The audit is an independent and certified examination of all the activities presented in the report which affect people and the environment. It ensures the quality of the Common Good Balance Sheet. The audit certificate is a seal of approval: it assures the credibility of the report to stakeholders.
Feedback conversations stimulate critical reflections on the ECG values and how they relate to company activities. This heightens consciousness around doing business differently and starts a process of further development.
There are two ways of completing your Common Good Balance Sheet:
- If a company works together with other companies in a peer group to produce its report, this is regarded as a peer evaluation.
- In all other cases, the report is evaluated by an external audit.
In both cases, external audit as well as peer evaluation, the final results are clearly displayed in a certificate.
The external audit is the last stage before publishing your Common Good Report. The audit includes independent evaluation as well as feedback, flagging up areas for future development.
Audit Types
There are two audit types: visiting and desk audit. The choice depends mainly on your company’s size.
As part of the Visiting Audit, interviews are held with employees of the company from different functional areas and hierarchical levels. This involves verifying the statements in the ECG report and providing additional information. If necessary, the auditors ask for access to documents, such as contracts or survey results. The visit also offers a good opportunity for feedback and exchange on potential for further development.
Based on the results of the interviews, the audit report is supplemented and an initial assessment from an audit perspective is carried out. During the final feedback discussion with the client (team) via Skype (on request personally on site, if additional travel costs are covered), the final assessment is discussed. You will receive the certificate as confirmation of the audit.
The visiting audit takes place every two to six years, depending on the size of the company.
In the case of a Desk Audit, the accuracy and traceability of the reporting is evaluated on the basis of the submitted documents, without an on-site visit. The audit report is created based on your Common Good Report. For the best possible results, auditors can request additional documentation as required.
In the final feedback discussion with the client (team) via video conferencing, the final assessment is discussed. You will receive the certificate as confirmation of the audit.
Audit Process
For all questions regarding the audit, please contact audit@list.econgood.org or ask your ECG consultant.
Audit Checklist
In a peer evaluation, a small group of companies are guided through the Common Good Report process by an ECG consultant over a series of workshops. The drafting of the Common Good Report is a joint learning process. The evaluation of each company’s contribution to the common good is made with help of peers.
Finally, the results are submitted to the audit plattform by the ECG consultant. The peer certificate, a preliminary step towards the audit certificate, also represents a seal of quality. It assures the credibility of the report for stakeholders.
A peer evaluation can only be done once, during the preparation of the first Balance Sheet.
Peer Evaluation Process
Peer Evaluation Checklist
For all questions regarding the peer evaluation, please contact audit@list.econgood.org or ask your ECG consultant.