TQCSI AUDIT REPORT – GRAMMAR
DATES & TIMES
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use ‘2/2/13’ or ‘2/02/13’ not ‘02/02/13’ throughout
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may use ‘2 February, 2013’ format in Audit Summary text only
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9.00am & 5.00pm not ‘9.00a.m.’ or ’17.00’
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abbreviated dates – ‘Sep 13’ or ‘September 2013’
STANDARDS
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full – AS/NZS ISO 9001:2008, AS/NZS ISO 14001:2004, AS/NZS 4801:2001
abbreviated – ISO 9001, ISO 14001, AS 4801, etc
NUMBERING
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one, two, three………….. nine, 10, 11, 12……….
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unless commencing a sentence – Thirty five discrepancies have been found …..….
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‘12 months’ not ‘twelve months’
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1 manday not 1.0 manday
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don’t write both - eg ‘four (4) meetings’
FULL STOPS & COMMAS
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use full stops at end of each sentence!
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no full stop for abbreviations – eg, ie, etc
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no full stop for initials – ‘IM Banks’ not ‘P.B. Banks’, ‘Pty Ltd not Pty. Ltd.’
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…. for good, however there ….. not …… for good however, there …..
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…. issues, however ….. not …. issues however, …..
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…. issues, including ….. not …. issues including …..
ABBREVIATIONS
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refer to the use first, then may refer to ‘IMS’ throughout ‘integrated management
system (IMS)’
CAPITALS
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capitals for Proper Nouns only:
o ‘the Company’ or ‘a company’
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o ‘the Manager’ not ‘the manager’, ‘a manager’ not ‘a Manager’
o ‘the Management Review Meeting’ not ‘the management review meeting’
o ‘the System’ not ‘the system’
o ‘the IMS Manual’ not ‘the IMS manual’
o Stage 1 Audit, Stage 2 Audit, Follow Up Audit, Surveillance Audit, Triennial Audit

capitals not for processes:
o ‘management review was conducted 2/2/13’ not ‘Management Review was
conducted 2/2/13’
o ‘the Management Review Meeting minutes’ or ‘minutes of management review’

use ‘the Organisation’ or ‘the Company’ or ‘the Hospital’ not interchangeably
POSSESSIVE NOUN

use apostrophes for possessive nouns - ‘the Company’s documentation’ not ‘the
companies documentation’
SPACING
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no spaces between parentheses – ‘internal/external’ not ‘internal / external’,
‘capability/scope’ not ‘capability / scope’, ‘site inspection: Bankstown’ not ‘ site
inspection : Bankstown ’
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no spacing for initials – ‘IM Banks’ not ‘I M Banks’, ‘IPC Fusion Pty Ltd’ not ‘I P C
Fusion Pty Ltd’

line space between paragraphs
PLURALS
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the Company is a single entity, so don’t use plurals, eg ‘Example Pty Ltd has done’ not
‘Example Pty Ltd have done’
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don’t use apostrophes for plural abbreviations – ‘KPIs’ not ‘KPI’s’
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‘corrective action was taken for all discrepancies’ not ‘corrective actions were taken…’
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‘management review is conducted’ not ‘management reviews are’
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if only one observation found - “the observation should be considered as an opportunity
for improvement:; if two or more found - “the observations should be considered as
opportunities for improvement”
COMMON SPELLING/GRAMMAR ERRORS
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nil not none
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favourably not favorably
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the not this
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they not these
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and not as well as
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communication not communications
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described not detailed
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while not whilst
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nonconformance not non-conformance
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sought not sort
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led not lead
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used not utilised
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evident not evidenced
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conducted not done or carried out
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preventive not preventative
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entire system not whole system
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reporting period not audit period
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E, S & F Codes not Environmental, Safety & Food Codes
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don’t use:
o ‘is seen to be’
o ‘it is pleasing to see’
o ‘at this audit’, ‘were observed’ and ‘currently’
o ‘it is noted’
o ‘it appears’
o ‘it was observed’
o ‘it was evident’
OTHER COMMON ISSUES

date of authorisation throughout the Audit Report should be the date of the Exit
Meeting even if the Report was completed a day or two later

there is no need to re-state the previously raised discrepancy on page 2 of the Audit
Report – just briefly describe the evidence of corrective action taken

Discrepancy List shouldn’t say what they should do, just report what they haven’t done,
eg:
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o ‘Business processes are not recorded in the Internal Audit Checklist’ rather than
‘Internal Audit Checklist should record the business processes’
o ‘Flow charts in Management Manual do not reflect actual process’ rather than
‘Amend flow charts in Management Manual to reflect the actual process’
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NCRs must also be described in discrepancies
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always use present case for findings
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Discrepancy List – identify the clause of the Standard for discrepancies and
observations.

Quality Policy does not require quality objectives, just the framework for reviewing the
objectives
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proof of internal auditor training not required for contracted consultants

SDS (ex MSDS) should be reviewed < 5 years, not necessarily dated <5 years

“Parenthesis” should only be used when quoting someone or something written;
otherwise ‘parenthesis’ should be used to highlight or identify something
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don’t make it personal (eg ‘the System’ not ‘your System’)

congratulatory messages like (the Management Representative is to be commended)
can be perceived as conciliatory and should be limited to only very special
circumstances

for example; eg must be in brackets (eg. …….)
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