This document outlines the process for witness audits conducted by the Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS). It describes the purpose, scope, definitions, references, and instructions for planning and conducting witness audits of certification bodies applying for or maintaining SAAS accreditation. The key steps include planning the audit, conducting opening/closing meetings, witnessing the certification body's audit activities, identifying any nonconformities, and issuing corrective action requests. Post-audit activities include submitting audit reports and analyzing responses to corrective actions. The goal is to verify that certification bodies are effectively implementing their accredited certification systems.

1. Author: L. Bernstein Social Accountability Accreditation Services Issue: 1
Approval: R. Zaid SAAS Global Work Instruction 314 Effective: August 8, 2008
Work Instruction 314: Version: August 2008 © Page 1 of 7
Last printed 8/8/2008 12:29:00 PM
SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
ACCREDITATION SERVICES
Accreditation Work Instruction
Accreditation Process: Witness Audit
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1.0 PURPOSE.........................................................................................................................2
2.0 SCOPE..............................................................................................................................2
3.0 DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................2
4.0 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................2
5.0 INSTRUCTION................................................................................................................2
6.0 WITNESS AUDIT............................................................................................................2
7.0 POST-AUDIT ACTIVITIES............................................................................................6
8.0 RECORDS........................................................................................................................6

2. Author: L. Bernstein Social Accountability Accreditation Services Issue: 1
Approval: R. Zaid SAAS Global Work Instruction 314 Effective: August 8, 2008
Work Instruction 314: Version: August 2008 © Page 2 of 7
Last printed 8/8/2008 12:29:00 PM
1. Purpose:
This instruction defines the requirements for the assigned SAAS Lead Auditor and other members of the SAAS
audit team to plan and conduct witness audits for applicant and SAAS-accredited certification bodies.
2. Scope:
This instruction applies to all SAAS certification body clients undergoing witnessed audits for initial
accreditation, reaccreditation, or surveillance of a scheduled or unannounced audit.
3. Definitions:
No specific definitions
4. References:
a. ISO/IEC Guide 62:1996 (ISO/IEC 17021:2006 is accepted as an alternative and is required as of
September 15, 2008)
b. ISO Guide 19011:2002
c. SAAS Procedure 150 (SAAS Procedure 200 is accepted as an alternative and is required as of
September 15, 2008)
d. SAAS Procedure 201, Accreditation of Certification Bodies of Social Accountability Systems
e. SAAS Form 310, Audit Tracking-Overview
f. SAAS Form 310A, Audit Tracking-Details
g. SAAS Form 315, Witness Audit Report
h. SAAS Work Instruction 316, Office Surveillance Audit Process
i. SAAS Work Instruction 318, Writing CARs and Analyzing CAR responses
j. SAAS Form 408, Applicant Document Checklist
k. SAAS Form 415, CAR Form
l. SAAS Audit Plan and Estimated Fees
5. Instruction:
5.1. This instruction is effective upon the auditor’s acceptance of the assignment as an Auditor for the witness
audit of a SAAS client.
a. SAAS shall select the remainder of the audit team with the input of the assigned Lead Auditor.
b. In the case that the SAAS auditor does not speak the local language, an independent, non-CB staff
interpreter must be present. All interpreters and translators will be provided by SAAS and charged out
to the CB. If this is not possible, the CB, in conjunction and upon approval by SAAS, will arrange for
the hiring of the interpreter.
c. SAAS shall ensure that the audit team members are accepted by the applicant, per Procedure 201,
section 11.1.
5.2. SAAS will provide the Lead Auditor with a copy of appropriate CB documentation.
a. These include the CB’s application, document review and office audit report (for initial witness audits)
and previous audit reports for surveillances, as well as a copy of the SAAS Fee Schedule that has been
agreed upon with the CB.
b. The SAAS accreditation auditor will review the number of days that are proposed by SAAS to ensure
that the cited days are adequate to perform the audit function.
6. Witness audit:
6.1. The purpose of the witness audit is to verify that the certification body’s SAAS-accredited (or applicant)
certification system program is effectively implemented by witnessing their performance of a certification
or surveillance audit (for currently accredited Certification Bodies) at the CB client’s premises.
a. SAAS shall witness a stage 2 audit and shall conduct a review of the procedures and report from the
stage 1 audit undertaken by the CB.

3. Author: L. Bernstein Social Accountability Accreditation Services Issue: 1
Approval: R. Zaid SAAS Global Work Instruction 314 Effective: August 8, 2008
Work Instruction 314: Version: August 2008 © Page 3 of 7
Last printed 8/8/2008 12:29:00 PM
6.2. Audit planning:
6.2.1 Except for the commercial relationship between the CB and SAAS, the Lead Auditor is
responsible for planning and managing the witness audit process.
6.2.2 The CB is responsible for providing the SAAS lead auditor with the appropriate amount of
documentation (e.g. the application, certificate) from their certification client and a copy of
the CB’s audit plan.
6.2.3 The Lead Auditor shall prepare the SAAS audit plan and communicate the plan, including the
names and assignments of every member of the audit team, to the CB and to the SAAS Client
Coordinator, prior to the date of the audit.
6.2.4 When more than one SAAS auditor is involved in the audit, the Lead Auditor is responsible for
the determination of the individual audit paths.
6.2.4 The Lead Auditor is responsible for the preparation of audit checklists based on the CB's
SA8000 certification system, ISO/IEC Guide 62 or 17021, SAAS Procedure 150 or Procedure
200 and other appropriate documents. These checklists may be based on SAAS Form 408,
Application Documentation Checklist. Other team auditors may add items to the checklists to
reflect concerns related to their audit path. The audit plan shall include, as a minimum, the
following information:
a. Audit objectives, criteria and reference documents.
b. Scope of the audit.
c. Dates and places where the on-site audit will be conducted.
d. The assignment of each SAAS auditor to each CB auditor, as agreed upon with SAAS
Director. This may be shown by identifying the SAAS auditor on the CB’s audit plan with
the CB auditor that they will be witnessing. Each SAAS auditor, however, should witness
each of the CB’s auditors during the course of the witness audit.
e. The audit plan shall also include time for all meetings, including SAAS audit team
meetings and meetings with the CB’s audit team (the SAAS audit team should meet at
least twice per audit day). Other required meetings with the CB’s audit team:
1. The opening meeting with the CB’s audit team should be scheduled prior to the
beginning of the audit if possible. This may occur the evening before or the morning
of the audit. If not practical before the beginning of the audit, it should be scheduled
as close as possible to the beginning of the audit.
2. An audit planning meeting must be scheduled with the CB’s audit team to review the
preparation that was done by the CB for the audit. The CB shall arrange a location
for this meeting.
3. The closing meeting with the CB’s audit team should be scheduled as soon as
practical after the closing meeting of the witnessed audit, allowing some time for
SAAS auditors to prepare for the meeting. The CB shall arrange a location for this
meeting.
f. Roles, responsibilities and assignments of accreditation audit team members.
g. Identification of CB’s representative for the audit.
h. Working and reporting language of the audit.
i. Logistical arrangements such as meals (arranged by the CB on-site if possible) .
j. Statement of confidentiality.

4. Author: L. Bernstein Social Accountability Accreditation Services Issue: 1
Approval: R. Zaid SAAS Global Work Instruction 314 Effective: August 8, 2008
Work Instruction 314: Version: August 2008 © Page 4 of 7
Last printed 8/8/2008 12:29:00 PM
6.2.5 The SAAS Lead Auditor shall coordinate the travel arrangements for the witness audit team.
Travel costs should be minimized whenever possible such as by coordinating arrival times to
limit the cost of land transportation and by working with the CB to make hotel arrangements.
The CB may also assist by purchasing airline tickets and direct billing hotels. Should the
SAAS auditor require a travel visa, the auditor should contact the CB directly for assistance.
6.2.6 The SAAS Lead Auditor shall be the contact between the audit team and the CB during the
planning stage of the audit and shall copy the SAAS Client Coordinator on such
correspondence via email.
6.2.7 It may be necessary to perform a surveillance audit of the country/regional office of the CB in
conjunction with a witness audit, either immediately before or after the witness audit. When
both an office and witness audit are conducted in a country, instruction 316 and reporting
form 313 for a surveillance office audit shall be used as well.
6.3 On-Site audit:
6.3.1 Opening meeting: The opening meeting with the CB’s audit team shall be conducted by the
Lead Auditor and cover the following activities:
a. Introduce SAAS Audit team to Certification Body audit team.
b. Allow the Certification Body personnel to introduce themselves.
c. Record attendance at opening meeting (the SAAS auditor may choose to record attendance
on SAAS Form 413).
d. Share the expectation that the worker representative is expected to attend the opening and
closing meeting at the witnessed site.
e. Review the scope of certification for the site being audited by the CB.
f. Explain the objectives of the accreditation audit.
g. Explain the audit methodology: observations, interviews and record reviews.
h. Confirm confidentiality.
i. Explain Minor and Major CARs and Opportunities for Improvement. Explain that a Major
CAR precludes accreditation until satisfactorily closed out, if applicable.
j. Review the audit itinerary, and confirm acceptability. Modify to accommodate unexpected
changes, if possible.
k. Confirm times for daily start and finish and meal arrangements (in-house) and times for
the daily debriefing meetings and the closing meeting.
l. Confirm availability of resources and facilities needed by audit team, such as meeting
room, telephone, and copy machine.
m. Confirm that locations have been arranged for the audit planning meeting and for the
closing meeting.
6.3.2 Audit planning meeting: The audit planning meeting with the CB’s audit team must not
interfere with the witness audit and must be held outside the normal audit day scheduled for
the witness audit. This meeting must include at least:
a. A review of the auditee’s application.
b. A review of the CB’s proposal, including how the number of auditor-days was determined.
c. Auditor qualification information including training and experience.
d. Brief review of the CB’s audit procedures that will be used during this audit. Any change
since the last document review shall be noted.

5. Author: L. Bernstein Social Accountability Accreditation Services Issue: 1
Approval: R. Zaid SAAS Global Work Instruction 314 Effective: August 8, 2008
Work Instruction 314: Version: August 2008 © Page 5 of 7
Last printed 8/8/2008 12:29:00 PM
For SA8000 certifications only:
e. Detail of the calculation of the basic needs wage.
f. Stakeholder consultation and related information that was obtained.
6.4 Conducting the witness audit:
6.4.1 The SAAS Lead Auditor is responsible for managing the audit process. This includes the
resolution of any issues involving the SAAS audit team members and the CB personnel,
determination of the merits of any noncompliance and the resolution of any issues within the
SAAS audit team.
6.4.2 SAAS auditors shall witness the CB audit activities on their audit path. The SAAS auditor is
expected to keep appropriate records and notes to support compliance with each SAAS
requirement. The audit notes should include at least the following:
a. The number of each type of record reviewed (sampling used).
b. Number and type of interviews (individual, group, on and off site interviews), and how
confidentiality is maintained.
c. The methods used by the CB auditor to select personnel to interview and document the
interviews.
d. How evidence is documented when CARs are identified.
e. How the CB auditor establishes how complaints have been handled by the facility and the
grievance policy that is in place.
f. How the CB auditor establishes that the Freedom of Association and collective bargaining
process is effectively implemented (SA8000 only).
g. Use of claims about certification scope and facilities it applies to (SA8000 only).
h. A review of the report from the stage 1 audit.
6.4.3 The SAAS auditor shall record evidence of any CB noncompliance to a requirement that
minimally includes a brief statement of what the noncompliance was and the normative
element it was not in conformance with, where it was found, how often it occurred and when
it occurred. The record shall clearly state the requirement that was not complied with
including the CB’s requirement and/or the SAAS requirement. (see SAAS instruction 318,
Writing CARs and Analyzing CAR responses). Opportunities for Improvement shall also be
documented.
6.4.4 Based on the audit team’s analysis of the evidence collected, the team shall recommend initial
accreditation or continuation of accreditation, as appropriate. The recommendation shall be
one of the following:
a. The CB be accredited or accreditation be continued, pending satisfactory response to
any CARs.
b. Another witness audit be scheduled before recommending accreditation or
continuation of accreditation.
If the recommendation is anything other than a recommendation for accreditation or
continuation of accreditation, SAAS must be contacted prior to the closing meeting, if possible,
or within 24 hours after the closing meeting.
6.4.5 Notes shall be recorded directly on the checklist provided by the Lead Auditor or on other
note paper and summarized on the checklist.

6. Author: L. Bernstein Social Accountability Accreditation Services Issue: 1
Approval: R. Zaid SAAS Global Work Instruction 314 Effective: August 8, 2008
Work Instruction 314: Version: August 2008 © Page 6 of 7
Last printed 8/8/2008 12:29:00 PM
6.5 Closing meeting: The closing meeting shall be conducted by the Lead Auditor and include the following
activities:
a. Record attendance.
b. Where appropriate, thank CB’s audit team for assistance, cooperation, and
hospitality and refer to the positive aspects of the management system
implementation.
c. Inform CB of the SAAS Audit team’s recommendation.
d. Emphasize that the witness audit will not be completed until the SAAS audit team
receives a copy of the CB’s audit report of its certification client and associated
CARs, translated into English. This report is expected to be submitted to the SAAS
Lead Auditor within 15 days of the end of the witness audit, if possible. Explain that
as a result of the certification client report review, additional CARs may be issued.
e. Present the CB with detailed results of the audit and explain Major and Minor CARs,
if required, that have been identified to date.
1. Clarify all questions related to any CARs and obtain the appropriate CB
representative's signature on each CAR as acknowledgment of receipt.
2. Take original copies of CARs with SAAS Lead Auditor and CB
representative signatures and leave a copy with the CB.
3. Be sure that the CB understands that additional CARs may result from the
review of the CB’s final client audit report they issue to their client,
f. Explain that these copies of the CARs are advance copies and the audit report will
contain the final copies.
g. Explain the process to close Corrective Action Requests, including establishing dates
for reply. The CB will be expected to respond to the CARs using the CAR form
415A
h. Explain procedures for complaints and appeals, if necessary.
i. Advise the CB of the timing for the preparation of the final audit report.
j. Invite questions from the CB.
k. Congratulate CB for performance, if appropriate.
7.0 Post-audit activities
7.1 After the completion of the closing meeting, all SAAS auditors shall give their checklists and notes to the
Lead Auditor.
7.2 The Lead Auditor shall send digital copies of all signed CARs to SAAS within five working days, if
possible, of the end of the audit. SAAS will enter the CARs in the Audit Tracking Record for the CB
(See SAAS Form 310 – Audit Tracking-Overview and SAAS Form 310A – Audit Tracking-Details.)
7.3 The Lead Auditor shall prepare the audit report and submit to SAAS, with all checklists and notes within
15 working days of the completion of the on-site audit activity. The report form SAAS Form 315 shall be
used for the report. This audit report shall be sent to SAAS within 15 days, regardless of receipt of the CB
client audit report; a supplemental report shall be done in that case.
7.4 The Lead Auditor shall send in to SAAS all notes, material, files, business cards, digital pictures, marketing
material and any other information gathered during the witness audit.
7.5 The Lead Auditor shall be responsible to receive, analyze and respond to the CB’s responses to the CARs
that were issued during the office audit. (See SAAS Work Instruction 318, Writing CARs and Analyzing
CAR responses). All communication with the CB must be copied to SAAS.

7. Author: L. Bernstein Social Accountability Accreditation Services Issue: 1
Approval: R. Zaid SAAS Global Work Instruction 314 Effective: August 8, 2008
Work Instruction 314: Version: August 2008 © Page 7 of 7
Last printed 8/8/2008 12:29:00 PM
8.0 Records:
8.1 Audit report – SAAS Procedure 315
8.2 Audit checklists and path notes – SAAS Form 408
8.3 Signed CARs – SAAS Form 415