Audits – A waste of time or an effective regulatory tool?

Audits have taken their fair share of criticism. Particularly when it comes to uncovering human rights abuses and instances of modern slavery in company supply chains. Far too often abuses are not uncovered by traditional auditing techniques. In addition, to their ineffectiveness, audits present a major burden on suppliers with audit fatigue a common problem. 

 

However, audits are a tool used by the vast majority of companies. And when those critics of audits are challenged to present viable alternatives, they often struggle. 

 

This debate style session will discuss some of the limitations of audits, and how these can be overcome. We will challenge our panel to talk practically to the issues, and to address the age-old question: if not, then what?