ORGANISATIONS AUTHORISD TO UNDERTAKE CERTIFICATION RELATED ACTIVITIES ON OUR BEHALF

As a certification body we can choose to appoint organisations to undertake certification related activities on our behalf.

Whilst we don't place any restrictions nor impose any stipulation on the size, type or sector an authorised third party can audit, we envisage specialisms naturally forming and organisations choosing to be audited by aligned auditors.

Benefiting financially or otherwise from auditing activities conducted by authorised third parties would be a clear conflict of interest so for this reason authorised third parties are merely vetted based on a number of criteria and once accepted,

Auditors
Certification assessors or auditors can be independent or be within an organisation. In all scenarios, the auditor and organisation must be approved.

Auditors who are authorised can operate under one or more organisations as the authorisation is with the individual. 

Organisations undertaking certification services on our behalf must be approved and each auditor must also be approved to ensure;

Conformity
Certification Audits are undertaken in accordance with ISO 17605 and as such have a structured approach that must be adhered to. Organisations and Auditors must operate under the scheme rules at all times.

Consistency
Each and every Certification should be consistent so that trust and understanding can form with stakeholders.

Quality
Each and every audit should be undertaken by qualified and competent auditors. In situations where specialists are required to provide opinions, those specialists must be pre-approved by us. A common example of this is examining source code but could consist of any specialism.

Integrity
Potential or actual conflicts of interest in any form, bribery and corruption are not tolerated. Certifications must be trusted and any threats to this or where this could be undermined threaten this.

Confidentiality
Information gleaned from audits is kept completely confidential. This is not limited to personal data but extends to any corporate sensitive information, trade secrets etc. No information is to leave the auditing systems.

Continuity
Auditors and their organisations must file the audit file and store all records with us and must erase all records from their systems when each audit completes. This ensures continuity for the Certificate holder. In the event that the Auditor is unavailable or otherwise not chosen to re-audit (as is is the right of the Certificate Holder), a surveillance audit will be assured of continuity and any subsequent investigations, disputes or similar can be undertaken efficiently, knowledgeably and accurately.

Transparency
Records and X must be open to the Public, Certification Body, the ICO or otherwise to ensure transparency and ensure trust and avoid mis-trust.

Specialist Auditors
Auditors that have worked in a sector will have gained an understanding of industry terminology, risks, systems and where relevant regulatory knowledge. Understanding the intricacies of a sector to a deeper level will lend numerous benefits to the auditing process.

Aligned Auditors


Specialist Advisors


Specialist Investigators