Scope of works

Documents to commence an ACP audit

To begin an audit for an ACP, the ACP and auditor will submit a Detailed Scope of Works (DSW) and a sampling plan. This page provides details about these documents.

For information on scheme participant audits refer to Auditing scheme participants.

About the DSW

The DSW sets out the scope of work for an audit and has 2 parts:

  • Part A, which contains:
    • the ACP name, accreditation number and accreditation notice reference
    • the total number of certificates to be audited, by vintage year
    • the implementation period and, for post registration audits, the certificate registration period
    • information about when to provide a separate List of Sites document that contains the sites that are subject to audit.
  • Part B, which contains:
    • information about the audit team members, including the name of the lead auditor
    • standard scope items of the audit and associated audit procedures
    • method specific scope items
    • the audit standard that will be followed
    • the audit plan, including the timetable
    • the audit fees.

About the Sampling Plan

Some audits are conducted before registering certificates, whereas others are conducted after. Visit our Auditing ACPs page for information about pre-registration and post-registration audits.

For pre-registration audits, the sampling plan is included in the List of Sites. 

For post-registration audits, relevant implementation data should be exported to an Excel file. Then the auditor should nominate which sites are the subject of each tier of sampling.

Who does what

  • The ACP completes Part A of the DSW Submission Form and uploads this to TESSA. For pre-registration audits, the ACP must also upload the List of Sites. Once uploaded, the auditor accesses the documents in TESSA.
  • The auditor completes Part B and submits the DSW in TESSA with the proposed sampling plan.
  • IPART must review and approve the documents before the audit can start.

A note about audit scope and procedures

Guidance on the scope and procedures is available in: 

Method Guides can also help an auditor work out what type of audit procedures are necessary for an audit.

An auditor should not solely rely on these scope items and procedures. They should also consider what aspects of the audit might have higher levels of non-compliance or misstatement. Then design any additional audit procedures that reduce the risks to an acceptable level. 

An auditor should also consider:

  • the ACP’s compliance history
  • any issues that have led to recommendations in recent previous audits
  • industry trends and observations IPART has shared.

More information