PSO audit: how the audit works and what the auditor checks

A PSO audit is an independent check by a certification body, such as DEKRA, DNV, Kiwa or Normec VRO. The auditor tests the data you entered in MijnPSO, and the supporting evidence, against the PSO-handleiding 2.6 (PSO manual 2.6) from TNO . The auditor adjusts the score where they find something different, and gives advice to PSO-Nederland, which makes the decision. For the qualitative requirements the auditor tests, see PSO requirements per level. For the application itself and the six steps before it, see PSO certificate application and costs.

The audit is therefore not an assessment of your plans, but a check of what you have entered. Every figure you put into the calculation tool must be backed up by evidence during the audit.

Timeline of the audit

Moment	What happens	Deadline under the manual
After the final application	You schedule the audit, preferably within two months	See application
Up to three weeks ahead	You can ask which files and suppliers will be checked	On request or on the auditor’s initiative
No later than one week ahead	The auditor provides an agenda and audit plan	One week before the audit
During the audit	Interviews, file review, check of company size	Audit day
After the audit, if evidence is missing	You supply the evidence afterwards	Two weeks
After the audit	The auditor submits the audit report to PSO-Nederland	No later than two working weeks

For an Aspirant status application, PSO-Nederland checks the action plan in advance. This is a completeness check only. See the Aspirant action plan.

What the auditor checks

The manual describes the areas of investigation. These are the fixed blocks of an audit:

Interviews with management, HR, line managers and target group employees, according to the audit plan.
Registration of the applying organisation with the Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel), and the lead applicant and any subsidiary entities.
Hours, according to the hours standard in the collective labour agreement (CAO).
Company size: the average number of employees and FTEs in the reference year. See company size for the PSO.
Files of employees from the PSO target group, on a sample basis.
Indirect contribution: purchasing from PSO-certified suppliers or social workplaces.

Evidence should preferably be formal, or approved by a third party. The auditor decides for themselves whether a document is reliable enough.

Area	Evidence the auditor often asks for
Starting position on entry	UWV decision, letter from the municipality, registration in the target group register
Type of contract and hours	Employment contract or secondment agreement, hours overview
Company size	Payroll records, payroll summary (verzamelloonstaat), invoices from temporary staffing agencies
Indirect procurement	Purchase invoices from the reference year, excluding VAT

The file review on a sample

The auditor draws a sample from the personnel files. For all files drawn, four details must be correct: the starting position on entry, the type of contract, the hours, and the start and end dates of employment. If a detail turns out to be wrong, the auditor adjusts the file. This can lower the score, but it can also raise it.

If you lack evidence for a person in the sample, you have two weeks to show that this person belongs to the target group. If you cannot, the file no longer counts as a target group employee in the reference year. The manual then carries the outcome of the sample through to the total direct contribution, based on the margin of error in the sample. The calculation tool does this automatically: weighted FTE in the sample after correction, divided by weighted FTE before correction, times your original direct contribution.

The example in the manual: an original direct contribution of 20% and a sample of 10 files with 8 weighted FTE. After correction, 6 weighted FTE remain. The calculation is then 6 divided by 8, times 20%, which gives 15%. The errors in the sample therefore cost five percentage points. This is the calculation example from the manual, not a fixed outcome.

With a sample of ten files, each file carries a lot of weight. So make sure you have the complete file ready for every employee you list in the calculation tool before the audit starts.

How the score changes

The auditor works with a copy of your submitted calculation tool. In that copy, they adjust the data they cannot support, and the score is calculated from that copy. The manual states clearly that the final level can end up higher or lower than what you entered yourself. The auditor can also adjust the score during the audit. You receive the adjusted copy of the calculation tool only when PSO-Nederland grants the certificate, not from the auditor. The auditor may share their findings with you, however.

In practice, this means your own calculation is the starting point, and the audit determines the final result. So ask for the list of sample files in advance, so that you can check them.

Common mistakes

Searching for evidence too late. Requesting a UWV decision from years ago takes weeks. Start with the file for each employee, not on audit day.
An incomplete file in a high-percentage position. Because the sample is drawn from files, every missing document carries a lot of weight.
Wrong contract type entered. With temporary agency, secondment and payroll arrangements, the weighting differs. Check the type of contract for each person.
Records not kept. Performance conversations have often taken place but are not recorded. At recertification, you then fail the 80% norm. See PSO requirements per level.

What you need ready on audit day

Audit day itself is mainly interviews and going through files. What you arrange in advance determines how smoothly that day goes. A practical checklist:

The list of sample files, if you requested it in advance. The auditor can send it up to three weeks ahead.
For each sample file: starting position, type of contract, hours, and the start and end dates of employment.
The list of suppliers for the indirect contribution, with invoices from the reference year, excluding VAT.
The registration with the Chamber of Commerce and, for a group, the structure of the subsidiary entities.
An overview of the personnel administration and the payroll administration that support company size.
A contact person for each interview. The audit plan states who the auditor speaks to: management, HR, line managers and target group employees.

Also make sure you have informed the people you will speak to in advance. A target group employee who does not know they will be interviewed is caught off guard. That is unpleasant for everyone.

After the audit: report and decision

After the audit, the auditor submits their report to PSO-Nederland within two working weeks. The report contains the advice on awarding the performance level. PSO-Nederland decides on that basis. If the auditor wants to raise something with the core team of PSO-Nederland, you will be informed. Answering questions may take extra time, which pushes back completion.

In practice, it often takes a few more weeks before the certificate is ready. Plan on roughly two to four weeks, as a guideline and not as a guarantee.

PSO-Nederland may refuse a certificate to an organisation that actually meets the criteria, but whose production or way of working would damage the good name of the PSO. The manual also says so.

If you disagree with the decision, you can ask PSO-Nederland in writing, with reasons, for a review within four weeks of the date of the decision. If PSO-Nederland maintains its decision, you can submit a reasoned request for re-assessment to TNO within four weeks of the letter. TNO then asks the Committee of Experts (Commissie van Deskundigen) for advice.

In exceptional situations, the manual also provides a special route. If a situation fits the spirit of the manual but not its wording, the auditor can give reasons for that. Such advice is then put to TNO and PSO-Nederland, which decide together whether to ask the Committee of Experts for advice.