Meet the Lead Auditor: Brenda Clurr

I joined IRCA after a colleague enrolled for an IRCA approved Auditor/Lead Auditor Course and suggested that I join her. I thought it would be a good way to broaden my experience in a wide range of businesses and open further opportunities for my consulting business.

The biggest challenge for auditors today is the additional time needed to prepare for audits aligned to the revised standards. 

Transitioning to the revised ISO standards is the hot topic in auditing right now, but so is the need to train personnel.

I transitioned to ISO 9001:2015 last year. There is no doubt that the new requirements relating to leadership and the application of ‘risk-based Thinking’ will really benefit the organisation’s making the transition.

As a certification auditor it’s important to be a member of a professional body – there’s little doubt that being on the register adds prestige to your CV.

Getting to where I am today has not been an easy passage. I worked with a highly experienced colleague who became my mentor and taught me the right way of going about auditing. I owe him a lot for helping me to where I am today.

As an auditor, your function should not be to 'catch them out' but to add value

As a result of being on the register as a Lead Auditor, I was approached by a leading South African company to assist with training on implementing the new ISO requirements. This is because IRCA has such an excellent reputation.

My top tip for marketing yourself as an auditor is to remember it is like most things in business –think about how you conduct yourself during the audit. As an auditor, your function should not be to ‘catch them out’ but to add value.

New requirements relating to leadership and the application of risk-based thinking will really benefit organisations making the transition

Never accept things on face value, there is always a better way of doing things. Never stop looking for opportunities to improve.

The highlight of my career so far is retaining all of my long-term clients over the years, beginning in 2008, and the referrals they have provided over the years.