Combined vs Integrated Audits: Which saves you more time and money?
Discover the key differences and choose the right path for your ISO certification
Key Benefits of Combined Audits
Efficiency: fewer audit days, reduced costs, less disruption to operations.
Consistency: unified processes and documentation, fewer overlaps and contradictions.
Synergy: shared themes like risk, compliance, leadership, and continuous improvement reinforce each other.
Competitive advantage: organizations can demonstrate excellence in multiple domains (quality, safety, environment, security, privacy) in one go.
Potential Challenges
Complexity: not all departments are ready to integrate; sometimes there are separate teams and cultures.
Higher maturity required: especially for integrated audits, the organization must have one coherent, mature management system.
Specialist auditors needed: auditors must have expertise across multiple standards and industries.
One Goal, Two Strategies: Which Audit Fits You Best?
Feature
Combined Audit
Integrated Audit
Definition
One audit in which multiple standards are assessed in parallel.
One audit of an integrated management system where multiple standards are fully combined.
Audit Report
Separate findings and conclusions for each standard.
One integrated report with conclusions covering several standards at once.
Audit Approach
Auditors check each standard separately, but plan efficiently by using overlaps.
Auditors assess processes that form one system for all standards.
Efficiency
Saves time and costs by avoiding duplicate work.
Even greater efficiency, since processes and documentation are truly unified.
Management System
Several systems may exist side by side.
One single system that includes all standards.
Complexity
Easier to organize, because systems don’t need to be fully integrated.
Requires higher maturity: processes, documents, and responsibilities must be fully integrated.
Example
ISO 9001 + ISO 27001 → audit at the same time, but separate reports.
ISO 9001 + ISO 27001 integrated into one management system → audit of one system.
Combinations of ISO standards
General ISO Standards combinations that organizations can integrate to improve efficiency, reduce audit costs, and ensure compliance across multiple domains.
Combination
Why Useful
Typical Context
.
ISO 9001 + ISO 27001
Integrates quality and information security, resulting in controlled and secure processes.
IT companies, SaaS providers, software developers, and service centers.
Most popular combination: ISO 9001 supports ISO 27001’s continuous improvement cycle (PDCA).
ISO 9001 + ISO 20000
Combines quality management with IT service management, ensuring consistent service delivery and higher customer satisfaction.
IT service providers, managed service providers (MSPs), and outsourcing firms.
Aligns with ITIL processes and can later be extended with ISO 27001.
ISO 27001 + ISO 27701
Integrates privacy management into the ISMS framework, ensuring GDPR compliance.
Organizations processing personal data such as HR, SaaS, healthcare, and public institutions.
ISO 27701 extends ISO 27001; both can be audited together.
ISO 27001 + ISO 27018 + ISO 27017
Adds cloud-specific security and privacy controls for personally identifiable information (PII).
Cloud service providers, hosting companies, and SaaS platforms.
ISO 27018 acts as a privacy add-on to ISO 27001 for cloud environments.
ISO 27017 --> cloud specific security controls
ISO 27001 + ISO 22301
Combines information security and business continuity management, creating full operational resilience.
Banks, government agencies, hospitals, and critical infrastructure operators.
Provides risk-based thinking, continuity planning, and incident management integration.
ISO 27001 + ISO 20000
Integrates information security with IT service management for consistent and secure IT operations.
Internal IT departments, MSPs, SOCs, and helpdesks.
Simplifies SLA management, change management, and incident response alignment.
ISO 27001 + ISO 42001
Combines information security and responsible AI management for ethical and transparent use of AI systems.
Companies relying on, developing or applying AI models and algorithms.
ISO 42001 is aligned with the EU AI Act and provides an AI Management System structure.
ISO 27001 + ISO 38500
Links IT governance principles with information security management for better board-level oversight.
Executives, CIOs, CISOs, and IT governance boards.
ISO 38500 provides strategic governance while ISO 27001 handles operational security.
ISO 9001 + ISO 14001 + ISO 45001
Integrates quality, environmental, and occupational health & safety management systems (QHSE).
Manufacturing, industry, logistics, and construction sectors.
Classic triple combination for operational excellence; can also integrate ISO 27001.
Sector-specific frameworks and directives with ISO standards
Framework / Directive
Best ISO Combinations
Why It’s Useful
Typical Context / Sector
NIS2
ISO 27001 + ISO 22301 + ISO 27701
Covers cybersecurity, continuity and privacy compliance requirements under the NIS2 Directive.
Critical infrastructure, energy suppliers, healthcare providers, government and digital service providers across the EU.
DORA
ISO 27001 + ISO 22301 + ISO 27701
Ensures ICT resilience, service continuity, and incident management for financial entities under DORA.
Banks, insurance companies, fintech firms, and IT vendors serving the financial sector.
TISAX
ISO 27001 + required TISAX Level
Addresses data protection, prototype confidentiality and supplier compliance requirements in the automotive sector.
Automotive suppliers, OEMs, manufacturing plants, and R&D companies handling automotive data.
HDS (Healthcare Data Hosting)
ISO 9001 + ISO 20000 + ISO 27001 + ISO 27701 + ISO 27018
Provides compliance for e-health and patient data hosting according to EU and French regulations.
Cloud and hosting providers offering e-health platforms, medical data processing, or healthcare systems.
CyFun (CCB Belgium)
CyFun + evt. ISO 27001
Helps organizations reach the Belgian CyberFundamentals maturity levels defined by the CCB.
Belgian organizations in regulated sectors such as energy, telecom, finance, and public services.
ECHA IT Security Guidelines
ISO 27001
Ensures secure handling of sensitive environmental and chemical data under ECHA IT security expectations.
Companies and laboratories working with ECHA REACH and CLP systems handling chemical substances and reporting data.
Save audit costs – Gain efficiency – Avoid duplication