corporate responsibility index validation

The Australian and New Zealand company submissions to the Corporate Responsibility Index are validated by external validators PricewaterhouseCoopers. The validation procedures are defined in an agreed upon-procedures engagement with St James Ethics Centre in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. The procedures included site visits to all participants, analytical testing of participant scores, and testing, on a sample basis, of participant responses against supporting evidence. PricewaterhouseCoopers are not involved in the generation of scores.

The Corporate Responsibility Index is a self-assessment process. Each submission must be signed off at CEO or main board level to ensure director-level commitment to the credibility of the responses.

The external validation team will examine all responses for completeness and consistency. In addition conducts on site visits with all participants to check their understanding and interpretation of the questions and seek further substantiation when necessary.
The robustness of the survey is demonstrated by the ongoing consultation and engagement with participants after their surveys are submitted. It is critical that participants have understood and interpreted the survey correctly.

PricewaterhouseCoopers will be responsible for the collection, analysis and aggregation of participant responses and cannot take responsibility for the consistency and accuracy of the data submitted. If there is concern about the validity of the responses, Validators will address this with the participant. If responses are not supported by sufficient or validated additional information, with agreement from participants the responses will be changed by St James Ethics Centre with a full audit trail of correspondence and changes recorded.

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The Corporate Responsibility Index is funded by the Australian Federal Government. The Index, developed and maintained by Business in the Community in the UK, is a project of St James Ethics Centre supported by Ernst & Young. Our media partners are The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Project catalyst: Pilotlight Australia.