PR381: QMS ISO 9001:2026 Lead Auditor
CQI and IRCA Course ID: 2928

Course Overview

This CQI and IRCA certified course teaches you to plan, conduct, report and follow up audits of quality management systems (QMS) against ISO 9001:2026, in line with ISO 19011 and ISO/IEC 17021-1.

Duration

5 days (40 hours)

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Explain the purpose of a QMS and the business benefits of improved quality performance
• Explain the auditor’s role in planning, conducting, reporting and following up a QMS audit
• Plan, conduct, report and follow up a QMS audit against ISO 9001:2026

Who Should Attend

• Anyone who wants to become a second-party or third-party QMS auditor
• Anyone seeking IRCA QMS Auditor or Lead Auditor certification
• Quality managers and quality professionals
• Internal auditors and management system consultants

Prerequisites

Before starting this course, you are expected to have the following prior knowledge:

ISO 9001:2026

• Knowledge of the requirements of ISO 9001:2026 and the commonly used quality management terms and definitions as given in ISO 9001:2026 (clause 3) and ISO 9000:2026, which may be gained by completing a CQI and IRCA Certified ISO 9001:2026 Foundation (QMS) training course or equivalent

Management systems

• The Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle
• The core elements of a management system and the interrelationship between top management responsibility, policy, objectives, planning, implementation, performance evaluation and continual improvement

Quality management

• The fundamental concepts and the seven quality management principles (see ISO 9000:2026)
• The relationship between quality management and customer satisfaction

Pre-course Assessment

• Participants must successfully complete and pass the pre-course assessment before attending the training course.

What’s new in ISO 9001:2026 compared with ISO 9001:2015

ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026, with a three-year transition period. The main changes are:

• Quality culture and ethical behaviour: new terms, and now part of top management’s leadership responsibilities (clauses 3 and 5)
• Climate change: the 2024 climate change amendment is now built into the organization’s context (clause 4)
• Risks and opportunities: now handled separately, with more emphasis on opportunities and resilience (clause 6)
• Awareness: now covers quality culture and ethical behaviour (clause 7)
• Operation: mainly terminology and clause-reference changes (clause 8)
• Performance evaluation: same core requirements, with more emphasis on using monitoring and audit data to spot trends and support decisions (clause 9)
• Improvement: leadership’s role in driving continual improvement is more explicit (clause 10)
• Annex A: expanded guidance explaining the standard’s structure, terms and clauses

This course trains you to audit against ISO 9001:2026, including these changes. Looking for the 2015 course? See QMS ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor.

Delivery and Assessment

You will be assessed throughout the course through continuous assessment, including practical exercises. You must attend 100% of the course to qualify for the final examination, which you must pass. Upon successful completion, you will receive a CQI and IRCA-certified course certificate.

Why choose Guidance Consulting and Training?

At Guidance, a CQI and IRCA Approved Training Partner, we’re proud to deliver high-quality training that reflects the latest international practice. We’re committed to giving you a complete learning experience that helps you reach your career goals. You’ll gain the knowledge and tools you need to excel in quality management.

Join us today on the ISO 9001:2026 Lead Auditor course, and take the next step in your quality management career with Guidance Consulting and Training.