New Edition, 2026 Checked October 24, 2026
Revised in 2026, with remote and technology-assisted auditing treated as a normal mode of audit. It is guidance, so there is no certification transition.
What It Covers
Guidance on auditing management systems: the principles of auditing, managing an audit program, conducting an audit, and the competence of auditors.
Who It Applies To
Any organization that runs internal audits or audits its suppliers, and the auditors who do the work.
Key Requirements
- An audit program designed by risk: frequency, sampling, and process selection justified by criticality and past performance.
- Remote audits and digital evidence handled with attention to confidentiality and access.
- Audits that test whether processes achieve their intended results, not only whether they exist.
- Auditor competence, including the digital skills remote auditing needs.
What an Auditor Asks to See
- How the internal audit program was planned, and why each process gets the attention it does.
Where Systems Fall Short
- Audit schedules that give every process the same time every year.
How QES Helps
Internal audit programs redesigned to the 2026 guidance, and internal auditor training.
Related Standards
Sources. Complife — ISO 19011:2026, what changes for management system audits (June 2026) (opens in a new tab); de Grandson — ISO management system revisions, 2026–2030 (September 2026) (opens in a new tab). Status checked October 24, 2026. This page summarizes ISO 19011:2026; it does not reproduce or replace it. Buy the standard from its publisher, or read the regulation in its official text, before relying on a detail. Not legal advice.