# EMS audit finding quality checklist

Use this before you close an ISO 14001 audit. It checks that every finding will stand up to the
auditee, the audit program manager and a certification decision. The checks follow the audit practice
taught for PECB's ISO 14001 Lead Auditor exam. ISO 14001 and ISO 19011 are sold rather than published,
so check requirement wording against your own copies.

## Every finding

- [ ] Names the requirement it is measured against
- [ ] States the objective evidence (a record, an observation, an interview with a named role)
- [ ] Says clearly what is not met, or what is met
- [ ] Is graded as conformity, nonconformity, or an opportunity for improvement
- [ ] Describes the problem once (not the problem and its cause as two findings)
- [ ] Rests on evidence, not on a manager's assurance

## Compliance obligations

- [ ] Any breach of a legal or permit condition is treated as serious, even if the exceedance was small
- [ ] A breach nobody noticed is checked as a possible nonconformity in monitoring or evaluation of compliance

## Grading

- [ ] Major nonconformities identified, with what they mean for certification
- [ ] Whether a return visit is needed to verify a correction works on the ground
- [ ] At a stage 1 audit, gaps reported as concerns to resolve before stage 2, not graded as nonconformities
- [ ] Guidance standards (ISO 14004, ISO 19011) not audited against as if their "should" were "shall"

## Closing

- [ ] Findings presented at the closing meeting, with the auditee's response recorded
- [ ] Audit report drafted with scope, criteria, findings and conclusions
- [ ] Nonconformity reports drafted for each nonconformity
- [ ] Which edition of ISO 14001 the audit was against, named in full (for example "ISO 14001:2026")