Internal Audits as an Enabler for Organizational Change

In recent years, understanding organizational culture has become the new challenge for many managers and change-agents.   We have discovered that the skills those professionals bring to bear are exactly the skills of a competent quality auditor.  Join us for a discussion of how auditors can help their organizations understand and change their culture.

Whether a company’s organization is a mature one, or is a state of upheaval and renewal, it is essential that the leadership set an appropriate culture of customer-focus and accountability.  Clearly defined goals and objectives, and a clear strategy for deployment and measurement is absolutely essential.   Once the infrastructure is in place, Senior Management can begin to use its internal auditing resources to assess the status of the organization, and the degree to which policies and directions are being followed effectively.

By working with a number of organizations suffering through a turn-around, we have learned about the vital role that on-going internal audits can play in that very challenging period.   No matter what problems are being addressed, internal audits can be instrumental in supporting those improvement efforts.  An internal audit can be used two ways.  Firstly, the audit can be used as a gap analysis to assess current-state; and secondly, the audit can be used to follow the deployment of an improvement initiative. 

At the most basic level, an internal audit is the “checking” function of Plan-Do-Check-Act.  As an organization creates its turn-around strategy, it is planning to accomplish a certain set of objectives.  As the organization undertakes to do the tasks and complete the projects associated with the strategy, senior management will need to check on progress, and act to respond to challenges facing their objectives.  Wise organizations will make deliberate and frequent use of their internal auditing resources to continuously monitor progress.  These auditors will assess objective evidence and report back on the true performance of the organization, despite what “official” reports suggest.

In this informative 45-minute presentation, you will learn:

·        Fundamentals of Organizational Design

·        QMS Audits as an Enabler for Organizational Change

·        The Role of the Internal Auditor

·        Audits as a Tool to Support Organizational Turn-Around

·        Real World Examples

About the speaker: 

Denis J. Devos P.Eng

Fellow of the ASQ
2022-2024 Chair – Quality Management Division

Denis Devos joined the ASQ in 1996 and has a long career in auditing and quality management.   He is a recognized expert in the application of the ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 Standards.

Denis started his career as an Engineer at General Motors, where he led the first ISO 9001 implementation for a GM plant in North America.

After General Motors, Denis joined KPMG Quality Registrar, where he was certified as an RAB lead auditor for ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and QS-9000.   While at KPMG, Denis participated in an Industry Canada trade mission to Italy, to speak as an expert on quality in the automotive industry, and the future of global harmonization.

For the past twenty five years, Denis has been working full-time throughout Canada and the United States with clients on Quality and Environmental Systems improvement, Lean Thinking, and training in such topics as Internal Auditing, Root Cause Analysis, FMEA, Automotive Core Tools.

Denis was elected a Fellow of the ASQ in 2011 in recognition of his contribution to Quality in the automotive industry and his Risk is the Compass approach to QMS auditing. Denis is also a regular contributor on quality management and auditing topics at ASQ Divisional and international conferences, including a dozen appearances at the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement.  Denis is the recipient of the ASQ Audit Division’s Paul Gauthier Award, the Division’s highest honour.

Academic credentials include a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology), a Bachelor of Engineering Science (Mechanical), and a Master of Engineering.  Denis is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario Canada (APEO).