The aim of this paper is to examine the reliability of assurance offered by the
supply chain audits of workplace standards. Customers, companies and society
increasingly rely upon assurances concerning the standards which are applied
in the supply chains of goods. There is, however, a growing anxiety about the
application of those standards as well as about the reliability of the assurances
expressed about them. This paper seeks to explore these matters. In particular,
we review what is known about the audits which are undertaken to assess supply
chain practices and seek to assess the extent to which the outcomes of such
audits might be considered reliable.