TABLE OF CONTENTS As indicated above, see 16.1, in today's climate of increased environmental awareness, a company or lending institution involved in a company takeover or merger will ignore the environmental profile of the companies involved at its own peril. Where a comprehensive pre-contact enquiries and search report show that the land had been used for contaminative purposes in the past, the purchaser has to commission relevant environmental consultants to carry out an environmental audit having regard to costs and the probability of the anticipated risks vis a vis the intended use of the property. There are environmental audits, of varying degrees of sophistication, which help to ascertain the effects of previous uses; recommend a cost effective remedial strategy and possible alternative uses of the land. It could also be used to ensure that environmental risks are taken into account and evaluated at the stage which their importance to the transaction can be recognised and the information used with maximum effect. Since environmental audits have become increasingly important as regards corporate activities and transactions the background to the development of auditing, as well as the current role, are detailed here.
