Quality Auditing Fundamentals
A Guide to CQA Certification
- Course Orientation and Exam Foundations
- Auditing FundamentalsLesson 4 — Audit Types by Method and FormatPrivateLesson 5 — Audit Types by Auditor–Auditee Relationship and ContextPrivateLesson 6 — Audit Types by PurposePrivateLesson 7 — Common Elements with Sustainability, Environmental, Safety, FinancialPrivateLesson 8 — Elements of Purpose and ScopePrivateLesson 9 — Benefits of AuditsPrivateLesson 10 — Criteria to Audit AgainstPrivateLesson 11 — Roles and Responsibilities of Audit ParticipantsPrivateLesson 12 — Professional Conduct, Legal Consequences, and Audit CredibilityPrivate
- The Audit ProcessLesson 13 — Elements of the Audit Planning ProcessPrivateLesson 14 — Auditor SelectionPrivateLesson 15 — Audit-Related Documentation and Gap AssessmentsPrivateLesson 16 — Audit LogisticsPrivateLesson 17 — Auditing Tools and Working PapersPrivateLesson 18 — Auditing Strategies: Tracing, Discovery, and ObservationPrivateLesson 19 — Creating and Distributing the Audit PlanPrivateLesson 20 — On-Site Audit Management for the AuditorPrivateLesson 21 — On-Site Audit Management for the AuditeePrivateLesson 22 — The Opening MeetingPrivateLesson 23 — Audit Data Collection and AnalysisPrivateLesson 24 — Establishment of Objective EvidencePrivateLesson 25 — Organization of Objective EvidencePrivateLesson 26 — Exit and Closing MeetingsPrivateLesson 27 — Report Development and ContentPrivateLesson 28 — Components of Effective Audit ReportsPrivateLesson 29 — Final Audit Report Steps: Approval, Distribution, and RetentionPrivateLesson 30 — Elements of the Corrective and Preventive Action ProcessPrivateLesson 31 — Review of the Corrective and Preventive Action PlanPrivateLesson 32 — Verification of Corrective and Preventive ActionPrivateLesson 33 — Follow-Up on Ineffective Corrective and Preventive ActionPrivateLesson 34 — Audit ClosurePrivate
- Auditor CompetenciesLesson 35 — Auditor Characteristics and Lead Auditor SkillsPrivateLesson 36 — On-Site Audit Resource ManagementPrivateLesson 37 — Conflict ResolutionPrivateLesson 38 — Communication and Presentation TechniquesPrivateLesson 39 — Interviewing Techniques: Question Types and Active ListeningPrivateLesson 40 — Interviewing Techniques: Non-Verbal Cues and Prompting ResponsesPrivateLesson 41 — Team Building, Facilitation, and Stages of Team DevelopmentPrivate
- Audit Program Management and Business ApplicationsLesson 42 — Senior Management Support and Audit Program Evaluation MetricsPrivateLesson 43 — Staffing and Resource ManagementPrivateLesson 44 — Auditor Training and DevelopmentPrivateLesson 45 — Internal Audit Program ManagementPrivateLesson 46 — External and Supplier Audit Program ManagementPrivateLesson 47 — Best Practices, Lessons Learned, and Management Review InputPrivateLesson 48 — Organizational Risk Management, Business Continuity, and SuccessionPrivateLesson 49 — Electronic Records, Data Integrity, Fraud, and CybersecurityPrivateLesson 50 — Auditing as a Management Tool and Business Process InterrelationshipPrivateLesson 51 — Cost of Quality PrinciplesPrivate
- Quality Tools and TechniquesLesson 52 — Pareto Charts, Cause-and-Effect Diagrams, Flowcharts, and Check SheePrivateLesson 53 — Statistical Process Control Charts, Scatter Diagrams, and HistogramsPrivateLesson 54 — Root Cause Analysis and Plan-Do-Check-ActPrivateLesson 55 — Six Sigma DMAIC and Lean ToolsPrivateLesson 56 — Basic Statistics and Process VariationPrivateLesson 57 — Sampling Methods, Risk-Based Sampling, and Measurement Systems AnalyPrivateLesson 58 — Change Control, Verification and Validation, and Risk Management TooPrivate
- Case Study Application and Exam Readiness
Course Description
This course prepares you for the Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) examination. It covers all five areas of the CQA Body of Knowledge across 32 hours of instruction, with time allocated in proportion to how the exam actually weights each area — so you spend the most effort where the most questions are.
What you'll cover
- Auditing Fundamentals— audit types by method, relationship, and purpose; scope and criteria; participant roles; professional conduct, ethics, and audit credibility
- The Audit Process— planning, working papers, tracing strategies, on-site performance, evidence collection and classification, report writing, and CAPA follow-up through closure
- Auditor Competencies— interviewing, conflict resolution, communication and presentation, and team dynamics
- Audit Program Management— staffing, metrics, internal and supplier programs, risk, electronic records and data integrity, and cost of quality
- Quality Tools and Techniques— the basic problem-solving tools, Six Sigma DMAIC, lean, statistics, process variation, sampling, verification and validation, and risk tools
How it's built
Sixty-six lessons map one-to-one to Body of Knowledge line items. Nothing tested is skipped, and nothing off-syllabus is added. Each lesson is taught at the cognitive level — where the exam asks you to analyze or evaluate, the lesson goes past definitions and works the judgment call. Knowledge checks follow every lesson, and end-of-module quizzes confirm you're ready to move on.
Who this is for
Quality Auditing Fundamentals is built for the practicing auditor who wants the discipline underneath an inherited checklist, the quality professional whose employer requires documented training on file, and the candidate preparing to sit for the CQA exam.
AMS Level 3 is an independent training provider. This course is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ASQ. ASQ, CQA, and Certified Quality Auditor are marks of the American Society for Quality.
Mike Skaggs
Mike Skaggs, CMQ/OE, ASNT NDT Level III
Mike Skaggs is a quality and compliance leader with more than 30 years in aerospace, manufacturing, and nondestructive testing. He is an ASQ Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE) — the certification that covers audit program management, organizational risk, and quality systems leadership from the other side of the table.
He currently serves as Corporate Director of Quality at Gamma Aerospace, where he leads compliance, Nadcap accreditation, and continuous improvement. That role puts him on both ends of the audit relationship regularly: preparing for and hosting third-party and customer audits, and running the internal audit program that has to catch problems first.
As Principal Consultant at AMS Level 3, Mike provides NDT Level III services including training, certification, procedure development, and auditing. He is certified by the American Society for Nondestructive Testing in RT, MT, PT, and VT, and has helped organizations prepare for Nadcap, FAA, and ISO assessments.
Previously he held senior leadership roles at Thomas Instrument, Union Tank Car, SBM Offshore, Bell Helicopter, Triumph Aerostructures, and Textron, building a track record across quality assurance, supply chain management, Six Sigma, and program management.
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Highlights
- All five CQA Body of Knowledge areas in 32 hours, weighted to match the actual exam question split.
- 61 lessons mapped one-to-one to BoK line items — nothing on the exam is left uncovered, nothing added.
- Taught at the cognitive level ASQ tests: analyze, evaluate, and create — not just memorize definitions.
- Quizzes after every lesson plus a full-length 150-question practice exam to expose weak areas early.
