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How to Deal with Difficult Situations in Audits Training Course

This training equips auditors with strategies to handle obstacles such as documentation errors, unethical behaviours, resistance, and time-wasting tactics, ensuring a smooth and productive audit process.

4 July 2025
+ 6 November 2025, 5 March 2026 »

from £649

Need help?  Enrol/reserve

Part of Audit Essentials: From Interviews to Inspections series:

Led by industry expert Mustafa Edik, this comprehensive new training series is designed for professionals in the pharmaceutical industry who want to master GMP audits. Learn how to conduct thorough audits, manage supplier assessments, and confidently handle regulatory inspections. The courses in this series cover everything from raw material audits and GMP compliance to overcoming challenges and maintaining audit readiness for major health authorities like the FDA, EMA, and WHO. Additionally, you’ll gain crucial knowledge of Good Distribution Practices (GDP) and Good Storage Practices (GSP) to ensure product quality and safety. Ready to elevate your auditing expertise and stay ahead of industry standards? Enrol today!

Course overview

Planning GMP audits with a disciplined and meticulous approach offers numerous benefits for both the GMP auditor conducting the audit and the audited party. While GMP audits are an authority obligation, they also provide added value during internal audits. Additionally, external audits give the audited party the opportunity to discover facts they may not have been aware of.

A GMP auditor must be prepared to handle unexpected situations at any stage of the audit and must complete the qualification process by undergoing the necessary training in this field. While GMP auditors do not evaluate audits solely based on findings, the prejudices, unrest, lack of cooperation, and contrary behavioural patterns of the audited party may lead the auditor to evaluate the audit from a different perspective.

In difficult situations, the auditor should remain polite but firm, maintaining self-control and full command of the audit. This training aims to provide insight from the GMP auditor's perspective, help the audited party cope with challenging situations, and offer strategies for overcoming them.

This course is part of our GxP training (Good x Practice) course collection, which features a variety of topic areas to ensure you comply with the most recent quality guidelines. For more information on the latest EU GMP regulations, see our GMP training course covering the Annex 1.

Benefits of attending

  • Learn effective communication strategies to maintain a positive relationship with auditors, even during tense or difficult moments
  • Gain tools for resolving conflicts in a calm and professional manner, helping to avoid misunderstandings or escalations during GMP audits
  • Learn how to identify potential compliance risks and address them proactively during an audit, minimising the chance of significant issues
  • Improve your ability to build trust and rapport with auditors, leading to better working relationships and smoother audit outcomes
  • Discuss the legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding GMP audits, so you’re better prepared to respond effectively and stay compliant
  • Consider strategies for turning challenging situations into opportunities for improvement, leading to positive audit results and a more robust quality system

Who should attend

This training would suit those in the following professional roles:

  • Quality Assurance
  • Quality Control
  • GMP Compliance
  • GMP Auditors
  • Auditing
  • IT
  • Regulatory Affairs
  • Engineering
  • Supply Chain

Enrol/reserve

This course will cover:

GMP audits and inspections in brief

  • Why we need to perform GMP audits
  • Audits vs inspections
  • How to perform GMP audits
  • International GMP guidelines for GMP audits

Pre-audit and post-audit difficult situations

  • What is a difficult situation in the eyes of a GMP Auditor?
  • List of difficult situations (Problems during planning the audit, executing the audit, interviews, opening & closing meetings, audit reporting, CAPAs)
  • How to prioritise the selected difficult situations

The GMP auditor’s roles and responsibilities in difficult situations

  • What should be the first reaction to difficult auditees
  • How to behave
  • Silence, ice-breaking, reprisal and hostility
  • Best approaching methods for conflicts

The GMP auditee’s roles and responsibilities in difficult situations cont.

  • What should be the first reaction to difficult auditees
  • How to behave
  • Silence, ice-breaking, revence and hostility
  • Best approaching methods for conflicts

Workshop

  • The possible reactions of the GMP auditor to an unexpected situation encountered during a GMP audit will be defined and solution suggestions will be discussed

Enrol/reserve

Mustafa Edik

Mustafa Edik is an Independent GMP Consultant and Auditor.  

After graduating as a Chemist from university, Mustafa began his 25 year plus career as a Laboratory Supervisor at Bayer, a German Pharmaceutical Company. After 15 years of working as a Quality Assurance Assistant Manager, Laboratory Supervisor, Pharmaceutical Quality Management Systems, and GMP Lead Auditor, he decided to continue his career as a Consultant. He has served the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEA) as Principal GMP Auditor and Consultant for 6 years. TAEA was audited by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health and granted GMP Certificate for 5 Radiopharmaceuticals. This success has won great acclaim from all health authorities and industry. 

He has prepared and presented various training courses and workshops to more than 8000 individuals from 150 International and local Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Cosmetics companies on GMP, GDP and Pharmaceutical Quality Management Systems. He has taken part in several International Pharmaceutical Facility Establishment projects as GMP Consultant and has also set up various Quality Management Systems for Local Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Companies.

While he was the Vice President of Quality and Technical Operations at a Quality Academia Training and Consultancy firm, he acquired and converted it into a 100 % Turkish Company. As the only IRCA Certificated Pharmaceutical Quality Management Systems and GMP Lead Auditor in Turkey, he currently conducts API, Excipient, Packaging Materials Suppliers and Manufacturers, Third Party Logistics Service Providers, Sterile and Non-Sterile Manufacturing Facilities Audits according to FDA, EMA, PIC /S, TMMDA, MHRA, TGA Health Canada, and WHO regulations and guidelines.

He finished his second university degree in Biopharmaceutical Sciences BSc (Hons) at Atlantic Technological University - Ireland. He is the author of chapter 6 of the book published by PDA named “Good Distribution Practices” and his new book on ‘GMP Audits in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industires’ will be published by Taylor & Francis in June 28, 2024.

More details

NEW higher discounts for multiple bookings - bring your colleagues to make your training budget go further:

  • 30% off the 2nd delegate*
  • 40% off the 3rd delegate*
  • 50% off the 4th delegate*

Please contact us for pricing if you are interested in booking 5 or more delegates

4 July 2025

Live online

09:30-17:00 UK (London) (UTC+01)
10:30-18:00 Paris (UTC+02)
04:30-12:00 New York (UTC-04)
Course code 15623

  • GBP 649 749
  • EUR 909 1,049
  • USD 1,043 1,199

Until 30 May

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Not ready to book yet?

for 7 days, no obligation

6 November 2025

Live online

09:30-17:00 UK (London) (UTC+00)
10:30-18:00 Paris (UTC+01)
04:30-12:00 New York (UTC-05)
Course code 15624

  • GBP 649 749
  • EUR 909 1,049
  • USD 1,043 1,199

Until 02 Oct

View basket 

 
Not ready to book yet?

for 7 days, no obligation

5 March 2026

Live online

09:30-17:00 UK (London) (UTC+00)
10:30-18:00 Paris (UTC+01)
04:30-12:00 New York (UTC-05)
Course code 15625

  • GBP 649 749
  • EUR 909 1,049
  • USD 1,043 1,199

Until 29 Jan

View basket 

 
Not ready to book yet?

for 7 days, no obligation

* Early booking discounts may not be combined with other discounts or offers. As such, the discounts for 2nd/3rd/4th delegates are based on the full price; and apply only when booking multiple delegates on the same date.

Run How to Deal with Difficult Situations in Audits Live online for your team

Pricing from:

  • GBP 500
  • Per attendee, based on 10 attendees
  • Course tailored to your requirements
  • At your choice of location, or online

 

We can customise this course to your requirements and deliver it on an in-house basis for any number of your staff or colleagues.

Contact our in-house training experts Aleksandra Beer and Yesim Nurko to discuss your requirements:

Multiple colleagues? See above for details of our discounts for 2, 3, or 4 delegates. For more, talk to one of our training experts to discuss how to:

Run this course conveniently and cost-effectively in-house for your staff and colleagues

Aleksandra Beer

Aleksandra BEER
Training expert

Yesim Nurko

Yesim NURKO
Training expert

+44 (0)20 7749 4749

inhouse@ipi.academy