As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis famously wrote, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”

In the field of quality, internal audits are the equivalent of sunlight. Like spring cleaning, internal audits provide the opportunity to bring process issues into the open before they become external challenges like customer complaints, warning letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and recalls.

It’s one reason why internal audits are a basic requirement under ISO standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 13485, and ISO 45001. However, if compliance is the only reason you’re conducting audits you’ll get minimal results from your efforts.

With that in mind, this article explores nine strategies for more effective internal audits, looking beyond mere audit readiness to focus on extracting maximum value from this labor-intensive effort.

1. Understand the benefits of internal audits

The first strategy for more effective internal audits is knowing—and communicating with your team—why you’re conducting internal audits in the first place. The key message: Internal audits aren’t just about meeting compliance.

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