IRCA | International Register of Certificated Auditors

🥳 IRCA QMS Lead Auditor Mohammed Azeem Baikampady, PCQI: "I began my journey in 2013 as a Quality Engineer on a construction site, working in quality control and inspections. Being directly involved in site execution gave me a strong understanding of how quality directly impacts safety, cost, schedule, and client confidence. Over time, I realised that true excellence comes not from correcting defects, but from building systems that prevent them, which led me to transition into quality assurance and auditing. In 2017, I completed my Internal Auditor training with Bureau Veritas, strengthening my foundation in management systems and compliance. In 2021, I completed the ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor course, officially beginning my auditing journey. Since then, I have conducted more than 100 internal and second-party audits across NEOM-wide and other giga infrastructure projects, supporting governance, risk-based thinking, and ISO aligned system implementation. I served as a Quality Compliance Manager with Bureau Veritas KSA, seconded to NEOM, where I played a key role in strengthening regulatory compliance frameworks and audit oversight across large-scale developments. In 2026, I successfully obtained my IRCA QMS Lead Auditor registration, further reinforcing my professional credibility in quality leadership. Today, I work as a Quality Manager with PROGER s.p.a. in KSA, driving structured QMS implementation, audit programs, and continuous improvement initiatives across complex projects. In addition, earning ASQ-CCQM® reflects my continued commitment to construction quality excellence, accountability, and performance-driven systems. 'Quality is not about finding faults, it’s about building systems that prevent them'”

5 highlights from our new Quality World magazine that is accessible, audit-focused, and learning-ready. Mapped to the CQI Profession Map — and easier to read with one click: - IRCA Principal Auditor Kevin Rogers CQP MCQI explains the importance of auditing design and development review as part of product or service fulfilment - IRCA Principal Auditor Anthony Eze CQP MCQI: "Audits often default to mechanical compliance checks, but the real value emerges when people feel safe enough to speak honestly about how work is done" - "A risk-based perspective allows auditors to look deeper, identify these gaps and focus attention where it matters most," IRCA Lead Auditor Milfer Ashraf Ali CQP MCQI outlines the importance of auditing in building organisational resilience - Framing the future: interview with Adam Leon Smith DEng FBCS, Chair of The Artificial Intelligence Quality Infrastructure AIQI Consortium established in 2024 to support global quality infrastructure bodies in developing safe, secure and ethical AI technologies - Ethical dilemma An auditor faces time pressure when presenting audit findings to a quality manager. How should they handle this situation? 3 answers by Richard Brett CQP MCQI, Andy N. CQP FCQI, Lindsay Rokosh PCQI and Miloni Thakker PCQI And so much more is available free to members in the Members’ Area https://ow.ly/cSzZ50Yz4zv

"In my first month as a quality analyst, a single incident in our customer care function forced me to choose between remaining a ‘nice colleague’ or acting as a trusted assurance professional," Salman B., IRCA QMS Internal Auditor, Saudi real estate development company. " My role included monitoring customer care performance through our customer relationship management (CRM) system and preparing data for a weekly management meeting. On paper it was a straightforward responsibility: analyse the numbers, highlight trends, and support continual improvement. In reality, it meant looking closely at how colleagues were using the system and whether the records could be trusted as a basis for decisions. That is where the tension between popularity and integrity first became real for me. Before one of these weekly meetings, I noticed something unusual. Around 30 chats were closed in the system at almost exactly the same time, yet there were no corresponding updates in the CRM records for those customers. There were no notes, no status changes and no clear evidence of what had actually happened in those interactions. On the day of the meeting, that same colleague called in sick. From a quality perspective, this pattern raised immediate questions about the integrity of our data and the reliability of the performance indicators that management would see. Find out what happened next https://ow.ly/TnsC50YwTIE

🥳 QMS Associate Auditor Kakada Moul, PCQI: "I’m currently the only Cambodian member of IRCA. My journey into the world of quality began through a combination of curiosity, adaptability, and a strong desire to improve organisational performance. I hope hearing about my journey encourages more Cambodian professionals to pursue quality and auditing as a career path, contributing to raising professional standards nationally and internationally. My academic background is in Management Information Systems — I hold both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in the field and I’m currently a Year 4 law student. Studying law has deepened my understanding of compliance, governance, and ethical frameworks, which perfectly complement my quality management work. Early in my career, I worked in IT management and administration, where I developed a strong appreciation for systems thinking and process improvement. I transitioned into broader management roles, particularly in Human Resources, Compliance, and Operations. I began to see how quality management systems could be applied beyond manufacturing or production, serving as a powerful tool for aligning people, processes, and strategy. This realisation inspired me to pursue formal training in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, 45001, and 27001, and eventually to qualify as a certified Quality Management System Lead Auditor. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to serve as Compliance & Quality Manager, QHSE Director, and later as Chief Operating Officer at Kim Mex Construction & Investment, roles that allowed me to apply quality principles to real business challenges. Implementing ISO 9001 across departments showed me how quality drives not just compliance, but also trust, teamwork, and sustainable growth. In 2023, I became a Chartered Quality Institute Practitioner (PCQI) and joined IRCA as a Certified Associate Auditor. It was a proud milestone for my personal career"

How can you have your say during the review cycle of an ISO standard? Find out with the food safety standard ISO 22000. Its draft international standard (DIS) stage is expected in April 2026 when any interested party can read the draft and comment on its contents. Angela Cunningham, Compliance and Quality Systems Adviser at William Grant & Sons, outlines the progress to date. When the draft international standard (DIS )is published, this is the public inquiry stage and normally lasts about 12 weeks. The comments from this DIS stage will then be collated and prepared for review at the next in-person meeting of the designated working group, WG8, in November 2026. Publication is expected in 2027, with the exact date to be confirmed nearer the time. Around 500 comments were made during the Committee draft stage, and were reviewed in November 2025. The standard is being modernised and will now include elements: Food culture – how an organisation embraces and lives through their day-to-day operations, ensuring food safety Food fraud – the deliberate substitution, addition, tampering, or misrepresentation of food, ingredients, or packaging generally for economic gain Food defence – the protection of food products from intentional, malicious adulteration, tampering, or sabotage aimed at causing public health harm or economic disruption - a clause on complaints handling within it Discover the timeline, the process, how mirror committees work and more on the designated working group, WG8 https://ow.ly/Zj0i50YuTAn

🎙️ New Podcast Episode Out Now! Our CQI | The Chartered Quality Institute and IRCA | International Register of Certificated Auditors - Audit Network (SIG) Audit Technical Series – has just dropped Episode 5 into our "Quality Perspectives" channel on Spotify! The Future of Management System Certification: Embracing AI and Digital Innovation Audit and certification are at the heart of effective quality management. but the landscape is evolving rapidly. From artificial intelligence to digital platforms, new technologies are transforming how audits are conducted, how assurance is delivered, and how value is created for organisations. In Episode 5 of the Audit Technical Series podcast, we explore what the future of management system certification could look like in an increasingly digital world. Joining the conversation: 🔹 Ian Rosam (CQP MCQI) – DeepFathom 🔹 Vincent Desmond – CEO, CQI | The Chartered Quality Institute 🔹 Christopher Auger – Association for British Certification Bodies Together they discuss: • How AI and digital innovation are reshaping certification and auditing • The challenges the industry must overcome as technology evolves • Why collaboration across the certification ecosystem will be essential to deliver meaningful value to organisations 💡 About the Audit Technical Series Each episode of the Audit Technical Series brings together insights and real-world perspectives from professionals across the auditing landscape. From experienced auditors to industry leaders and certification experts, the series explores the evolving role of audits in driving quality, assurance and organisational improvement. Whether you’re an experienced auditor, work within certification or compliance, or are simply curious about how audits support better organisational performance, this series offers a deep dive into one of the most foundational elements of quality management. 🎧 Listen to Episode 5: https://lnkd.in/eDqd4tm2 #Quality #Audit #Certification #AI #DigitalTransformation #ManagementSystems #CQI #Assurance #Innovation #industry5.0 #quality5.0

🎧 "Assurance And Governance Create Clarity Of Accountability," Helen H., CEO of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport UK CILT (UK). How important are assurance and governance for building resilience? Discover how they are fundamental to protecting organisational resilience. Inside 'Leading Without Fitting the Traditional CEO Mould' with Helen, interviewed by podcast host Rashad Issa, FCQI FCXA. Listen to the latest Quality Impact podcast for free on Spotify https://ow.ly/VuAL50YsJPc Apple Podcast https://ow.ly/7orz50YsJP9 Amazon Music https://ow.ly/twZo50YsJPa Watch our video podcast for free on YouTube https://ow.ly/QbL650YsJPb

🥳 QMS Associate Auditor Melinda Wetti: "From Balance Sheets to ISO Standards. If you told me 10 years ago I would become an IRCA Associate Auditor and a Head of Quality Assurance, I would have been speechless, because I wouldn't have understood what those titles meant. My background is a Bachelor’s in Accounting. Back then, the only concept I knew that overlapped with management was a simple SWOT Analysis. The world of Quality was completely foreign to me. My journey started in 2014 when I joined an Inspection Services Division specialising in quantity verification for petroleum, marine, agricultural, and mineral products. I entered the world of ISO 9001:2008 from absolute zero. Honestly? It felt like learning an alien language. I was overwhelmed by the hierarchy of documents. I struggled to distinguish between clauses and technical standards. I was fortunate to have mentors from our Corporate QA team who guided me, but I knew I needed to build my own foundation. I dove into training: ISO 9001, 17020, 19011, and ISO 10013. Slowly, the fog lifted. I began to see the 'skeleton' of the system, how one clause breathes life into another. My biggest shift in perspective happened during a surveillance audit. I observed an external auditor’s unique way of thinking. They didn't just ask, 'Do you have an SOP for customer property?' - that’s too easy to answer with a 'Yes/No.' Instead, the auditor asked: 'If a client claims that their re-analysis result differs from your lab result during the inspection period, how do you defend your data?' It was a brilliant question. To answer that, we needed to prove that we had a retained sample stored correctly for retesting. If we admitted we didn't store samples, or didn't have a procedure to handle that claim, it would be a non-conformity. That moment taught me that auditing isn't about ticking boxes; it's about connecting processes to risks and solutions. In 2022, I faced my biggest challenge: leading the division's ISO 17020:2012 accreditation from scratch. It was a marathon, and in 2024, we successfully achieved full accreditation for all the scopes we applied for. Today I act as a Lead Internal Auditor across divisions, monitoring ISO 9001, 45001, 27001, and 17020. My favourite part? Mentoring and knowledge sharing. I run internal training sessions using simple analogies, stripping away the jargon. I do this because I remember the confusion and frustration I felt at the start of my career. I am determined not to let my team experience that same struggle. If my team understands the 'why' behind the system and how it protects their work quality, they will follow it consistently. When the system runs consistently, my job as QA becomes easier. It took me years to realise that Quality is a mindset of continuous improvement, not just a set of documents. And an accountant's eye for detail wasn't a bad place to start after all. I hope my story provides useful insights for the community"

Do you remember your first ever internal audit? EMS and QMS Associate Auditor Johanna Vekara PCQI shares her 4 takeaways