4.1 Intended Use—This practice is intended for use by parties who wish to perform or direct an audit, or rely upon audit findings or an audit report. Such use includes audits by internal and external auditors.
4.2 Other Audit Criteria—Other audit criteria may be included in the audit scope if specified in the audit plan. Examples include safety and health requirements, and technical, operational, and management requirements.
4.3 Related ASTM Standards—This practice is related to Practice E1527, which addresses CERCLA liability, and Practice E1528, which addresses due diligence for commercial real estate. A number of terms and procedures from these practices are similar to terms and procedures associated with this practice but they may not be the same. Guide E2365 addresses environmental compliance assessment and may be an appropriate tool for some environmental regulatory compliance audits. The user is advised that Guide E2365 is not an all-encompassing compliance assessment tool.
4.3.1 Not Interchangeable—Although distantly related to Practices E1527 and E1528, this practice is designed to achieve different results. Therefore, these practices shall not be used interchangeably with, or in place of, this practice.
4.4 Related ISO Guidelines—The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed guidelines addressing environmental auditing. These are ISO 14010, ISO 14011, and ISO 14012. A number of terms and procedures from these guidelines may be similar to terms and procedures associated with this practice but they may not be the same.
4.4.1 Not Interchangeable—Although related to ISO guidelines, this practice is designed for a different purpose. Therefore, these ISO guidelines shall not be used interchangeably with, or in place of, this practice.
4.5 Additional Services—A number of issues may arise as a result of an audit, but are outside the scope of this practice. Such issues include, but are not limited to, development of action plans and cost estimates to address audit findings.
4.6 Conditions—The following conditions shall govern the application of this practice.
4.6.1 Not Exhaustive—A audit shall not constitute an exhaustive review of audited entity compliance with all potentially applicable audit criteria unless explicitly intended and stated as an audit objective in the audit plan.
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