Welcome back, school is in session, life is back to normal, it’s fall. This time of year is a peak in auditing work for 3rd party auditors, so there will be a lot lessons learned and a lot for me to share for the next couple of months.

So, what does it mean to be an Audit Team Leader or Lead Auditor, as opposed to just an audit team member. Well, number one, you have to have all of the qualities of an auditor: decisive, professional, knowledgeable, determined, compassionate, attentive, etc.

A team leader is all that, plus more. You have to be a manager: primarily a planner, taking into account personalities and skills of each team member in order to plan the audit in the most efficient and effective manner; logistics are an important part, taking into account locations of sites and even travel arrangements of the audit team members and the auditee too; and a diplomat, you are the final word and you have to present it as an opportunity and not punishment.

Are you lead auditor material? What do you need to work on, we all have areas that require improvement.