I have mixed feelings with internal audits. On one hand internal audits are necessary to maintain compliance. Management personnel/structure changes that can cause system to fall apart, business crisis happens that causes the attention/commitment to evaporate. Audits are necessary to ensure compliance over time.
For me, the jury is still out on if internal audits are an effective improvement tool. For me, most of the improvements I have made to product, processes, systems, etc., happens outside the internal audit system. I know the weaknesses in our system without an internal audit report telling me so. Knowing these weaknesses, I try to be proactive in fixing them up rather than waiting for the audit and corrective action processes to kick in. I know someone will point out that sometimes another set of eyes will see something that I don't, but again most of the time this happens outside the audit process.
A couple of different approaches I have been considering using internal audits if the standard was different:
1) Gap analysis. Rather than an audit, require a gap analysis periodically to review compliance and potential system improvements. With this take the independence rule and training requirements out. I as a QA Mgr have a vested interest in making sure my system maintains compliance with ISO standards so I am not going to do anything that will jeopardize our certification. If improvement is truly the goal, than me covering anything isn't going to get the results.
2) Training programs. When you pick someone out of the crowd to mentor them because you see something in them that shows potential, you don't just put them in a position, give them basic instructions, and never ever talk to them ever again. A good mentor will follow-up and give feedback, again and again. My question is how do you do this with the masses regarding training the whole bunch. Training someone on a one time instance and never following up plainly is not effective. Can the audit system be changed into something that can benefit the training program?
Also related to training programs and continual improvement is, use audits as a control method for ongoing evaluation. When corrective actions are taken to fix problems, the problem is solved short term, but quickly falls apart because people go back to old habits. My thought here is use audits to break bad habits. I have learned that someone can be trained in a day on how to do something, but it can take up to 6-12 months before it becomes "the way we have always done it".
, but it's Sidney. What you're saying, then, is that the 16 people who said they were a benefit but not given enough management attention are wrong?
Sorry that we mis-assume your gender; I have done it more than once. Just don't crack and go destroy the fax machine. 
