CanadaGAP Certification Options A1 and A2 have an on-site audit every four years. Over the four-year cycle, there is a ‘random audit’ component where an operation can be randomly selected for an audit during any (or all) of the three years between regularly expected audits. These ‘random audits’ are not the same as ‘unannounced audits’. ‘Unannounced audits’ are audits not scheduled in advance with the operation.
Random audits may be announced (scheduled in advance) or unannounced. This is decided by the Certification Body. When an Option A1/A2 operation is randomly selected for an audit, they are informed at the beginning of the year. After this the Certification Body follows up with the operation to plan the audit, and will let them know if it’s announced or unannounced. If an operation does have an unannounced audit, this does not affect their audit cycle or future random audit selection.