A remote audit is the same as an on-site audit, but the auditor engages with you via technology. It can still cover document and record review, tours of your premises, interviews with workers and presentation of findings by using a range of technology platforms including:

• Live web streaming technology such as Zoom, MS Teams, etc;
• Live streaming paired with mobile technology such as a smartphone or tablet with video capabilities (e.g. WhatsApp, Skype etc.);
• Live streaming paired with smartglass technology and video headsets.

SACAS Ireland works with you in advance of the audit to ensure underlying technology is in place and compatible.

What are the benefits of a SACAS Ireland Remote Audit?

• Stay on schedule;
• Decrease our carbon footprint and expenses through reduced travel for your team and ours;
• A flexible approach – we align the technology that works best for you;
• Access our global network of experts more easily;
• Engage your teams no matter where they are based;
• It’s an immersive audit experience with the same trusted expertise.

Our remote audit approaches

We offer two main approaches for remote auditing:

1)  the auditor is off-site, auditing from a SACAS Ireland office, or from their home;

2)  the auditor is with you at one of your locations, remotely auditing another one of your sites, performing interviews, reviewing documentation and records or observing processes and activities with your team

Regardless of approach, and depending on the individual audit requirements, we use different technologies for an immersive audit experience. This enables you to collect data safely, access new areas and delivers the most effective experience for you. 

How does a remote audit work?

Remote audits may be considered at any stage of the certification process. Here are the three simple steps involved in your SACAS Ireland Remote Audit.

Step 1: Planning

From the beginning we will work together to get the right audit approach for you. We will discuss the proposed approach, taking into consideration scheme specific requirements and your technology infrastructure, to ensure we can deliver an effective audit.

Once our approach is confirmed, we’ll schedule a date and our audit team leader will start the detailed audit planning process with you. This includes agreeing the technology and audit methods used and confirming the final audit plan.

Step 2: Conducting the remote audit

A successful remote audit relies on adequate connectivity (i.e. voice and video) to ensure the communication between you and the auditor is stable.

Once your connection is up and running, audit evidence will be collected via interview, review of documentation and records (via screen sharing) and observation of processes and activities (via video sharing if possible). All evidence will be reviewed and reported to support the audit findings and conclusions – the only difference is it will be done using remote techniques.

Step 3: Audit reporting

In addition to a standard on-site audit report, remote audit reports will also include details about the remote auditing methods that have been used and will clarify the effectiveness of the audit in achieving the stated objectives.

The environment is a strategic and valuable asset for South Africa which must be protected and proactively managed to ensure it forms the basis for a healthy society and our economic well-being.

There is growing acknowledgement internationally that our current production and consumption behaviours, as well as our governance and development choices, cannot be sustained without posing a significant threat to the environment and to human health.

In line with Irish, European and international policies, South Africa needs to transition towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon and environmentally-friendly economy in which the resources and services provided by our planet are protected and enhanced, and citizens’ health and wellbeing are safeguarded.

It is with this focus in mind that SACAS Ireland want to be one of the world's best sustainable and independent service provider of technical services for certification and training. Sustainability is a core topic for us and determines our certification services. We work profit-oriented with respect to our social and environmental responsibility. We truly believe companies will only be successful in the long term if they incorporate sustainability in their philosophy and in the way they manage their business.

To us, this means, on the one hand, responding to our customers’ future needs and contributing to their success with the certification services and training we offer. We help our clients make their products, services and processes more efficient and more sustainable. On the other hand, we face the responsibility we have as a certification body for our people, society, and the environment. We are committed to making a contribution to a future that meets both human and environmental needs on a sustainable basis.

Those topics that are seen as especially relevant for the future viability of SACAS Ireland from our internal as well as from our stakeholder perspective are the foundation of our sustainability strategy, combined with the principles of the UN Global Compact.

Corporate sustainability starts with a company’s value system and a principles-based approach to doing business. This means operating in ways that, at a minimum, meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Responsible businesses enact the same values and principles wherever they have a presence, and know that good practices in one area do not offset harm in another.

By incorporating the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact into strategies, policies and procedures, and establishing a culture of integrity, companies are not only upholding their basic responsibilities to people and planet but also setting the stage for long-term success.

The Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact are derived from: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

Human Rights

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and

Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Labour

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;

Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and

Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Environment

Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;

Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and

Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Anti-Corruption

Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.