My Reading on ASQ CQA HB Part I-IA~IE-s

Part IE1
Techniques
Several techniques are available to the auditor to ensure that proprietary information remains proprietary.
• No Note, Only Memory
When auditing in an undisclosed area (The area could be intellectual or physical area?) , the auditor can rely
on memory and not write audit notes. Any notes could become accessible to the public and would be
discoverable in litigation. An auditor can ―audit around‖ an undisclosed area. The auditor needs to be very
flexible to be able to accomplish audit objectives when the auditee erects barriers.
• Check Input
A company may be in the process of getting a patent on a new method, for example, and may flatly refuse to
allow the auditor to view a certain portion of that system. In these instances, the auditor must respect the
auditee’s wishes and audit around the undisclosed area. If the inputs going into the undisclosed area appear to
be correct and the outputs are likewise acceptable, then the auditor may assume that the undisclosed process
is doing its job correctly.
• Interview Personnel Away From Undisclosed Area (physical area?)
Another technique is to remove personnel from the undisclosed area for interviews.
• Partial Review of Document or Auditee Certify Relevant Document in Place
The auditor can view parts of a document or have the auditee certify it. A company sometimes will refuse to
allow an auditor to look at the procedure for a certain process even though a written procedure is required. To
verify that the procedure exists, the auditor can ask the auditee to certify that the procedure does exist and that
it covers the relevant process. The auditee may allow the auditor to view non-confidential sections of the
document. The auditor may never actually view all the details but should do as much as practical to ensure that
a procedure does exist and is approved for use.
Such situations often resolve themselves on subsequent audits involving the same parties. As an auditee
becomes more comfortable with the audit team and places greater trust in the ethics of the team members, the
need to limit access to certain areas often becomes nonexistent.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang