Audits in SMEs
3. DOCUMENTATION CHECK
The main purpose of document control is to verify that the right documents are in the hands of those who must use them.
In its simplest form, this requires only a list of documents and the people who should use them.
The verification of the functioning of the system would simply consist in verifying that everyone has the necessary documentation.
4. Evidence
Verifiers should always seek objective evidence of the functioning of a system without producing excessive amounts of documents. In small organizations, it is therefore often easier to check the effectiveness of the procedures by examining the results.
5. RELATIONS
The obligation to make a public declaration proper to the EMAS system should not be seen as the obligation to create and print a glossy report.
It is intended to ensure that interested parties are duly informed of the performance of the organization.
In the case of smaller organizations, the main interested parties usually reside in the vicinity of the site and the organization can therefore decide to fulfill the obligation by providing photocopied or similar information. The EMAS system should not be designed as a source of unnecessary burdens for small businesses.
6. AUDIT AND ANALYSIS
In the majority of small businesses it will be possible to identify some person from the organization sufficiently independent to be able to perform the audit function.
However, in very small organizations (micro-enterprises) this may not be possible.
In order to avoid resorting to an external company to carry out the audit, the verifier can accept some alternatives:
- audits carried out by chambers of commerce, trade and craft trade associations, local SME organizations at local level or other similar ones;
- partnership between two or more micro-enterprises on a single site in order to share resources and practical experience in carrying out the audits;
- combination of audits and management analysis (environmental) in order to save time and resources.
|