Johnston & Murphy Audit Protocol FAQ

QUESTION: What is a social compliance audit?

RESPONSE:

A social compliance audit inspects a factory to verify compliance with labor and Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) standards and laws. The following table highlights the differences between Social Compliance Audits and other types of audits not accepted for the J&M program.

QUESTION: What are the benefits of using the J&M audit instead of submitting an audit for acceptance?

RESPONSE:

Sumerra provides support services to ensure the audit process is performed with quality and integrity. Factories that use Sumerra to manage their J&M social compliance audit benefit by the following:

• Sumerra only contracts with audit firms and individual auditors that are vetted through an assessment process.
• Sumerra’s audit management process includes a quality review of the audit before the final report is published.

QUESTION: Are we required to use Sumerra to perform our audit, or can we commission an audit from an alternative firm? Does the factory need to submit the audit for the audit acceptance process?

RESPONSE:

Factories are not required to use Sumerra to perform audits.

• If the factory chooses to commission an audit from Sumerra, the audit does not go through the audit acceptance process.
• If the factory chooses to commission an aduit from any other organization, the audit must be submitted for the audit acceptance protocol.

 
NOTE: It is the responsibility of the factory to ensure the audit is performed and submitted by the Audit Confirmation Date provided in the Audit Notification Letter.

QUESTION:Can Sumerra assist me in commissioning an audit using our preferred audit provider?

RESPONSE:

Sumerra will only assist with commissioning audits if the audit is managed by Sumerra. If the factory requires a new audit, but does not choose to use Sumerra’s comprehensive support services, all arrangements must be made directly by the factory.