Propelled by 30 years of audit experience, Craig Cochran channels his vast knowledge to author quality publications and teach others the fundamentals of auditing excellence. In his current role as project manager with Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Georgia Tech, Cochran spends his time auditing, offering implementation assistance, and providing course instruction.

Here, Cochran reflects on his auditing career, publishing achievements, and offers some terrific advice and thoughts on how to improve the standard of auditing.

How did you get into auditing? 

I began auditing officially around 1989 when the company I worked for implemented ISO 9002:1987. I led the implementation process at a number of company locations and also developed the audit process. Prior to this, I also did something similar to auditing. I was routinely told to “go check on things in production.” This was not labeled as auditing, but essentially that’s what it was.

What is your history in the profession?

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