Why is it important to have a clear and agreed audit scope?

A clear and agreed audit scope ensures that the audit will adequately cover all relevant areas of the AI Management System and that the audit team understands:

Boundaries of the audit (departments, processes, AI systems)

Objectives and criteria

What must be included or excluded

As per ISO 19011:2018 – Clause 5.2, determining the audit scope is critical to ensuring the audit is effective, relevant, and complete. Similarly, in ISO/IEC 42001:2023 – Clause 9.2.1, the scope must be defined to evaluate the full effectiveness of the AIMS.

The PECB Lead Auditor Guide reinforces that without a clear scope, the audit risks missing critical operational, ethical, or compliance-related areas.