conclusion reached by the auditor based on the audit evidence collected”. A finding can be positive or negative, depending on whether the audited organisation meets the audit criteria or not. A nonconformity is “a finding that indicates the non-fulfilment of a requirement”. A nonconformity requires corrective action from the audited organisation to prevent recurrence.