ISO 27001 Audit: How to prepare and the critical next steps

After completing an ISO 27001 audit, there may be some critical responses you must undertake based on the recommendation in your audit report. This step-by-step guide will ensure you don’t miss any of the outstanding follow-up tasks that need to be addressed after the audit process is over.

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What is an ISO 27001 audit and why it matters

An ISO/IEC 27001 audit serves as a comprehensive checkpoint for your Information Security Management System (ISMS), verifying that your organization's security practices meet the stringent, globally recognized standard. It’s a formalized way to prove that you're not just practicing security but managing it effectively and continually improving.

Learn more about ISO 27001 standards >

Types of ISO 27001 audits

The audit journey involves different types of assessments, each serving a distinct purpose:

• Internal Audit (First-Party): This is conducted by your own employees or an internal audit team to regularly check the ISMS's compliance with ISO 27001 standards and the company's own requirements.
• External Audit (Second-Party): These audits are typically conducted by a customer or another party with a direct interest in your organization, such as a supplier or partner, to assess your security posture.
• Certification Audit (Third-Party): Performed by an accredited certification body, this is the official assessment required to earn (or renew) the ISO 27001 certificate. The initial certification involves a two-stage process: Stage 1 (documentation review) and Stage 2 (main compliance check).
• Surveillance Audit: After certification, annual check-ups are performed by the certification body to ensure ongoing compliance, typically every nine or twelve months.

Key audit objectives and benefits

Audit findings aren't just for a final pass/fail grade; they provide actionable intelligence used by stakeholders across your organization:

• IT/Security Teams: These teams use the findings to pinpoint and prioritize vulnerability remediation efforts, validate the effectiveness of existing controls (like patching or access management), and justify budget for security enhancement projects.
• Legal/Compliance Teams (GRC): For GRC teams, the audit report is a crucial piece of evidence that demonstrates due diligence. It confirms that the organization is actively working to meet regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and managing potential legal risk.
• Management/Executive Stakeholders: Leadership uses the audit results to gain a clear understanding of the organization's current security posture, which aids in strategic planning and resource allocation for risk mitigation. A successful audit also offers a competitive advantage, proving trustworthiness to prospective clients.

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Preparing for an ISO 27001 audit

Thorough preparation is paramount to a smooth and successful ISO 27001 audit. This initial phase involves clearly defining the boundaries of your security efforts and ensuring all foundational documentation is complete and accurate.

Scoping your ISMS and identifying applicable controls

The first crucial step in preparing for an audit is defining the scope of your Information Security Management System (ISMS). This involves clearly stating which physical locations, systems, business units, and processes are covered by your security policies and controls. The scope definition is critical as it dictates the boundaries of the audit and demonstrates that the ISMS is aligned with your legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements.

Once the scope is defined, you must identify all applicable controls from Annex A of ISO 27001. This is formalized in the Statement of Applicability (SoA), which justifies why each Annex A control is either included or excluded from your ISMS. A well-constructed SoA shows auditors that you have systematically considered every control and applied it appropriately based on your identified risks.

Key documents and evidence auditors will review

Auditors will conduct a comprehensive review of your documentation to ensure your policies and procedures are aligned with the ISO 27001 standard. Essential documents include:

• ISMS Documentation: Your core documents, such as the Information Security Policy, the ISMS scope definition, the Statement of Applicability (SoA), and the Risk Treatment Plan (RTP).
• Operational Evidence: Records demonstrating that security controls are being executed consistently, such as access control lists, system hardening standards, records of security awareness training, and incident response logs.
• Management Review Documentation: Minutes from management review meetings (as per clause 9.3), which prove that leadership regularly assesses the ISMS’s performance and effectiveness.
• Internal Audit Reports: The results of internal audits and evidence of corrective actions taken to address any gaps found (Clause 9.2).

Download the ISO 27001 Implementation Checklist >

Next steps after completing an ISO 27001 audit

After the main audit closes, the work is not over; it simply shifts focus. You'll move from documenting and implementing your ISMS to formally addressing the auditor’s findings, remediating gaps, and ultimately receiving your certification. The priority immediately after the audit is to review the results, categorize the findings, and initiate the appropriate corrective procedures.

To streamline your remediation efforts, download this free ISO 27001 risk assessment template.

Step 1 - Review your recommendation status

Your certification auditor will summarize the outcome of their findings through one of three statuses:

• Recommended – No nonconformities were discovered in the audit, so an ISO 27001 certification is recommended. If you receive this status, you can skip ahead to the sharing step (Step 6).

• Recommended upon action plan development – Some minor nonconformities were identified, but the compliance gaps can be overcome.
• Not recommended – Nonconformities are too significant to overcome outside of a complete security control and security practice overhaul.

Step 2 - Review your nonconformities

The first thing you’ll need to do is determine the severity of your nonconformities. The are three primary severity categories:

• Major Nonconformity – This is the bucket you don’t want to fall in. You’ll get slapped with a major nonconformity if your auditor cannot identify risk mitigation procedures mapping to ISO 27001 standards. In other words, your auditor concludes that you have not met the security objectives and risk mitigation requirements of ISO 27001.
  • Example: The organization has no formal documented process for Incident Management, failing to meet the requirements of Clause 6.1.3 and relevant Annex A controls.

A major nonconformity doesn't need to be the end of your ISO certification journey. There are actions you can take to change this outcome

• Minor Nonconformity – This means your auditor has confirmed that an ISO 27001-specific risk mitigation procedure is in place, but it either isn’t effective or is improperly executed. However, this discrepancy doesn’t impact your overall ISO 27001 certification potential.
  • Example: The firewall configuration rules were reviewed annually, but the evidence file only showed a management review signature for 10 of the required 12 months, indicating partial procedural non-compliance.

Multiple minor nonconformities could lead to a major nonconformity

• Opportunity for Improvement (OFI) – This is when your auditor identifies processes that, once improved, will increase the efficiency of ISO 27001 risk control(s). OFIs are recommended improvement actions and are not mandatory.

Though OFIs are not mandatory, their timely implementation will increase your chances of passing your next ISO27001 certification renewal audit in three years.

Your auditor should also supply you with a nonconformity report detailing the key findings of each discovered nonconformity and suggested corrective actions. When a nonconformity has the potential to be rectified, your auditor will set its status to Open. A Closed status is assigned when the assessor accepts the response actions taken to amend each nonconformity as outlined in your submitted Corrective Action Plan and Evidence of Correction report.

Step 3 - Provide a corrective action plan

Failing an ISO 27001 certification does not require you to redesign your entire audit plan and Information Security Management System (ISMS). Your external auditor will provide accreditation guidance for your recertification audit, including a high-level risk treatment plan outlined in a section like "Terms and Conditions for Certification".

For each non-conformity, you must provide your assessor with an action plan detailing how it will be addressed. This Corrective Action Plan must be submitted within 14 days of receiving your nonconformity report. Proof that your Corrective Action Plan has been implemented must then be provided through an Evidence of Correction report within 30 days.

In short, there are three critical steps you need to follow when responding to ISO 27001 non-conformities:

1. Provide a Corrective Action Plan to your certification body within 14 days. This plan should outline your organization’s approach to fixing each identified nonconformity, who is responsible for each action, and how each action will be implemented.
2. Provide Evidence of Correction to your certification body within 30 days. This is the proof that the immediate actions outlined in your Corrective Action Plan have been implemented.
3. Provide Evidence of Remediation for all nonconformities. For minor nonconformities, this is due upon subsequent review; for major nonconformities, this is due within 60 days from the close of the review.

These documents need to be provided to your certification body before they can issue an ISO 27001 certification and related report.

Your corrective action plan (or corrective action procedure) should be based on ISO 27001 Clause 10.1. A process flow example includes: identifying the nonconformity, adding action items to the corrective action log, taking corrective action, performing a root cause analysis, evaluating the potential impact of actions, and making necessary ISMS amendments.

Step 4 - Provide evidence of correction

The remediation details of each nonconformity should be outlined in "Nonconformities statements," breaking down your efforts across three main sections:

• An overview of the specific ISO 27001 requirement being impacted.
• Evidence of Correction (EoC) proving that risk management teams have taken immediate action to rectify all information security policy and information security risks causing non-conformities.
• A brief statement of nonconformity linked the ISO 27001 requirement to your evidence document.

Before committing to any individual corrective action, it helps to first project its potential impact on your security posture and your degree of alignment with ISO 27001. This will help you identify which response actions to prioritize to achieve the fastest alignment with ISO 27001 standards.

With a risk management tool like UpGuard, you can determine the potential impact of any remediation action on your security rating (an objective and unbiased quantification of your security posture). This capability allows you to maximize your chances of submitting your corrective action plan within the narrow 14-day window.

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The ability to predict which correction actions will have the highest degree of positive impact will help you develop the most concise and efficient correction action plan.

Step 5 - Provide evidence of remediation

Based on the results of your root cause analysis, provide evidence of your remediation actions taken to address each identified root cause. This report proves to auditors that you are capable of continuously meeting the requirements of the standards in ISO 27001 and helps streamline the audit procedure in your next audit period.

Your remediation tasks will likely be complex assignments with multiple dependencies. Managing these complexities within the narrow 60-day window requires an effective remediation management process that tracks the complete lifecycle of each response task and streamlines conversations between involved parties.

UpGuard's Remediation Planner and In-Line Questionnaire Correspondence features are examples of solutions that can create an efficient remediation process.

Watch this video to learn about UpGuard Remediation Planner:

Watch this video to learn how UpGuard improves vendor relationships through better collaboration.

The efficacy of all your remediation efforts (and corrective action efforts) should be confirmed by internal auditors before submitting them to your auditing body. An internal audit program will confirm whether all nonconformities and their underlying causes have been fixed, treating any remaining issues as opportunities to increase your chances of passing a certification audit.

Step 6 - Share your ISO 27001 certification

Whether you've instantly passed an ISO 27001 certification or successfully closed nonconformities through rigorous documentation reviews, you finally have your ISO 27001 certification.

Now, it's time to put your certification to good use. Being ISO 27001 certified demonstrates your exemplary cybersecurity standards to prospective partners and existing clients. Evidence of your certificate should, therefore, be readily accessible to these parties.

One of the most efficient methods is by hosting all ISO 27001 certification supporting documents in a shareable profile, such as UpGuard’s Trust Page feature (formerly Shared Profile).

UpGuard’s Trust Page allows you to upload any cybersecurity documents and certifications likely to be requested by prospective or existing business partners on a public profile. Trust Pages can be conveniently shared with any relevant parties, either through an email invite or a direct link.

Because an ISO 27001 certification provides a marketing edge, certification sharing should be incorporated into your Sales Cycle, particularly during the nurture phase. The direct link sharing functionality of a Trust Page supports lead prospecting on platforms like LinkedIn.

Learn what to do after getting your SOC 2 report >

Step 7 - Start preparing for your recertification

Your recertification isn't due for another three years, but you should start preparing for a streamlined process now.

Follow these best practices to improve your successful recertification chances:

• Develop a continual improvement culture – Use an Attack Surface Monitoring solution to continuously track emerging risks.
• Implement Regular ISO 27001 Internal Audits – Regularly complete ISO 27001 questionnaires and address alignment discrepancies based on a gap analysis. For internal audit processes to be efficient, it’s best to use a security questionnaire solution that automates the discovery of alignment gaps, such as UpGuard’s security questionnaire tool.
• Create an Audit Checklist – An audit checklist prevents you from overlooking any aspects of your ISMS that will be evaluated in an external audit. For more recertification preparation guidance, refer to this ISO 27001 implementation checklist for ideas.

How ISO 27001 audits align with broader GRC efforts

The ISO 27001 audit is more than a security exercise; it's a foundational component of your organization's broader Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) program. By successfully implementing and auditing your ISMS, you create a system of controls and documentation that is highly reusable across other frameworks.

Leveraging audit results for multi-framework compliance is an efficient way to strengthen Enterprise Risk Management (ERM):

• Core Principle: The security controls detailed in ISO 27001 (especially Annex A) are often based on international best practices and are highly reusable across multiple other security frameworks. This overlap allows audit evidence to be mapped and reused, saving time and resources.
• Mapping to NIST/SOC 2: Control evidence, such as asset inventories or vulnerability scan reports, initially gathered for ISO 27001, can directly address similar control requirements in frameworks like the NIST Cybersecurity Framework or the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria (TSC).
• Mapping to Financial Regulations (e.g., DORA): The continuous improvement lifecycle of the ISMS, which requires ongoing risk identification and treatment (Clauses 6.1.2 & 6.1.3), helps meet resilience, risk governance, and third-party risk management mandates found in financial regulations like the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
• Strengthening ERM: The structured approach to information risk management required by ISO 27001 provides a formalized risk register that feeds directly into the larger Enterprise Risk Management program. This allows executives to see information security risks in the context of broader organizational objectives, enabling more strategic, enterprise-wide decision-making.

How UpGuard can help

UpGuard offers a range of features for streamlining vendor alignment with ISO 27001 standards, including:

• Security Rating Projection – Evaluate the impact of corrective actions on internal and vendor security postures to develop the most efficient corrective action plan.
• ISO 27001 Security Questionnaire – Simplify self-audits with an ISO 27001-specific questionnaire that automates the discovery of alignment gaps based on questionnaire responses.
• Risk Assessment Management – With a library of questionnaire templates mapping to popular cybersecurity standards, including ISO 27001, UpGuard can help you query potential nonconformity root causes stemming from other security control deficiencies.
• Remediation Planner – Easily manage the complete lifecycle of remediation efforts to ensure each vulnerability is addressed as quickly and efficiently as possible.