Internal Audit - Lack of Documentation

If the documentation that is missing is mandatory to start the audit, or if by making it available during the audit the audit team cannot assure the related processes are being performed as planned, then the internal audit should not be performed. In any other cases the audit team can adjust the audit plan to cover the processes related to the missing document at the end of the audit, giving time for the documentation to be ready to be evaluated.

But you should note that this situation must be informed and recorded either at the audit opening meeting as well as at the audit closing meeting. This way the audit team can make the situation and results clear to all involved.

In case you want to perform this internal audit before the implementation of a standard is done, then it would be better to perform the Gap analysis instead of internal audit. For more information about gap analysis and internal audit, please see this article: Gap analysis vs. internal audit in ISO 9001 https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2015/02/17/gap-analysis-vs-internal-audit-iso-9001//

This arti cle will provide you further explanation about internal audit:
- How to prepare for an ISO 27001 internal audit https://advisera.com/27001academy/blog/2016/07/11/how-to-prepare-for-an-iso-27001-internal-audit/

These materials will also help you regarding internal audit:
- ISO Internal Audit: A Plain English Guide https://advisera.com/books/iso-internal-audit-plain-english-guide/
- ISO 27001:2013 Internal Auditor Course https://advisera.com/training/iso-27001-internal-auditor-course/