Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) Best Practice Guidance

9. AUDIT FOLLOW-UP
9.1. Follow-up Audits
Auditor verification of adequate corrective actions, can be carried out by a re visit to the site to examine the
actions which have been taken in response to non-compliances from a previous audit. This is known as a
follow-up audit and it can be full or partial (see Section 5.3: “Sequence of Audits” for details).
A follow-up audit is required when corrective action cannot be verified via evidence supplied through “desktop”
review only.
For wages and hours corrective actions, verification can only be by a follow-up audit and a minimum of 2
months new records need to be available for review.
The sampling numbers needed to verify follow-up e.g. for wages or working hours, may be lower than for a full
audit.
A desktop review or a desktop follow-up can be used to verify information remotely such as policies or
certificates.
Note: The AAG has suggested examples of issues which may be verified by the above two methods.
See ‘SMETA Guide to Non-compliances’ on the member resources of Sedex. If in doubt it may be necessary
to check with the auditor requestor.
See Appendix A5: “Audit Length, Sample Size and Timetable”.
9.1.1. Purpose of a Follow-up Audit
SMETA Best Practice Guidance (4-Pillar Version 4.0, May 2012)
The audit follow-up focuses on the corrective actions agreed during the audit and closing meeting.
l The auditor will be responsible for verifying whether actions have been taken and recording verification
of actions.
l Where a follow-up audit is required, for example on issues on working hours and wages or where the
original issue was raised by workers, the length of time taken at the follow-up should be related to the
number and severity of issues to be verified.
l Where only one auditor is carrying out both the auditor and worker interview roles at the follow-up
audit, it may be necessary to consider the auditor’s gender, especially where there is a majority gender
at the site.
l For corrective actions where it is judged that desk-based verification is adequate, the auditor will review
evidence submitted.
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