Audit, Findings, and Remediation
Document Falsification
The creation, editing, or selective use of records to hide what really happened in recruitment, payroll, working hours, safety, or remediation.
Definition
Document falsification means the records cannot be trusted to reflect reality. That could involve altered payroll, reconstructed time records, false training logs, backdated contracts, or fabricated corrective-action evidence.
For responsible sourcing teams, the issue is bigger than one bad document. Falsification usually means the review process has to shift from routine verification to a deeper integrity and control check.
How this source informs this section
SMETA Audit Overview
SMETA guidance is relevant because falsified payroll, time, or training records directly undermine the evidence base used in social-audit review.
Why it matters
Once record integrity is in doubt, audit findings, corrective action plan (CAP) closure, and commercial decisions become less reliable. Teams may have to challenge other evidence that would normally be accepted.
It also matters because falsification can hide more severe problems such as excessive overtime, recruitment abuse, or safety non-compliance.
How this source informs this section
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct
OECD guidance supports escalating when evidence quality is too weak to support reliable decisions about risk, prevention, or remedy.
Nuance
A poor filing system is not always falsification. The key question is whether the records are merely disorganized or deliberately misleading.
Teams should avoid treating falsification as only an administrative offense. It may be the signal that reveals deeper management-system failure.
How this source informs this section
SMETA Audit Overview
Audit methodology context helps distinguish a basic documentation gap from a deliberate attempt to hide actual conditions.
Sources
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct
OECD · guidance
OECD's core guidance on how companies identify risk, prioritize, respond, track follow-up, and communicate what changed.
SMETA Audit Overview
Sedex · methodology
Used here for how SMETA describes audit scope, records review, worker interviews, findings, and corrective action plan (CAP) follow-up.
