There are environmental auditing courses that tackle the pre-engagement phase considerations. In these courses, business or governmental agencies delineate the roles and responsibilities in the environmental auditing process. The International Organization for Standards (ISO) outlines these items, such as the need to arrive in an agreement with the auditors on the scope and objectives of the undertaking. These courses also expound on the various options such as whether to persue the services of internal audit personnel or to hire external auditors.
These type of environmental auditing courses deal with the preparation for the activities that will be conducted in the performance of the audit. The courses focus on the responsibilities of the audit team, who must have the competence, integrity and independence that the job requires. Instructions are provided on how to construct audit specifications, checklists and questionnaires. The courses impart knowledge on the appropriate auditing techniques. Students are also taught division of labor among audit team members and scheduling techniques.
These courses focuses on step-by-step procedures of the whole process from the opening meeting to the actual administration of the planned audit. In this set of lessons, participants are taught how to monitor and control the flow of the audit procedures in order to ensure credibility, relevance, and effectiveness. There are exercises or workshops where the students apply their learned theories.
Report Preparation courses cover analysis of the auditing team's findings. Presentation techniques are discussed and taught through workshops in order to equip the environmental auditing practitioner with the skills that he needs to properly communicate his conclusions to management of the business or government agency conducting the audit. This course focuses on the content to highlight and writing skills.