The primary objective of an audit of an Environmental Management System (EMS) is to systematically verify its effectiveness and compliance. This involves determining whether the EMS conforms to all relevant requirements, which include the organization's own environmental policies, legal and regulatory obligations, and the criteria of voluntary standards such as ISO 14001. The audit provides an independent assessment to management on whether the system is implemented as designed and is suitable to achieve the organization's environmental objectives. This focus on conformance is the central purpose of the audit engagement.

A. To assess whether an annual control review is necessary.

An EMS audit is a type of control review itself; its purpose is to conduct the assessment, not to determine the need for one.

C. To evaluate executive management oversight.

While evaluating management oversight is a crucial part of an EMS audit, it is only one component. The overall objective is broader, encompassing the entire system's conformance.

D. To promote environmental awareness.

Promoting awareness is a goal of the EMS implementation and a positive outcome of an effective system, not the primary objective of the audit itself.

1. International Organization for Standardization (ISO). (2015). ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems — Requirements with guidance for use.

Section 9.2.1

"Internal audit

" states that an organization must conduct internal audits to provide information on whether the environmental management system: "a) conforms to: 1) the organization’s own requirements for its environmental management system; 2) the requirements of this International Standard; b) is effectively implemented and maintained." This directly supports that the objective is to determine conformance.

2. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). (2012). Supplemental Guidance: Auditing Environmental Management Systems.

Page 4

"Providing Assurance on the EMS

" explains that the internal audit activity provides assurance that the EMS is operating as intended and that the organization is in "conformance with its stated environmental policy and any external requirements (e.g.

regulations

permits

and licenses)." This aligns the audit objective with verifying conformance.

3. Sârbu

R.

& Păunescu

C. (2016). The Role of Internal Audit in Environmental Management Systems. Audit Financiar

14(142)

1138-1145.

Page 1141

the article states

"The main objective of the EMS audit is to determine the conformity of the environmental management system of the organization with the audit criteria..." This academic source confirms that determining conformity (conformance) is the central audit objective. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20869/AUDITF/2016/142/1138