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What a factory audit in China checks, and what it can't (2026)

Last updated: · By Sarah Liu, Thornfield Resources

Short answer: a factory audit in China records what an auditor saw and was shown at one site on one day: the licence, the buildings, the machines, the quality system, the staff and the paperwork. It is good evidence that a factory exists and can make your kind of product. It cannot prove who owns the company, whether it is in court or short of cash, whether the bank account belongs to it, or that your order will be made at the audited site. Those answers come from records checks. Most audits are booked in advance, so treat a clean report as a starting point, not a guarantee.

Which kind of audit are you being offered?

"Factory audit" covers several different products. They answer different questions, and a supplier may offer you the one it passed most easily.

Audit typeWhat it checksWho asks for itWhat it misses
Factory or manufacturing auditCompany profile, organisation, production process, capacity, machinery, quality assurance, R&DA buyer choosing a new supplierOwnership, court cases, finances; whether your order stays at that site
ISO 9001 certificateThat a certification body found a quality management system in place, for a stated scope and siteMany industrial and engineering buyers, as a minimumProduct quality on your order; a certificate can be fake, expired or for another site
amfori BSCILabour and social performance, rated A to E by area; child labour, bonded labour and health and safety weigh mostamfori members, mostly European retailers and brandsNo certificate is issued; quality and capacity are not assessed
SMETA (Sedex)2-pillar: labour standards and health and safety. 4-pillar adds environment and business ethicsBuyers who are Sedex membersNot a certification; quality and capacity are out of scope
SA8000A certified social standard, audited over a three-year cycleBuyers wanting third-party certification of labour practicesQuality, capacity and the company's legal or financial position
RBA (VAP audit)The Responsible Business Alliance code: labour, health and safety, environment, ethics, management systemsElectronics and ICT brands and their suppliersQuality of your parts; whether a small supplier really runs the line

What a manufacturing audit typically looks at

  • Licence and identity: the business licence on the wall, matched to the company you will contract with.
  • Capacity: lines, shifts and output, compared with the quantity you want.
  • Equipment: the machines that make your product, and their condition.
  • Quality control: incoming material checks, in-process checks, final inspection, test equipment and records.
  • Workers: headcount, skills and, in social audits, wages, hours and safety.
  • Subcontracting: which processes, such as plating or heat treatment, go to other sites.
  • Documents: certificates, test reports and production records.

V-Trust and QIMA publish a similar scope for their standard audits. QIMA sells social, environmental and RoHS checks as optional extras.

What does an audit cost?

Few large firms publish a rate. V-Trust publishes US$398 per man-day for a factory audit and US$498 per man-day for a social audit, both described as all-inclusive in major manufacturing areas. QIMA and SGS quote on request. Our guide to supplier check and audit costs compares the published prices we could find.

How to check an ISO 9001 certificate is real

Search the certificate on IAF CertSearch, the International Accreditation Forum's database of accredited management system certificates. Free users can check a few certificates a day after registering. Since 26 October 2024, IAF has required accredited certification bodies to upload their data. The database holds accredited certificates only, so a certificate from an unaccredited body will not appear.

Check that the company name, address, scope and expiry date match your supplier, not a sister company. If it is not listed, UKAS advises checking that the certification body is accredited for that standard and then confirming the certificate with the certification body directly.

The known limits of factory audits

  • Announced audits. QIMA says it agrees the audit date with the factory. amfori BSCI allows semi-announced audits within a time window and unannounced audits. SA8000 certification bodies must mix announced, semi-announced and unannounced visits. A factory that knows the date can prepare.
  • Double books and coaching. A BusinessWeek investigation in November 2006 described Chinese factories keeping two or three sets of books, scripts for workers to recite, and consultants offering to help suppliers pass audits. A January 2024 Outlaw Ocean Project report cited a 2022 study finding workers may be coached, and noted that the audited employer often pays the auditor.
  • Subcontracting to unaudited sites. The Ethical Trading Initiative's 2019 China briefing called subcontracting "very common in China supply chains" and found that social auditors often lack the information to detect unauthorised subcontracting.
  • Clean reports before disasters. Clean Clothes Campaign's September 2019 report "Fig Leaf for Fashion" examined factories in Pakistan and Bangladesh, including Rana Plaza, where 1,134 workers died, that auditors had assessed as safe weeks or months before. The New York Times reported in 2012 that the Ali Enterprises factory in Karachi had received SA8000 certification weeks before a fire that trapped hundreds of workers.

None of this makes audits useless. It means you should know what kind of evidence you are buying.

Audit or pre-shipment inspection?

An audit judges the factory before you order. A pre-shipment inspection checks a random sample of your finished goods before you pay the balance. Inspectors sample under ISO 2859 and accept or reject the lot against an agreed acceptance quality limit (AQL). QIMA says AQL 2.5 is the most common level for general consumer goods, and critical defects are usually set at zero. A good audit does not replace inspection, and a passed inspection says nothing about the company behind the goods.

What an audit cannot tell you

An auditor on the factory floor does not see the company register, the courts or the bank. Ask these questions separately:

  • Ownership: who holds the shares, and whether the factory and the seller are the same company. See who owns a Chinese company.
  • Court cases and enforcement: unpaid judgments and "dishonest debtor" listings.
  • Financial health: paid-in capital, recent changes of owner, penalties and abnormal operations on the register.
  • The bank account: whether the account on your invoice belongs to the company you contracted with.

A sensible order of checks

  1. Records first: legal name, credit code, ownership and court records, before anyone travels.
  2. Verify certificates: ISO 9001 on IAF CertSearch or with the certification body; social audit reports with the issuing scheme.
  3. Choose the audit type: a manufacturing audit for capability, a social audit if your customers or the law require one.
  4. Brief the auditor on your product: ask to see the line and processes that will make it, and what goes out to subcontractors.
  5. Book it yourself and pay for it yourself: the auditor should report to you, not the factory.
  6. Read the report against the contract: the legal name and address must match the company you pay.
  7. Inspect before the balance: a pre-shipment inspection against agreed AQL limits.
  8. Keep the file: a record of what you checked, and when, shows the care you took if a supplier later fails.

For finding candidates in the first place, see how to find a reliable manufacturer in China.

How we help

We work only for buyers and are never paid by factories. Our Supplier Check starts at £175 for the records: registration, ownership, courts and enforcement. Site Verification (from £650) adds a visit to the registered and production addresses, with time-stamped photos. An On-site Factory Visit (from £950) goes inside to look at production lines, equipment, quality control, raw materials and capacity for your product. Both build on the records check, so you get the factory floor and the paperwork in one report. For a large contract, joint venture or acquisition, Enhanced Due Diligence (from £2,500) traces ownership and control as far as the records go and reports what could not be confirmed.

Frequently asked questions

Is a BSCI or SMETA report proof that the factory makes good products?

No. Both are social audits about labour, health and safety and, for 4-pillar SMETA, environment and ethics. Neither assesses product quality or production capacity.

The supplier sent an audit report from another buyer. Can I rely on it?

Treat it with care. Check the date, the auditing firm, the legal name and address, and the scope. A report commissioned by someone else answers their questions, not yours, and may cover a different site.

Can I ask for an unannounced audit?

Yes. Some inspection firms, including V-Trust, offer unannounced audits, and amfori BSCI and SA8000 provide for them. The factory may refuse entry, and that refusal is itself useful information.

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