Internal audits, sometimes called first party audits, are conducted by the organization itself, or on its behalf, for
management review and other internal purposes (e.g. to confirm the effectiveness of the management system or to obtain
information for the improvement of the management system). Internal audits can form the basis for an organization’s selfdeclaration
of conformity. In many cases, particularly in small organizations, independence can be demonstrated by the
freedom from responsibility for the activity being audited or freedom from bias and conflict of interest.