Our Accreditations

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is the independent evaluation of certification bodies against the standard ISO/IEC 17021: (Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems) to ensure their impartiality, competence and consistency. The standard sets out the principles and requirements for the competence, consistency and impartiality of bodies providing audit and certification of management systems services.

Why use an accredited certification body?

Third party management systems certification is a frequently specified requirement to operate in the global market place. It can demonstrate compliance to a standard, a code of practice or regulatory requirements. It can also deliver internal business improvement.

Selecting the right organisation to carry out your certification can be fraught with unknowns. Choosing a certification body that has been accredited by an accreditation body that is a signatory to the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) has proved that it complies with best practice. It is competent to deliver a consistently reliable and impartial service which meets the appropriate, internationally-recognised standard.

In many countries, accreditation is not mandatory. However, selecting an accredited organisation to certify your management system means you have been assured that the following factors have been in good control:

• Qualifications, training and ongoing competence monitoring of staff
• Technically competent people that have the relevant experience and sector expertise.
• The certification is recognised by procurers in domestic and overseas markets.
• The certification independently and impartially verifies compliance to a standard

What are the benefits of using an accredited certification body?

There are many reasons why you should use the services of an accredited certification body:

• De-risk your procurement by taking the guesswork out of choosing a certification body by giving you confidence that you will get the service that closely meets your requirements;
• Win new business particularly since the use of accredited conformity assessment services is increasingly a stipulation of specifiers in both the public and private sector;
• Gain access to overseas markets since certificates issued by bodies that are accredited by an IAF MLA signatory are recognised and accepted throughout the world;
• Help to identify best practice since the certification body is required to have appropriate knowledge of your business sector;
• Control costs with the help of knowledge transfer since accredited certification bodies can be a good source of impartial advice;
• Offer market differentiation and leadership by showing to others credible evidence of good practice;
• Demonstrate due diligence in the event of legal action;
• Reduce paperwork and increase efficiency by reducing the necessity to re-audit your business.

How do I find an Accredited Certificate?

To find out an accredited certificate, browse through the IAF Cert Search via the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) website at www.iafcertsearch.org.