ISO's impact.

Internal auditor's experience and skills are well matched to meet the challenges and opportunities of ISO 9000.

A growing number of firms around the world have adopted the International Standardization Organization (ISO)standards on quality systems. Significant increases have occurred

Obviously, ISO 9000 registration is a management issue; but internal auditors, especially those employed in international organizations, have a stake in these worldwide standards, quality audits, and their potential impact on the internal audit function. Two years ago Roland De Meulder describes some of the risks and challenges of ISO 9000: "It seems reasonable to expect that the creation of internal quality systems auditors (QSA) will significantly impact an organization's internal audit function during the coming years. Internal quality systems auditors, who generally have technical backgrounds and are specifically trained to meet their new responsibilities, may acquire formal qualification in accordance with ISO 10011-2. A critical concern for internal auditors is that management may believe that the role of internal quality system auditors could logically be extended to include assessment of the organization's entire quality system, covering processes and/or requirements that address the needs of all stakeholders . . ."(1)

In my own organization, Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited, we are convinced that our involvement with ISO 9000 is highly positive. Although ISO 9000 does not actively foster process improvement in organizations or assure that the right things are being addressed, it does provide consistency of effort and a framework for ensuring quality. It is helping our organization to focus to an even greater extent on doing things right the first time and every time, which helps us to eliminate the need and high cost of re-work. It provides us with a structure for seeking quality within our own department, and for helping all our internal clients in their own pursuit of quality.

As one of the steps required for ISO registration, management must informally express its overall intentions and directions with regard to quality. Within the organization, each area then develops its own policies and directives based on management's plan. The quality policy of our internal audit department establishes that we are an independent appraisal function that: