Management Review and Year End
the ten chapters of the management review with real numbers, the action plan as the only plan, the audit programme, the rollover of the documents and the handover sheet – with templates and a practice company
- 65–95 min
- 15 modules
- Free certificate
- No account needed
- Updated November 2026
👥 Target group: Managing directors and owners of small companies who want to write their management review themselves or understand what they sign, Quality managers who want to complete the year-end rollover of the documents in one run
Which legal duty or standard requirement does this training cover?
About this training
Once a year ISO 9001 requires top management to review its QMS (9.3): with defined inputs – status of actions, context, customer satisfaction, objectives, process performance, nonconformities, KPIs, audits, suppliers, resources, risks, improvements – and defined outputs: decisions on improvements, changes and resources. In small companies this turns into either a document from the internet with empty tables or a two-day project. Both are unnecessary: anyone who keeps the lists from the previous courses has all the inputs – the management review is then a report with ten chapters that is written in two hours.
This course shows the year end as one run: collect the numbers from KPI sheet, defect tally sheet, supplier and customer evaluation, objectives, risk analysis and audit report; write the ten chapters with real tables; management's decisions as a decision table; update the action plan as the only plan; the audit programme over three years; roll the documents over to the new year (objectives in two versions, evaluation periods, status); the handover sheet for everyone involved. At the practice company Klarblick Building Services (38 employees, fictitious) you write the management review 2026 from given data. 15 modules, final test, certificate of participation with a verifiable number.
What this course covers — and what it does not: The course covers clause 9.3 (management review) of ISO 9001:2015 and the year-end rollover of the QM documents of a company with 1 to 50 employees – action plan, audit programme, update. The internal audit itself (9.2) has a course of its own, as do objectives and risks (6), KPIs (9.1) and complaints (10.2); here their results are used. Not covered: environmental and occupational safety review under ISO 14001/45001 (the structure can be extended), balance sheet and financial review, certification audit and certification decision (course “Passing the Certification Audit”). The practice company is fictitious. This is a translation of the German course for readers worldwide — in case of doubt the German edition applies.
Contents at a glance
- What management reviews — and why 9.3 is not a meetingPurpose of the management review (suitability, adequacy, effectiveness, strategic alignment); the inputs a) to f) and the outputs a) to c) as a checklist; report instead of meeting; time of year; who writes, who signs; the two typical errors (internet template without numbers, two-day project)
- The ten chapters — a structure that covers all inputsStructure: 1 Management system · 2 Objectives and process KPIs · 3 Audits · 4 Resources (incl. climate protection) · 5 Suppliers · 6 Customers · 7 Corrective and improvement actions · 8 Standards and laws · 9 Risks and opportunities · 10 Final evaluation; assignment to 9.3.2 a–f; rule “every chapter one table”; header block and signature; length
- Collecting the numbers: the eight sources in one hourThe eight source documents (KPI sheet, objectives review, defect tally sheet, supplier evaluation, customer satisfaction, audit report, risk analysis, action plan) plus staff/investments; the collection list per chapter; what is missing stays red (“please complete — reason”), is never invented; source priority; collection folder
- Writing chapters 1 to 3: system, objectives, auditsChapter 1: context changes, manual status, scope, certificate, alignment; chapter 2: objectives review with colour status, evaluation of missed objectives (cause, decision), objectives outlook, KPIs annual average; chapter 3: internal audit (findings, strengths, status), external audit, audit programme next year; sample texts
- Writing chapters 4 to 6: resources, suppliers, customersChapter 4: staff, training (carried out/planned with effectiveness), investments (carried out/planned), infrastructure and inspections, climate protection/ESG actions, adequacy; chapter 5: supplier evaluation complete with previous year; chapter 6: complaints (number, rate, top 3, costs, repeaters) and customer satisfaction (table, terminations, feedback)
- Writing chapters 7 to 9: actions, standards, risksChapter 7: decisions of the previous year's review with status and effectiveness (input a), corrective actions of the year, improvements (input f), open actions; chapter 8: list of standards and laws reviewed, changes, new requirements (ISO 9001:2026, climate change amendment); chapter 9: risk and opportunity matrix with status, new rows, effectiveness (input e)
- Chapter 10: management's decisions — decision table and three sentencesSuitability, adequacy, effectiveness in one sentence each with evidence; the decision table (no., decision, source/reason, responsible, deadline, resources) as output 9.3.3 a–c; decision candidates from all chapters; resource needs; signature; transfer into action plan and objectives; what is not a decision
- The action plan as the only plan: columns, sources, status, effectivenessThe standard columns (date, origin/source, topic, finding/cause, action, responsible, by when, status, result, effectiveness); sources: audit internal/external, complaint, risk/opportunity, objective, management review, improvement; update instead of new creation; status values; monthly review; avoid duplicates; responsible persons as roles
- The audit programme over three years: matrix, dates, auditor, exclusionsWhat 9.2.2 requires (programme with frequency, methods, responsibilities, planning requirements, reporting); the audit cycle matrix (processes × years, status planned/carried out); all processes every year in a small company; date in relation to management review and certification audit; auditor internal (independence) or external; exclusions from the manual; update at the year end
- Rolling the documents over to the new year: two dates, three rules, eight filesDocument date (status, reference date for periods) and audit date (last review); objectives in two versions; evaluation periods suppliers/customers; deadline rule; what stays unchanged (manual, processes); what is never changed (edition years of standards, historical table data); file names with status; gap rule; the order of the run
- The handover sheet: what is new, what remains open — for everyone involved on one pagePurpose (MD, quality manager, consultant, auditor see in two minutes what was changed and what is missing); the six sections: header block, at a glance, what was changed, what is still to do, what is done, next dates; rule: every red place exactly once; update when adding later; template
- What the certification body does with the management review — and 20 questions about itThe audit method: tick off inputs a–f, decisions against action plan, previous year's decisions against status, numbers against sources; typical questions; the five most frequent nonconformities on 9.3; how the review shortens the audit
- Case study: Klarblick Building Services — management review 2026 from the listsPractice company Klarblick Building Services (38 employees, fictitious): write the ten chapters from given lists (objectives review, KPIs, defect tally sheet, suppliers, customers, audit report, risk analysis, previous year's action plan, staff, projects), derive decisions, update the action plan, create the handover sheet; three hidden gaps; model solution
- Records: the year folder — and the calendar for the next yearThe year folder with management review, collection folder, eight updated files, action plan, audit programme, handover sheet; clauses per file; the QM annual calendar (monthly, quarterly, annually) as a summary of all courses; retention; checklist
- Procedure in our companyProcedure in our company: contact person for quality questions, location of the manual, templates and records, approvals, fixed dates and next steps in the company
Frequently asked questions
Does the management review have to be a meeting?
No. The standard requires the review by top management and evidence with inputs and outputs. In a small company that is a report that MD and quality manager write together in two hours and the MD signs. A meeting with everyone is possible but not required.
How long is a management review for a company with 15 employees?
Eight to twelve pages with tables – ten chapters, half a page to one page each. Shorter gets thin (inputs missing), longer nobody reads. The tables come from the lists of the year, not from new work.
What is the difference from a management review from the internet?
Real numbers. A copied review has sentences like “Customer satisfaction is at a high level”; a real one has the table with five customers and grades. Auditors read exactly that – and the decision table at the end: what did management decide, who, by when.
When in the year?
After the internal audit and before the certification audit – in a small company usually January or February for the previous year. All lists are then closed, and the objectives of the new year are decided in the review.
What is the year end?
The run in which all QM documents are brought to the new year: objectives review and outlook, evaluation periods, status and review dates, audit programme, action plan, management review – and the handover sheet that tells everyone in the company what is new and what remains open. In two to four hours, once a year.
Is the course free?
Yes, like all courses of the QM-Guru Academy. No registration; the e-mail address is used only to deliver the certificate.
Which edition is this?
The English-language edition of our German course "Managementbewertung und Jahreswechsel", written for readers worldwide. The downloadable templates are currently in German; English versions will follow. In case of doubt the German edition applies.