Training Module
Auditing Leadership & Governance
Assess whether leadership commitment, policy direction and governance structures credibly steer the management system
Overview
Leadership and governance define the direction and accountability of a management system. Policies express intent, while governance routines translate that intent into priorities, decisions, and oversight. In practice, policies may exist while leadership involvement remains weak, governance routines are unclear, or system priorities are not visibly shaped by leadership direction.
This module develops the capability to audit whether leadership commitment, policy direction, and governance structures credibly steer the management system. Participants first review how leadership and governance are expected to function in management systems and then learn how auditors test evidence of commitment, policy alignment, and system steering.
Applicable environments
This module is intended for auditors working with organisations operating a management system based on an ISO standard following the high-level structure such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22301, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701 or ISO/IEC 42001. It focuses on requirements shared by these ISO standards.
Target audience
Aspiring auditors who want to audit management systems following best practices
Practising management system auditors who want to strengthen their audit knowledge, judgement, and effectiveness
Decision support
Is this module for you?
Agenda
Foundations of leadership, policy, and governance in management systems
What effective auditing of leadership and governance looks like
Testing leadership commitment and accountability
Building the audit evidence trail from policy to practice
Detecting governance and leadership failure patterns
Judging credibility of leadership direction and system steering
Case-based audit simulation
Show detailed agenda...
Learning outcomes
Key outcomes
Assess whether leadership commitment credibly steers the management system
Test alignment between policy commitments, governance routines, and organisational priorities
Judge whether leadership oversight and governance structures effectively guide system performance
Additional capabilities
Detect common leadership and governance failure patterns such as symbolic policies or delegated accountability gaps
Trace policy commitments through objectives, decisions, and operational evidence
Select meaningful sampling targets when auditing leadership and governance activities
Formulate defensible audit conclusions on leadership commitment and governance effectiveness
Materials
Learning materials
Slide deck
Participant workbook
Templates & tools
Practical, reusable artefacts to apply the module directly to your organisation.
Audit interview planning tool
Documented information checklist
Sampling tool
Audit analysis worksheets
Failure pattern library
Supporting AI prompt set
Confirmation
Certificate of completion
Module ID
HAM-AG-A-02
Discipline
ISO standard
Standard clause
5: Leadership
Domains
Target audience
Public delivery
Live virtual
Duration
7 h
List price
CHF 550
Excl. VAT. VAT may apply depending on customer location and status.
Delivery
Live virtual delivery
This module is delivered live online and combines conceptual framing, discussion, case work and direct interaction with the instructor.
A public cohort is currently not scheduled. If you register your interest, we will notify you when a new public cohort is scheduled or suitable delivery options become available.
Custom delivery options
For organisations with specific constraints or learning objectives, the module can be adapted in format or scope, including in-house delivery and contextualised case material.
For an optimal learning experience
Prerequisites & preparation
This module is designed as part of a modular training approach. Topics are deliberately distributed across modules and are not repeated in full, in order to avoid unnecessary redundancy. Each module is self-contained and can be taken on its own. Where prior knowledge or experience is helpful, this is indicated below so you can decide whether any preparation is useful for you.
Assumed background
This module assumes participants can perform basic audit activities and apply evidence-based judgement.
Helpful background includes:
General understanding of management systems and organisational governance structures
Ability to follow audit trails across policies, decisions, and operational evidence
Basic familiarity with leadership responsibilities in management systems
Preparatory modules
Foundational modules (depending on background)
Useful if you are new to the underlying concepts or want a shared baseline before attending this module.
Supporting modules (optional)
Helpful if you want to deepen related skills, but not required to participate effectively.
