Advancing audit integrity: amfori’s commitment to credible audits
High-quality audits are essential to credible due diligence. They enable businesses to identify risks, drive improvement, and demonstrate accountability across complex global supply chains.
In 2025, amfori implemented the Audit Integrity Project (AIP) to reinforce the robustness, independence, and credibility of its audit framework. The initiative, which is part of the Audit Assurance Programme launched in 2017, reflects amfori’s longstanding commitment to continuous improvement and to maintaining trust in third-party auditing as a tool for responsible business conduct.
Why audit integrity matters
Audit integrity ensures that audit findings are reliable and can be confidently used by companies to make responsible sourcing decisions. Without it, risks may remain hidden, corrective actions may lack credibility, and stakeholders can lose trust in the system as a whole.
Recognising the evolving challenges facing audits, including capacity constraints, operational pressures and increasingly complex supply chains, amfori launched the AIP to proactively and systematically identify integrity risks and strengthen safeguards across its audit ecosystem. The project was implemented in collaboration with amfori members, suppliers, auditors and APSCA to ensure greater commitment from all parties.
A structured, system-wide approach
The Audit Integrity Project was designed as a structured, year-long initiative that examined integrity risks across multiple parts of the audit process. Rather than focusing on isolated incidents, the project adopted a system-wide perspective, addressing how different actors and processes interact. The outcomes will be embedded into amfori’s overarching Audit Assurance Programme.
Key focus areas included:
- Audit quality and consistency
- Independence and conflict-of-interest safeguards
- Transparency and accountability mechanisms
- Oversight of third-party involvement
By assessing these areas in parallel, the project aimed to strengthen the overall resilience of the audit system.
Collaboration and alignment
An important element of the AIP was closer collaboration with external stakeholders, particularly professional bodies involved in auditor standards and oversight. Strengthening alignment, improving information exchange, and reducing duplication were central objectives.
This collaborative approach supports greater consistency in expectations, clearer professional standards, and more effective responses to integrity-related challenges across the auditing profession.
From insights to action
The Audit Integrity Project generated a set of prioritised actions designed to enhance audit credibility in practice. These focus on:
- Reinforcing quality assurance and oversight
- Improving preparation and risk awareness
- Strengthening expectations around ethical conduct
- Supporting continuous improvement across stakeholders
Where appropriate, these actions are being phased into existing quality management, monitoring and governance processes, ensuring that improvements are embedded rather than treated as standalone measures.
Commitment to strong auditing standards
The AIP is part of amfori’s broader commitment to transparency, integrity and responsible operations. Some initiatives identified during the project have already been implemented, while others will continue to evolve through 2026 and beyond.
By investing in audit integrity, amfori aims to support:
- More reliable audit outcomes
- Stronger confidence among stakeholders
- A system that promotes learning, accountability, and improvement
Audit integrity is not static. Through initiatives like the Audit Integrity Project, amfori continues to reinforce its Audit Assurance Programme by adapting its approach to meet emerging risks and expectations, ensuring that audits remain a credible foundation for sustainable supply chains.
For more information about amfori’s audit initiatives, watch our webinar series.