A vendor audit is used by organizations to evaluate a third-party hired by the organization. An audit can look at a number of different issues, such as the organization's quality control, its costs vs. benefits, its cybersecurity protection, or other aspects.

There are three main types of audits: external audits, internal audits, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits. A systematic and independent examination to determine whether quality activities and related results comply with a documented quality system and whether this documented quality system is implemented effectively and is suitable to achieve the contractual requirements placed by the customer.