AUDIT ALLOCATIONSYSTEM
IMPLEMENTATION IN
IVORY COAST AND
GHANAApril 2020

AUDIT ALLOCATION SYSTEM
This document gives an initial description of the audit allocation system, which will be
implemented in Ivory Coast and Ghana for UTZ Code of Conduct and Rainforest Alliance
Sustainable Agriculture certificate holders’ audits.

1. OBJECTIVESThe Audit Allocation system is a new approach that Rainforest Alliance will implement inCote d’Ivoire and Ghana from June 2020 to strengthen assurance of our certification
system. Under the allocation system, rather than certificate holders (CH) contracting
independently with Certification Bodies (CB) to conduct audits, Rainforest Alliance will
allocate the CB to the CH for the requested audit based on an assessment of the risk levelof CH and the capacity and performance standard of the CB. The system will allocate UTZ
audits to UTZ-approved CB and Rainforest Alliance audits to Rainforest Alliance-approved
CB using the same set of risk-based criteria.
The objective of the Audit Allocation system is to ensure maximum credibility and qualityof audit processes. This includes:• Reduce compliance risks of CH by higher quality audits of groups with greatest risk
• Promote higher performance of CB and auditors by allocation of more audits tobest performing CB• Ensure quality of audits by enforcing standardized audit parameters
This will be achieved by ensuring that Certificate Holders assessed as high risk are audited
by a CB with a high level of capacity. In addition, the allocation of CB to CH by Rainforest
Alliance reduces the risk that ongoing commercial relationships between CB and CH lead
to audits being less robust than they should be.

2. APPLICABILITY OF THE ALLOCATION SYSTEM
The Audit Allocation system is applicable for:• All UTZ Code of Conduct certificate holders for audits taking place after June
1st, for certificates which will start after the small harvest of April 2020 (timeextensions excluded).
• All
Rainforest Alliance Sustainable
Agriculture certificate
holders, forrecertification audits taking place after June 1st, 2020. Rainforest Alliance certified
CH will not be required to have a CB allocated for surveillance audits within the 3year certification cycle. However, Rainforest Alliance certified CH will have a CB
allocated for a certification audit at the beginning of a new cycle.

3. PRINCIPLES OF THE ALLOCATION SYSTEM
Rainforest Alliance will allocate the audit to a CB based on a range of factors to makethe best match between the CH’s needs and the CB’s capacity including:
1. Compliance risks level of CH
2. Performance level of CB
3. Availability/Capacity of CB to conduct audits and issue certificates/licenses

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Audits will be allocated on an ongoing basis from June 2020 based on requests received
from CH. The system will be constantly updated as new data on the current audit seasonbecomes available.
In addition, Rainforest Alliance will mandate a set of standardized parameters for Audits toensure quality and reduce price differences between CB due to poor auditing practices.

3.1

CH COMPLIANCE RISK RANKING

Certificate holders will be ranked into one of 5 risk categories ranging from 1, very low risk
to 5, very high risk. The risk assessment will be determined from existing data held by theRainforest Alliance on a number of factors, including• Size of group• % growth in the number of group members• Estimated volumes• Average yield• Level and nature of NCs in previous audit reports• Non certification or de-certification in the last 2 years• Proximity to protected area (e.g. presence of producers in buffer zone)• Complaints about the group received

3.2 CB PERFORMANCE RANKING
CB will be categorized according to three levels of performance using a star system– one star denoting acceptable performance and 3 starts denoting very good
performance. The performance category for CB will be assessed based on data
held by Rainforest Alliance related to the following criteria:ooooo

Robustness of internal quality assurance, auditor training
and performance management systems
Performance of CB reported through CB monitoring activities
Performance of CB in past CH audits using past audit reports
Sanctions received in the relevant country
Complaints received about the CB

The Rainforest Alliance reserves the right to cancel a certification body’sauthorization (for the scope of cocoa in Ivory Coast and Ghana) and remove themfrom the allocation system if fraud or corruption is detected at any time as well as
CB that show repeated deficiencies in implementing a strong audit management
system for the Rainforest Alliance programs. This applies to any form of misconduct
the certification body is found to have actively engaged in, promoted, failed toidentify and report when detected, or failed to verify remediation properly or in atimely fashion.

3.3 CB CAPACITY /AVAILABILITY
Rainforest Alliance has requested CB to information regarding their capacity andavailability of auditors and certifiers to conduct audits from 1 June 2020. This
information will be used to allocate audits. Information on availability of auditors will
be updated on an ongoing basis to ensure that CB have adequate capacity toconduct the audits allocated to them.

3.4 STANDARDISED AUDIT PARAMETERS
Rainforest Alliance will mandate a set of audit parameters to ensure the quality ofAudits and comparability of costs. These include minimum sample size for interviews,
and minimum audit duration.

33.4.1 Minimum Sample Size
Rainforest Alliance will apply a standard formula to determine the minimum sample
size based the current standard sample size determination and adjusted for thecompliance risk level. This means that CB will be required to sample a larger numberof group members in groups with higher level of risk to provide a more thoroughinvestigation of performance against the Standard.
The sample size will be determined based on the Default farms sample size (DS) =square root (number of group members) and adjusted to determine the Risk-based
sample size (RBS) as follows:• CH Risk Category 5: RBS = DS x 1.25
• CH Risk Category 4: RBS = DS x 1.20
• CH Risk Category 3: RBS = DS x 1.15
• CH Risk Category 2: RBS = DS x 1.1• CH Risk Category 1: RBS = DS x 1.0

3.4.2 Minimum Audit duration
Rainforest Alliance will apply a standard formula to estimate the minimum audit
duration (MAD) based on the risk level of the CH to be audited. CB must comply withat least this audit duration.
The calculation of Audit Duration is based in part on a minimum number of interviews
to be conducted according to the size and risk level of the CH, as shown in the tablebelow.
Interview Duration Estimation (IDE):
Number of
Minimum
workers involved
number ofin the CH’s
interviews
scope

Minimum
individualinterview(MII)

Maximumgroupinterviews(MGI)

Minimum numberof files to becheckedUnder 10521 group of 3511-50

831 group of 5851-100

1552 groups of 515101-500

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75 groups of 532501-200050

157 groups of 550

2000 -5000

65

258 groups of 565

More than 5000

Square root

Square root

Interview duration is based on a standard estimate of Duration for individualinterviews (DII): MII*0.25hr, and Duration for group interviews (DGI): MGI *0.5hr.
However, the estimation of the duration of interviews will be adjusted according to
the CH’s risk ranking where more time is allocated to the highest risk CH to ensure
auditors compliance effectively.
• CH Risk Category 5: duration x 1.5• CH Risk Category 4: duration x 1.4• CH Risk Category 3: duration x 1.3• CH Risk Category 2: duration x 1.2• CH Risk Category 1: duration x 1.0

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Minimum audit duration is therefore calculated taking account of Risk Based Sample
Size and risk weighted audit duration.

4. PROCESS OF AUDIT ALLOCATION
Audits will be allocated on an ongoing basis from 1 June 2020 based on requests for audits
received from CH.
Certificate Holders must submit all required data to RA at least 6 weeks prior to the desired
audit time window, i.e. from when they are available to receive the CB. Certificate Holders
may request to continue audits after June 2020 with their current CB with a clear
justificatione.g.
the provision
ofadditional certification
services alongside
RA/UTZ certification. RA will make the decision about whether Audit Allocation isnecessary based on the risk ranking of the relevant CH and the performance category ofthe relevant CB.
Within 2 weeks following submission of complete and accurate data from CH, RA will:a. update the risk score of the CHb. estimate the audit duration using a standard formulac. assign the CH to the selected CB based on appropriate performance category
and availability
d. define the audit period based on the desire from the CH and availability of thepreferred CB Category.
At least 4 weeks prior to the defined audit period, Rainforest Alliance will allocate a CB
following the principles set out above.
At least 4 weeks prior to the actual audit date, the CB shall give a quote to the CH andcc the Rainforest Alliance.
At least 3 weeks prior to the actual audit date, the CH will make partial payment to theCB to enable the CB to cover at least out of pocket expenses of auditors before the audit
takes place.
The application and allocation process is set out in the chart below

56 weeks before audit

4 Weeks before Audit

3 Weeks before Audit

5. CONTRACTING OF AUDITS BETWEEN CB AND CH
Once the CB has been allocated to the CH for the requested Audit the normal
contracting and payment processes apply. Rainforest Alliance has no involvement in thepricing model or contracting arrangements of CB and does not set fee levels or service
costs. The definition of standardized parameters for audit duration and interview samplingis intended to promote a level playing field for CB to operate in market conditions.

6Once the CB and the CH have signed a contract, the normal payment process between
the CB and the CH continues including a percentage of payment upfront to ensure theCB can cover costs for Auditors expenses during the audit process.

6. CONTRACTING OF FREELANCE AUDITORS
Rainforest Alliance allocates audits to a CB. The CB takes full responsibility to train,
approve and monitor performance of its staff and all auditors who conduct audits on its
behalf. Freelance auditors are individually responsible for the quality of audits they
perform. RA reserves the right to refuse individual auditors where there is clear evidenceof conflict of interest, insufficient experience or poor performance.

7. PLANNING AND CONDUCT OF AUDIT
CB will plan and conduct the allocated audits in the normal way with the following
exceptions:Rainforest Alliance reserves the right to intervene in the audit planning process andrequest changes to improve audit quality, if the proposed plan does not conform toRainforest Alliance guidance in terms of audit team composition, sample size and sample
composition or audit duration.
For CH in high risk categories, RAINFOREST ALLIANCE reserves the right to not disclose theexact audit date – but to communicate a time window for the audit, and to require theCB to conduct the audit as an unannounced or semi-announced audit during that
period. For UTZ CH surprise audits can be conducted whenever the Certification Body
deems this to be necessary based on a risk assessment, provided that the certificationdecision for the latest audit has already been pronounced and communicated.
If a CB receives information during the audit that may change the scope of theaudit/certification the audit team should follow commonly accepted practice totransparently communicate to the client prior to the audit the necessary steps to be taken.
This means the CB may change the audit scope, increase the sample size, increase service
fees, and take other required actions where applicable and justifiable. The CB must
inform RA of any changes of this nature as soon as it is known.

8. SUBMISSION OF AUDIT REPORT AND CERTIFICATIONDECISION
The draft audit report must be submitted to the Rainforest Alliance Maximum one week
after the last day of the audit.

9. GRIEVANCES AND COMPLAINTS
A CH may refuse an audit from a specific CB or Auditor with a clear justification such asconflict of interest or past poor performance. In this case Rainforest Alliance will makeevery effort to allocate an alternative CB.
Rainforest Alliance has a grievance procedure for complaints. Any complaints related tothe operationalization of the Audit Allocation system should be sent to wacooa@ra.org .
Any complaints will be investigated and addressed appropriately.

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