Financial auditing, which originated in the late 1800s, is the precise examination of the financial statements of a business. It can be carried out internally, i.e. by employees of the company concerned. However, the law requires that it is also carried out externally, i.e. by a firm of professional auditors who are not employees of the company being audited.

The financial audit assesses if finances are being managed correctly, i.e. it is a check of the accounting controls within an organisation. The audit thus plays an important role in verifying if an organisation is profitable or not - important information for those running the company. Such information is commonly referred to as `the bottom line', i.e. the bottom line of an income statement gives an amount of money which reflects either a profit or loss.

The bottom line, however, does not reflect environmental consequences (e.g. pollution) that may have been incurred in the process of doing business, as these are often difficult to measure in financial terms. The environmental audit is an attempt to provide information on the environmental performance of a company, and thus include environmental issues in the decision making process.

REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL AND FINANCIAL COSTS

Environmental auditing originated in the United States in the 1970s as a way of checking whether a company was complying with a multitude of new environmental laws and regulations. More recently, it is used as an extremely valuable tool for assessing a company's environmental management systems, policy, and equipment. It provides the company with recommendations on how it can improve its environmental management practices, and reduce the impact that a company is having on the environment. In addition, improved environmental practices often save money in the long run.

Environmental audits can be conducted internally by staff of the business concerned, or independently by experts. Unlike financial audits, there is currently no legal requirement for an external audit.

WHO IS AUDITING

Environmental audits can happen at many different levels, for example in commerce, industry, municipalities, and governments, and on a less formal level, in households and schools. Within a school, for example, an audit can focus on the classroom, the school grounds, or the entire school. Whether an audit leads to simple changes, such as a school adopting a recycling programme, or more complex changes, such as a supermarket chain introducing energy saving practices, the cumulative effect will benefit all of us.

PLANNING AN AUDIT

An audit cannot be designed as a ready-made package to suit all circumstances. This framework will help you in researching and developing an audit to suit your particular needs.

* Identify the situation, or place, in which you will audit, e.g. the school grounds, the home kitchen, the office.

* Select the area/s or issue/s that you will audit, e.g. waste management, energy, water or biodiversity (see table below). * Identify key questions to focus your investigation within each issue, e.g. how do we attempt to reduce and reuse products, and recycle waste?

* For each key question identify additional questions to investigate the issue in more detail. The Enviro Facts listed below will provide background information to help you identify appropriate and meaningful questions. In developing these questions it is useful to consider the impacts of using a resource in your particular situation, and both before, and after your situation, for example:
1. How much pater is used in the school?
2. What are the environmental effects of afforestation and paper mills?
3. What are the environmental effects of the waste paper?

* Work out remedial action, i.e. what can you do to improve the way in which resources are used.

Issue: WASTE
Question: How do we attempt to reduce and reuse products, and recycle waste?
Additional questions: Organic material, glass, paper and card, plastic, metals, liquids (e.g. toxic wastes, oil).
Enviro Facts to assist: War on waste; Pollution; Marine pollution; Toxic waste.

Issue: ENERGY
Question: How do we attempt to reduce the amount of energy used?
Additional questions: Heaters, lights, geysers, stoves, transport.
Enviro Facts to assist: Global warming; Energy options; Energy and the environment; Deforestation; Desertification.

Issue: WATER
Question: How do we attempt to reduce the amount of water used?
How do we manage rivers, wetlands or dams on the property?
Additional questions: Hostel, kitchen, bathrooms, school grounds or gardens. Pollution, riparian vegetation, erosion.
Enviro Facts to assist: Precious water; Wetlands; River catchments; Estuaries; Marine pollution.

Issue: BIODIVERSITY
Question: How do we attempt to increase biodiversity in the grounds and buildings?
Additional questions: Poisons used to kill pests, the variety of habitats in the school grounds, encouraging animals to come into the grounds, use of indigenous plants.
Enviro Facts to assist: Biodiversity; Biodiversity in South Africa; Gardening for wildlife; Permaculture; Poisons in the home and garden; Soil; Soil erosion; Plant a tree today; Indigenous, alien and invasive; Traditional medicine.

HELPFUL GUIDELINES

Get support! Best results are achieved when the audit has wide support, and the changes it recommends are backed by everyone involved. Get permission for the audit from the relevant authorities; involve as many people as possible and share the results of the audit widely.

Don't be dismayed: Most answers to the questions will probably be "No, we don't do this" or "No, we haven't, not yet" - the purpose of auditing is to identify where improvements can occur, not to pass or fail the institution concerned! If a great deal of work needs to be done, don't be daunted. Everything cannot change overnight, and change must be manageable, so pace yourself. The audit may lead to a two month, six month, one year or five year plan.

ACTION AFTER THE AUDIT

To be successful the audit must lead to remedial action. A guide for action might be an environmental charter, such as this one drawn up by a school:

AT ALL TIMES, THE PUPILS, STAFF AND FRIENDS OF STOFFELSTROOM SCHOOL WILL TRY TO:

* teach everyone about the importance of caring for the environment;

* keep the school and grounds clear of litter;

* save energy by switching off unwanted lights and heaters, and keeping doors and windows closed;

* recycle as much as possible, and use products with a recycled content;

* develop and improve the school grounds and plant more trees;

* keep the school a non-smoking zone.

DID YOU KNOW

* These guidelines can easily be adapted for running an audit in your home, school, office, sports club or community centre.

* The audit process is also useful for environmental education curriculum development (see "Further Reading" below).

FURTHER READING

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT: TOWARDS A SCHOOL POLICY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION. K. Baczala. NAEE, England, 1992. Available from Share-Net, address below.

ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INVENTORY FOR SCHOOLS. C. McNerney and K. Wheeler. Available from Share-Net, address below.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND AUDITING: GUIDELINES FOR SOUTH AFRICAN MANAGERS. D. Soutter and D. Mohr. WWF-SA, 1991.

All books are available from Russel Friedman Books, PO Box 73, Halfway House, 1685. Tel. 011-702 2300/1.

Enviro facts: "Environmental management", "Integrated Environmental Management" and "Sustainable Development".

USEFUL CONTACTS

Share-Net. PO Box 394, Howick, 3290. Tel. 0332-303931.