---
title: Audit types
description: There are many types of audits and each of the audit types has a specific use in an audit engagement.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/governance-risk-compliance/audit-management/types-of-audit.html
release: australia
product: Audit Management
classification: audit-management
topic_type: reference
last_updated: "2026-03-12"
reading_time_minutes: 2
breadcrumb: [Audit Plan Overview, Audit Management overview, Audit Management, Governance, Risk, and Compliance]
---

# Audit types

There are many types of audits and each of the audit types has a specific use in an audit engagement.

|Audit Type|Description|
|----------|-----------|
|Internal Audit|An internal audit checks a company's internal controls, corporate governance, and accounting processes.|
|External Audit|An external audit is an independent examination of the financial statements prepared by the organisation.|
|SOX Audit|A Sarbanes Oxley \(SOX\) compliance audit is a measure of how well your company manages its internal controls. SOX doesn't specifically mention information security. However, an internal control is understood to be any type of protocol dealing with the infrastructure that handles your financial data.|
|IT Audit|An IT audit is the examination and evaluation of an organization's information technology infrastructure, policies and operations.|
|Financial Audit|A financial audit is an independent, objective evaluation of an organization's financial reports and financial reporting processes. The primary purpose for financial audits is to give regulators, investors, directors, and managers reasonable assurance that financial statements are accurate and complete.|
|Compliance Audit|A compliance audit is an independent evaluation to ensure that an organization follows external laws, rules, and regulations or internal guidelines, such as corporate bylaws, controls, and policies.|
|Certification Audit|A certification audit is an audit your registrar conducts to verify conformance against the ISO 9001 standard before they issue your official ISO 9001 certificate.|
|Regulatory Audit|The aim of a regulatory audit is to verify that a project is compliant with regulations and standards.|
|Operational Audit|An operational audit examines how an organization conducts business to identify improvements that increase efficiency and effectiveness.|
|Continuous Audit|A continuous audit is an internal process that examines accounting practices, risk controls, compliance, information technology systems, and business procedures on an ongoing basis. Continuous audits are usually technology-driven and designed to automate error checking and data verification in real-time.|
|Vendor Audit|A vendor audit assesses whether contractors or vendors comply with the terms, conditions, and intent of their contracts or agreements.|
|Customer Audit|A customer audit reviews how your company is perceived by its customers and evaluates each customer's needs. It assesses the role your company plays in each customer's business.|
|Store Audit|A store audit assesses the health of your retail location using hard data. Retailers, staff, or a third party combs through your store or pop-up shop to collect information on what's working and what's selling or what isn't.|
|Quality Audit|A Quality audit is the process of systematic examination of a quality system carried out by an internal or external quality auditor or an audit team.|
|Project Audit|A project audit is a formal review of a project, often intended to assess the extent to which project management standards are being upheld. Audits are generally carried out by a specially designated audit department, the Project Management Office, an approved management committee or an external auditor.|