Pakistan Institute of Quality

Control
 Contents

1. General Principles
a. Basic Definitions
b. Requirements for an environmental audit
c. Objectives and Scope
d. Objectivity, Independence and Competence
e. Professional Codes
f. Reliability of audit findings

2. Audit Procedures
a. Audit Objectives
b. Roles and Responsibilities
c. Auditors’ Qualification Criteria
d. Initiating the Audit
e. Preparing the Audit
f. Conducting the Audit
g. Audit Report

2
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Basic Reference: ISO 14010:1996

3
 Basic Definitions
Reference: ISO 14050

 ENVIORNMENTAL AUDIT
systematic, documented verification process of
objectively obtaining and evaluating audit evidence
to determine whether specified environmental
activities, events, conditions, management
systems, or information about these matters
conform with audit criteria, and communicating the
results of this process to the client

 AUDIT CRITERIA
policies, practices, procedures or requirements
against which the auditor compares collected audit
evidence about the subject matter.
- requirements may include but are not limited to
standards, guidelines, specified organizational
requirements, and legislative or regulatory
requirements

 AUDIT FINDINGS
results of the evaluation of the collected audit
evidence compared with the agreed audit criteria
- the audit findings provide the basis for the audit
report

4
 AUDIT EVIDENCE
verifiable information, records or statements of fact
– audit evidence, which can be qualitative or
quantitative, is used by the auditor to determine
whether audit criteria are met
– audit evidence is typically based on interviews,
examination of documents, observation of activities
and conditions, existing results of measurements
and tests or other means within the scope of the
audit

 AUDIT CONCLUSION
professional judgement or opinion expressed by an
auditor about the subject matter of the audit, based
on and limited to reasoning the auditor has applied
to audit findings

 AUDIT TEAM
group of auditors, or a single auditor, designated to
perform a given audit; the audit team may also
include technical experts and auditors-in-training

5
 AUDITEE
organization to be audited

 ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITOR
person qualified to perform environmental audits
– qualification criteria for environmental auditors are
given, for example, in ISO 14012:1996

 LEAD ENVIRONEMNTAL AUDITOR

person qualified to manage and perform
environmental audits
– qualification criteria for lead environmental auditors
are given, for example, in ISO 14012:1996

 TECHNICAL EXPERT
person who provides specific knowledge or
expertise to the audit team, but who does not
participate as an auditor

 SUBJECT MATTER
specified environmental activity, event, condition,
management system and/or information about
these matters

6
 Requirements
for an environmental audit

 An environmental audit should focus on clearly

defined and documented subject matter. The party
(or parties) responsible for this subject matter
should also be clearly identified and documented.

 The audit should only be undertaken if,

– there is sufficient and appropriate information about
the subject matter of the audit
– there are adequate resources to support the audit
process
– there is adequate cooperation from the auditee

7
 Objectives and Scope

 The audit should be based on objectives defined

by the organization. The scope is determined by
the auditor, in consultation with the organization, to
meet these objectives. The scope describes the
extend and boundaries of the audit

 The objectives and scope should be

communicated to the auditee prior to the audit

8
 Objectivity,
Independence and Competence

 In order to ensure the objectivity of the audit

process and its findings and any conclusions, the
members of the audit team should be independent
of the activities they audit. They should be
objective, and free from bias and conflict of interest
throughout the process

 The use of external and internal audit-team

members is at the discretion of the organization.
An audit-team member chosen from within the
organization should not be accountable to those
directly responsible for the subject matter being
audited.

 The audit-team members should possess an

appropriate combination of knowledge, skills and
experience to carry out audit responsibilities

9
 Professional Codes

 Clarity of scope
 Carefulness, diligence, skill and judgement
 confidentiality and discretion
 Communication skills
 quality of audit, including proper sampling and time
 coverage, i.e. proper depth and width
 quality of audit reporting and follow-up

10
 Reliability of audit findings

 The environmental auditing process should be

designed to provide with the desired level of
confidence in the reliability of the audit findings and
any audit conclusions

 There is an element of uncertainty inherent in all

environmental audits and all users of the results of
environmental audits should be aware of this
uncertainty, mainly because it is only the result of a
sample of information available

 The environmental auditor should endeavor to

obtain sufficient audit evidence so that significant
individual audit findings and aggregates of less
significant findings, both of which may affect any
audit conclusions, are taken into account

11
AUDIT PROCEDURES

References
ISO 14011:1996
ISO 14012:1996

12
 Audit Objectives

 An EMS audit should have defined objectives;

examples of typical objectives are as follows:
– to determine conformance of an auditee’s EMS with
the EMS audit criteria
– to determine whether the auditee’s EMS has been
properly implemented and maintained
– to identify areas of potential improvement in the
auditee’s EMS
– to assess the ability of the internal management
review process to ensure the continuing suitability
and effectiveness of the EMS
– to evaluate the EMS of an organization where there
is a desire to establish a contractual relationship,
such as with a potential supplier or a joint-venture
partner

13
 Roles and Responsibilities

 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
REPRESENTATIVE (EMR)

– to determine the criteria and scope of the audit

– to obtain relevant background information necessary
to meet the objectives of the audit, such as details of
the activities, products, services, site and immediate
surroundings, and details of previous audits
– forming the audit team (if required) giving
consideration to potential conflicts of interest, and
agreeing on its composition
– preparing the audit plan
– communicating the audit plan to the auditee
– preparation of the audit and briefing the audit team
– to ensure the efficient and effective execution of the
audit within the audit scope and plan approved by
the management
– recognizing when audit objectives become un-
attainable and reporting the reasons to the
management
– notifying the auditee and the management without
delay, of audit findings of critical nonconformities
– reporting on the audit clearly and conclusively within
the time agreed with in the audit plan
– making recommendation for improvement in the
EMS to the management / management review

14
 AUDITOR(S)
– following the directions of and supporting the EMR
– planning and carrying out the assigned task
objectively, effectively and efficiently within the scope
of the audit
– collecting and analyzing relevant and sufficient audit
evidence to determine audit findings and reach audit
conclusions regarding the EMS
– preparing working documents under the direction of
the EMR
– documenting individual audit findings
– safeguarding documents pertaining to the audit and
returning such documents as required
– assisting in writing the audit report

15
 AUDIT TEAM
– the process for selecting audit-team members
should ensure that the audit team possesses the
overall experience and expertise needed to conduct
the audit. Consideration should be given to
• qualification of auditors
• the type of organization, processes, activities or
functions being audited
• the number, language skills, communication, and
expertise of the individual audit-team members
• any potential conflict of interest between the audit-team
members and the auditee
• requirements of the certification agencies
• need for any technical expert(s)

16
 AUDITEE
– to determine the need for the audit
– contacting the EMR to obtain his/her full cooperation
and initiating the audit process with necessary
facilities
– defining the objectives of the audit and informing the
employees
– if appropriate, approving the composition of the audit
team and providing competent staff to accompany
the team
– providing appropriate authority and resources to
enable the audit to be conducted. This includes
access to the facilities, personnel, relevant
information and records as requested by the auditors
– consulting with the EMR to determine the scope of
the audit
– approving the EMS audit criteria
– approving the audit plan
– receiving the audit report and determining its
distribution

17
Auditors’ Qualification
Criteria

It is generally as follows:

– Basic graduation or equivalent

– Basic training in:
• environmental science and technology (chemical
background and/or impact analysis)
• technical and environmental aspects of facility
operations (e.g. Pollution control technologies related
to the organizations processes)
• relevant requirements of environmental laws,
regulations and related documents (e.g. Pakistan's Act
34, NEQS, Industry-specific applicable standards,
other statutory laws)
• environmental management systems and standards
against which audits may be conducted (e.g. ISO
14001)
• audit procedures, processes and techniques (e.g. ISO
14010, 14011, 14012)
– Personal Attributes
• interpersonal skills, e.g. tactfulness, listening, respect
• independence
• personal organization
• ability to reach sound judgements
• sensitive to organizational culture
– Maintenance of Competence
• with respect to science, technology, EMS standards,
laws and regulations, and audit standards.

18
 Initiating the Audit

1. AUDIT SCOPE
– the extent and boundaries of the audit in terms of
factors such as physical location and organizational
activities as well as the manner of reporting
– the scope of the audit is determined by the
management and EMR
– the auditee should normally be consulted when
determining the scope of the audit
– the resources committed to the audit should be
sufficient to meet its intended scope

2. PRELIMINARY DOCUMENT REVIEW

– at the beginning of the audit process, the EMR
should review the organization’s documentation such
as environmental policy statements, programs,
records or manuals for meeting its EMS
requirements.
– Use should be made of all appropriate background
information on the auditees

19
 Preparing the Audit

1. AUDIT PLAN

 The audit plan should include:

– audit objectives and scope

– audit criteria
– area to be audited
– key personnel in EMS
– high audit priority concerns
– applicable procedures/manuals
– reference documents
– time duration of major audit activities
– dates and places where the audit is to be conducted
– audit team
– schedule of meetings

 Audit plan should be communicated to auditees,

and audit-team members. The auditee should
review and confirm the plan

 Any objections from auditee must be resolved (by

the EMR)

20
2. AUDIT-TEAM ASSIGNMENTS

As appropriate, each audit-team member should

be assigned specific EMS elements, functions, or
activities to audit and be instructed on the audit
procedure to follow. Such assignments should be
made by the EMR, in consultation with the audit-
team members concerned. During the audit, the
EMR may make changes to the work assignments
to ensure optimal achievement of the audit
objectives

21
3. WORKING DOCUMENTS

The working documents required to facilitate the

auditor’s investigations may include:

 forms for documenting supporting audit evidence

and audit findings
 procedures and checklists used for evaluating
EMS
elements
 records of meetings
 copies of applicable standards to be followed

Working documents should be maintained at least

until completion of the audit

22
 Conducting the Audit

1. OPENING MEETING
An opening meeting is required. The purpose is
to:

– review the scope, objectives and audit plan and

agree to the audit timetable
– provide a short summary of the methods and
procedures to be used to conduct the audit
– confirm that the resources and facilities needed by
the auditor are available
– confirm the time and date of the closing meeting
– promote the active participation by the auditee
– review relevant site safety and emergency
procedures before the site audit

23
2. COLLECTING AUDIT EVIDENCE

– Audit evidence should be collected through

interviews, examination of documents and
observation of activities and conditions.
– Indications of nonconformity to the EMS audit criteria
should be recorded
– Information gathered through interviews should be
verified by acquiring supporting information from
independent sources, such as observations, records
and results of existing measurements. Non-
verifiable statements should be identified as such
– Appropriate samples should be collected

24
3. AUDIT FINDINGS

– The audit-team should review all of their audit

evidence to determine where the EMS does not
conform to the EMS audit criteria.
– Nonconformities should be documented in a clear,
concise manner and supported by audit evidence.
– Audit findings should be reviewed with the
responsible auditee manager with a view to obtaining
acknowledgement of the factual basis of all findings
of nonconformities
– If within the agreed scope, details of audit findings of
conformity may also be documented, but with due
care to avoid any implication of absolute assurance

25
4. CLOSING MEETING

– Required before writing the report

– Purpose is to present audit findings to the auditee in
such a manner as to obtain their clear understanding
and acknowledgement of the factual basis of the
audit findings
– Disagreement should be resolved, if possible before
EMR issues the report
– Final decisions on the significance and description of
the audit findings ultimately rest with the EMR,
though the auditee may still disagree with these
findings

26
Audit Report

1. PREPARATION OF AUDIT REPORT

– The audit report is prepared under the direction of

the EMR, who is responsible for its accuracy and
completeness
– The topics to be addressed in the audit report should
be those determined in the audit plan.

2. CONTENTS

– dated and signed by the EMR

– should contain findings/summary with reference to
supporting evidences
– the agreed objectives, scope and plan of the audit
– the agreed criteria, including a list of reference
documents against which the audit was conducted
– dates and times
– identification of the auditees' representatives
participating in the audit
– the identification of the audit-team members
– distribution list
– summary of the audit process including any
obstacles encountered
– audit conclusions on conformance, suitability, and
effectiveness

27