In short
Lead assessor support provides an IRCA qualified lead assessor to run or strengthen your own audit process. Equas supplies the lead auditor role for your internal audit programme, supplier and second-party audits, or acquisition due diligence, where you need qualified independent capability but want to keep ownership of the programme.
What a lead assessor support involves
This is different from outsourcing your internal audits. Here, the audit programme stays yours. What we provide is the qualified lead assessor within it.
Organisations use this in several situations.
Some have an internal audit team but no one qualified to lead it. Junior auditors can conduct audits perfectly well with a competent lead assessor planning the programme, setting the criteria, chairing opening and closing meetings and taking responsibility for the conclusions.
Some need to audit their own suppliers. Second-party auditing is a specialist job, often carried out on a supplier's site, sometimes overseas, and frequently in a commercially delicate relationship. An external lead assessor removes the awkwardness and brings a defensible methodology.
Some need independence for a specific reason: auditing a function the internal team is too close to, providing assurance to a parent company or investor, or carrying out due diligence on an acquisition target's management system.
And some simply need capacity. Audit programmes tend to fall behind when the business is busy, which is precisely when they matter most.
In every case the deliverable is the same: audits led by somebody qualified to lead them, conducted to a defensible methodology, with findings you can act on.
Who it is for
Working towards certification
Relevant if you are building your own audit capability from the start and need a qualified lead to plan and sign off the first cycle.
Already certified
The main use case. You have an audit programme and internal auditors, but need qualified leadership, independence in specific areas, or capacity to keep the schedule on track.
What is included
IRCA qualified lead auditors, matched to the standard and to your sector.
Programme planning, audit criteria, opening and closing meetings and responsibility for conclusions.
Auditing your suppliers and subcontractors on your behalf, on their site.
Your less experienced auditors work alongside a lead assessor and build competence on real audits.
For areas your own team is too close to, or where a parent company or investor requires independence.
Assessment of an acquisition target's management system and certification status.
Capacity to clear a backlog of overdue audits before a surveillance visit.
How it works
- 1
Scope agreement
We establish which audits need a lead assessor, and what your own team will continue to handle.
- 2
Assessor matching
A lead assessor is assigned based on the standards involved and your sector.
- 3
Programme and criteria
The audit plan, scope and criteria are set and agreed with you.
- 4
Audit delivery
Audits are led, with your auditors participating where that suits the plan.
- 5
Reporting and handover
Findings are reported into your system, in your format, so the record stays yours.
The most popular standards we support
Equas helps clients achieve UKAS-accredited certification across every ISO standard we cover.
The international standard for quality management systems
The international standard for environmental management systems
The international standard for IT service management
The international standard for business continuity management
The international standard for information security management
The international standard for AI management systems
The international standard for occupational health and safety
The international standard for energy management systems
Quality management for the built environment, built on ISO 9001
The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme
Frequently asked questions
Related services
Training
Upskill your team so the system does not depend on one person
Internal Auditing
Independent assurance that your system is working
Certification Audit Support
Expert support in the room when the certification body arrives