Understanding Cannabis Industry Audits – You don’t know what you don’t know.
The cannabis industry can be challenging to navigate due to its constantly changing legislation and a range of requirements to adhere t
o. Compliance is crucial for businesses in the industry to maintain, given the highly regulated space and specific rules and regulations that must be followed to operate legally. At iComply, we understand these challenges and provide a range of audit services to help businesses maintain compliance.
Our audits are designed to be comprehensive and cover all aspects of compliance, from books and records to inventory reconciliation and packaging and labeling. We just wanted to take a moment to explain our different audit services and how they can help your business.
Operational Audits:
Operational audits are designed to provide an independent third-party measure of general areas of operational compliance. Our audits are facility and jurisdictionally-specific, allowing clients to see exactly where they stand in terms of compliance. With over 300 audit checkpoints, our assessments help cannabis businesses prioritize compliance projects based on the level of risk and identify major and minor problems that could shut down the business.
Inventory Auditing and Reconciliation:
Accurate inventory tracking is vital in the cannabis industry, and inventory audits help ensure that every cutting, package, and gram is accurate and up-to-date. We provide hands-on training with key staff members when we conduct our manual count to identify and reconcile discrepancies correctly. Our periodic third-party inventory auditing helps maintain security, boost staff confidence, and ensure day-to-day accuracy in inventory reporting to regulators.
Books and Records Auditing:
Books and records auditing is an important exercise each year to ensure that required business books and records are secure and compliant. Our auditors check for accuracy and organize physical and electronic records, such as visitor logs, waste records, quarantine forms, production batch records, harvest logs, RFID tags, manifests, tax payment records, and other documents. We understand the importance of tracking accurate records and maintaining compliance.
Packaging and Labeling Review:
Packaging and labeling requirements change often in every cannabis market and are nuanced between various facility types. Our audits of packaging and labeling help maintain up-to-date accuracy and accountability with employees, vendors, and customers. We produce reports measuring and identifying packaging/labeling discrepancies on physical products to mitigate liability, maintain inventory tracking accuracy, and ensure consumer safety.
It’s essential to remember that audits are not pop quizzes. They are helpful in testing high-level compliance knowledge, but they should be used for more detailed examinations of how a cannabis business operates. As with any tool, audits are only as good as the person wielding them. That’s why it’s important to choose an auditor with experience and expertise in the industry, such as iComply.
In conclusion, audits are vital tools for measuring and maintaining compliance in the cannabis industry. At iComply, we have the expertise and experience to help cannabis businesses stay on the right side of regulations.
Contact us today to learn more about our audit services and how we can help you maintain compliance in this highly regulated and risky industry.
