A second-party audit is an audit of a supplier or contractor by, or on behalf of, its customer. When you lack the time, travel budget or specialist auditors, we carry out these audits for you, against your requirements.
Typical Uses
- Verifying contractual quality, safety or technical requirements
- Pre-award audits of contractors on major projects
- Audits of overseas suppliers where travel is costly
- Audits of franchisees, distributors or service partners
How We Work on Your Behalf
- You define the requirements: contract clauses, specifications, codes of conduct.
- We agree the checklist, sampling and scoring with you.
- Our auditors carry out the audit in your name, according to your instructions.
- You receive a report in your format, plus raw evidence where required.
- Decisions about approval or contractual action remain yours.
Second-Party vs Third-Party
| Second-party audit | Third-party audit | |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioned by | The customer | Any party needing independent evidence |
| Criteria | The customer’s requirements | Agreed criteria, often a standard |
| Report goes to | The customer | The commissioning party and stakeholders |