In its 9th edition (January, 2019) the CQA Primer contains 472 pages and 433 questions and answers.
Digital Material is also available Click Here to go to our digitals page
I. Certification Overview
- Certified Auditor Exam
- CQA Body of Knowledge
- CQA Primer Content vs BOK
II. Auditing Fundamentals
- Quality and Auditing Terms
- Audit Types
- Methods
- Relationships
- Purposes
- Common Elements
- Audit Purpose and Scope
- Audit Benefits
- Audit Criteria
- Audit Responsibilities
- Professional Conduct
- Liability Issues
- Ethical Responsibilities
- Legal Consequences
- Audit Credibility
III. Auditor Competencies
- Auditor Characteristics
- On-site Resource Management
- Conflict Resolution
- Communication and Presentation Techniques
- Communication Techniques
- Presentation Techniques
- Interviewing Techniques
- Interviewing
- Listening
- Team Dynamics
- Team Building
- Team Facilitation
- Team Development Stages
IV. Audit Planning and Performance
- Audit Preparation and Planning
- Audit Planning Elements
- Auditor Selection
- Audit Related Documentation
- Audit Logistics
- Audit Tools and Working Papers
- Audit Strategies
- Audit Performance
- On-site Audit Management
- Opening Meeting
- Data Collection and Analysis
- Establishment of Objective Evidence
- Organization of Objective Evidence
- Exit and Closing Meeting
V. Audit Reporting and Follow-up
- Audit Reporting
- Development and Content
- Effective Reports
- Report Steps
- Audit Follow-up
- Corrective Action Process
- Corrective Action Plan Review
- Corrective Action Verification
- Ineffective Corrective Action
- Audit Closure
VI. Audit Program Management
- Program Management
- Senior Management Support
- Staffing and Resource Management
- Training and Development
- Audit Program Evaluation
- Internal Audit Program Management
- External Audit Program Management
- Best Practices
- Organizational Risk Management
- Management Review Input
- Business and Financial Impact
- Auditing as a Management Tool
- Interrelationships of Processes
- Cost of Quality
VII. Quality Tools and Techniques
- Basic Quality and Problem Solving Tools
- Process Improvement Techniques
- Six Sigma
- Lean
- Basic Statistics
- Central Tendency
- Measures of Dispersion
- Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
- Process Variation
- Common and Special Cause
- Process Performance Metrics
- Outliers
- Sampling Methods
- Acceptance Sampling Plans
- Types of Sampling
- Sampling Terms
- Change Control and Configuration Management
- Verification and Validation
- Risk Management Tools
VIII. Appendix/Index
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- Case Studies
View a Sample Instructor PDF Section Note the CQA Instructor PDF may not be edited or printed.
The following information is provided by the American Society for Quality (ASQ):
The Certified Quality Auditor is a professional who understands the standards and principles of auditing and the auditing techniques of examining, questioning, evaluating and reporting to determine a quality system’s adequacy and deficiencies. The Certified Quality Auditor analyzes all elements of a quality system and judges its degree of adherence to the criteria of industrial management and quality evaluation and control systems.
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