As part of the OECD's work on responsible mineral supply chains, an informal Audit Working Group has been set up to encourage communication on this section of supply chain reporting. The working group serves as a platform for exchange among auditors and others interested in mineral supply chain auditing. This presentation lays out its objectives and calendar of webinars. To find out more visit: http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/responsible-mineral-supply-chains-audits.htm

1. Audit Working Group for
Responsible Mineral Supply
Chains: Calendar and objectives
October 2014

2. Objectives of the Audit Working Group
 Objective 1: Increase communication, awareness and
understanding among working group members about different
audit schemes, standards and concepts. If possible, work towards
greater alignment of audits (without interfering with existing
alignment efforts).
 Objective 2: Raise knowledge of Forum members on auditing,
including through organising webinars, conference calls or, if
appropriate, distributing discussion papers or reports.
 Objective 3: Define issues related to auditing which could be
discussed at future Forum meetings.
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3. Audit Working Group members
(as of Aug 2014)
Government
• ICGLR
• OECD
• German BGR
• European Union
Industry
• Cronimet
• PAMP
• London Bullion Market
Association (LBMA)
• DMCC
• Responsible Jewellery
Council (RJC)
Other
• RCS Global
• KPMG
• UL Responsible Sourcing
• Ernst & Young
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Civil Society
• Alliance for Responsible
Mining (ARM)
• Global Witness
• Partnership Africa Canada
(PAC)
• Transparency International

4. Proposed work plan: Objective 1
Objective Date Theme / Webinar Led by
Objective 1:
Increase
communication,
awareness and
understanding on
audits; work
towards greater
alignment of audits
(without interfering
with existing
alignment efforts)
13 May 2014
18 July 2014
9 Oct 2014
Dec 2014/
Jan 2015
Mar 2015
May 2015
June 2015
Introduction to auditing and key terminology (relevant
for mineral supply chain audits); certification vs
assurance audits
ICGLR’s Regional Certification Mechanism (RCM) and
Certified Trading Chains (CTC)
+ view of practitioner (Michele, RCS on CTC audits)
Conflict Free Smelter (CFS) programmes
+ view of practitioner / auditor / auditee: tbc
LBMA’s Responsible Gold Guidance and the WGC’s
Conflict-Free Gold Standard
+ view of practitioner / auditor / auditee: tbc
DMCC’s Responsible Sourcing Guidance and the
RJC’s Chain of Custody and Code of Practice
+ view of practitioner / auditor / auditee: tbc
Fairmined and Fairtrade
+ view of practitioner / auditor / auditee: tbc
Lessons learnt: towards auditor guidance?
Ruth Rosenbaum
and
Michèle Brülhart
Peter Karasira,
Phillip Schütte,
Uwe Naeher, and
Michèle Brülhart
Michael Rohwer
Ruth Crowell,
World Gold Council
Chirag Sharma,
Fiona Solomon
Patrick Schein,
Amy Ross
Estelle Levin
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5. Proposed work plan: Objectives 2 & 3
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Objective Date Theme / Webinar Led by
Objective 2:
Raise knowledge
of Forum members
on auditing
Objective 3:
Define issues
related to auditing
which could be
discussed at future
Forum meetings
13 May 2014
Nov 2014
Discuss 7th ICGLR-OECD-UN GoE Forum (26-28 May
2014) audit session: e.g. focus on awareness raising
and knowledge sharing for May Forum; Side meeting of
audit WG?
8th ICGLR-OECD-UN GoE Form for Responsible
Mineral Supply Chains, Kinshasa, DRC (3-5 Nov 2014)
Ruth Crowell and
Hannah Koep-
Andrieu
tbc

6. Webinar format
• One-hour, webinar format, OECD Secretariat hosted and organised
• Representatives of the different initiatives to introduce their audit
programmes; those initiatives that are not represented in the WG to be
invited by Secretariat for the relevant session
• Practitioners (auditors and/or auditees) to comment on presentation and
audit programme; if necessary, interveners to be invited for the relevant
session.
• One theme for the comment / feedback on the different audit initiatives
should always be how audits and auditors performance can be improved
and harmonized.
• Each presentations should be no longer than 10 minutes
• Focus on guiding questions (see next slide)
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7. Guiding questions for presenters (1/2)
Introduction – general context and terminology
– Type of audit? (certification/assurance)
– Objective / Focus of the audit: downstream/upstream, who are the main auditees,
does the audit cover other parts of the supply chain to reach its objectives?
Audit process
– Accreditation of the auditors: how are they chosen, individuals vs companies
– Cycle and timelines: frequency of the audits (when do follow-up audits occur?),
duration (how much time is allowed for the field and then analysis, compilation and
review?)
– Governance of the audit: who supervises the auditors, who are the reports submitted
to, do reports go through several layers of corrections?
Audit methodology
– Reference documents and auditors guidelines: what is expected from an auditor
while conducting an audit (questions, documentation, reviews…), are there
indications on how the initiative’s standards are looked into and tested?
– Standards used (ISO …)
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8. Guiding questions (2/2)
Audit data
– How many audits were carried out and published?
– What provisions are there for public disclosure of audit reports?
– How was the audit data shared with the audited entity or others (e.g.
others in the supply chain)?
– In which countries have audits from the initiative been conducted?
– Are there any efforts in aligning or complementing other audits?
Recognition by Conflict-Free Smelter Initiative (CFSI) (if relevant)
– What is the output of the audit that can be shared with CFSI smelters?
– What documents are auditees requested to keep on file that can be shared
with midstream companies?
– Are there gaps preventing the audit from being recognized by the CFSI?
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9. For further information
• For further information on this project and to keep informed
of latest developments, please visit:
mneguidelines.oecd.org/responsible-mineral-supply-chains-audits.htm
• If you have a question, please email:
louis.marechal@oecd.org or tyler.gillard@oecd.org
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