ABSTRACT
This chapter presents auditing standards and techniques for the assessment of Chain of Custody (CoC) according to FSC standards. Considering that only an overview of the main requirements is provided, it is advisable to make reference to official normative references when approaching audit activities.
After listing the key documents to be used as references for CoC auditing (paragraph 14.1), specific auditor qualification requirements are presented (paragraph 14.2). Then, requirements for CoC auditing are presented in detail, distinguished into CoC evaluation at the forest management level (paragraph 14.3) and CoC evaluation as a separate assessment (paragraph 14.4). Paragraph 14.5 summarizes the main requirements for auditing against specific requirements, i.e., against complementary CoC standards already described in Chapter 7. The chapter ends by describing requirements for CoC audit reports and certification decisions that provide specific indications on non-compliance and their classification (paragraph 14.6), as well as with additional information regarding surveillance audits (paragraph 14.7).
