The COVID-19 pandemic has caused this approach to be reconsidered and remote audits were approved for wider use, in lieu of a face-to-face delivery. This helps to protect company and auditing personnel alike. This approach is formally called information and communication technology (ICT) auditing and has been permitted through the International Accreditation Forum as detailed in its MD4 mandatory document. In addition, various industries have adopted ICT/remote auditing as a viable option to maintain the integrity of the auditing process in these unprecedented times.

 Who Qualifies for Remote Auditing in the COVID-19 pandemic, an organization might be leery or unable to allow visitors access to its premises. EuroCert has developed a client information form to collect some pertinent information needed to determine eligibility for remote audits. Please note that not all clients or standards will be eligible for remote auditing.

 Questions to Consider Prior to your account manager providing you the client information form, please consider these questions. 1. Is your organization open and functioning, even if some employees are operating remotely?

2. Are you fully capable to facilitate an effective remote audit?

3. Have you identified a web meeting platform that complies with your information security requirements?

 4. Do you have sufficient network bandwidth to facilitate a web-based remote audit, lasting up to 8 hours per day? (For team audits, streaming events are needed for each auditor.)

 5. Are you able to virtually show activities/locations as requested by the auditors? (If not through your web meeting platform, are you able to do that in another way?)

 6. Do you have the ability to share/upload requested documented information with auditor(s), consistent with your information security requirements?

As we continue to monitor the latest guidance from the World Health Organization and other global public health authorities, we ask for your patience as processes may change in the future.