You are the audit team leader conducting a third-party audit of an online insurance company.

The three options of the correct responses of an audit team leader to the request of the Technical Director are:

B. Advise the Technical Director that his request will be included in the audit report.

D. Advise the Technical Director that the nonconformity must stand since the evidence obtained for it was clear.

H. State that a follow up audit will be necessary to review the evidence for the updated Statement of Applicability.

B. This response is correct because the audit team leader should document the request of the Technical Director and include it in the audit report, along with the audit findings and conclusions12. This will ensure transparency and traceability of the audit process and the audit results.

D. This response is correct because the audit team leader should not withdraw the nonconformity based on the amended Statement of Applicability alone. The nonconformity was raised against clause 6.1.3.e of ISO 27001:2022, which requires the organisation to produce and maintain a risk treatment plan that defines how the information security risks are treated, including the controls selected and their implementation status34. The Statement of Applicability is only one part of the risk treatment plan, and it does not provide sufficient evidence that the controls have been implemented effectively. The audit team leader should base the nonconformity on the objective evidence obtained during the audit, not on the subjective claims of the auditee12.

H. This response is correct because the audit team leader should state that a follow up audit will be necessary to review the evidence for the updated Statement of Applicability. A follow up audit is an audit that is conducted after a previous audit to verify the implementation and effectiveness of the corrective actions and/or opportunities for improvement that were agreed upon as a result of the previous audit56. The follow up audit should seek to ensure that the nonconformity has been effectively addressed and that the ISMS is compliant and effective. The follow up audit should also consider any new or changed risks or requirements that may affect the ISMS56.

References:

1: PECB Candidate Handbook - ISO 27001 Lead Auditor, page 25 2: ISO 19011:2018 - Guidelines for auditing management systems, clause 6.7 3: ISO/IEC 27001:2022 - Information technology — Security techniques — Information security management systems — Requirements, clause 6.1.3.e 4: ISO/IEC 27005:2022 - Information technology — Security techniques — Information security risk management, clause 8.3.2 5: PECB Candidate Handbook - ISO 27001 Lead Auditor, page 25 6: ISO 19011:2018 - Guidelines for auditing management systems, clause 6.7