Who performs a quality audit as a trained, independent person or team?

A quality audit is typically performed by an auditor, who is trained to assess the effectiveness and compliance of an organization’s quality management systems. Auditors are impartial third parties, which is crucial for ensuring objectivity and accuracy in the audit process. Their goal is to verify that the company's operations are adhering to specified standards and regulations and to identify areas for improvement.

While positions like a quality manager, compliance officer, or quality analyst may be involved in quality assurance processes within an organization, they typically do not conduct audits in the same independent and objective manner that an auditor does. The integrity of an audit relies on the independence of the auditor, which helps to build trust in the findings and recommendations provided.