Audit quality and integrity investigation in India

FSC has commissioned Assurance Services International (ASI) to conduct an independent investigation into audit quality and integrity in India. The goal is to better understand how effectively FSC certification audits address integrity risks. This investigation forms part of a broader FSC initiative aimed to strengthen and improve the overall quality of auditing within the FSC system.

ASI will request relevant information from all current certification bodies, auditors, and certificate holders in India. In addition to stakeholder concerns, ASI will review relevant analytical papers, and recent media coverage. The review will begin with information available from 2022 to 2025, but the scope may be extended to include earlier data if required by the findings.

FSC and ASI invite all stakeholders to share concerns about audit quality and integrity in India. Concerns can be submitted to ASI through the incident submission platform here by the 31 July 2026 deadline

The main areas of focus of this investigation are: 

• ghost audits and other forms of fraud
• unethical behavior by certification bodies and auditors including unethical consultancy
• the presence of non-accredited certification bodies.

This investigation is already underway and is scheduled for completion in 2026. The objectives of this investigation are similar to the country-wide projects implemented in the past in China and Türkiye, which were part of the Eurasia Integrity Workplan.

The findings of this investigation, together with similar initiatives focusing on accreditation quality and integrity, will contribute towards FSC’s and ASI’s ongoing efforts to protect and strengthen the integrity of FSC-certified supply chains.