What type of evidence is an external audit report?

Anexternal audit reportis a form ofconfirmative evidence, as it providesthird-party verificationor validation of conformance to specified criteria.

According to the PECB Lead Auditor Guide – Domain 3,confirmative evidenceincludesdocuments like certifications, prior audit results, regulatory reports, and third-party assessments.

Such evidence supports or corroborates the auditor’s findings and helps build confidence in the audit conclusions — especially when reviewingAI systems that may require external validation for ethical or technical robustness.