IMPARTIALLY SAFEGUARDS
The Company has engaged the services of a Certification Committee and an Advisory Council who’s roles and functions are described throughout ACS quality and procedure manual.
To ensure that the Company operates in an entirely impartial manner the Company has a process to identify, analyse, evaluate, treat, monitor and document the risks related to conflicts of interests arising from provision of certification including any conflicts arising from it’s relationship on an on-going basis. ACS has come up with a Risks Register template for achieving the above aims. Where there are any threats to impartiality, ACS would document these in the Risks Register template and would show how it eliminates or minimizes such threats. Where there are any residual risks, these would also be documented in the Risks Register Template.
Top management would incorporate the review of any residual risks to determine whether it is within the level of acceptable risks and the status of actions to address risks in the yearly management review.
The risks assessment process would include identification of and consultation with appropriate interested parties to advise on matters affecting impartiality including openness and public perception. The consultation with the Advisory Council would be balanced and with no singe interest predominating as documented in Quality manual part three.
ACS would still call these interested parties the Advisory Council
Such impartiality is maintained over three levels of operation.
At the strategic and policy level the Company:
- Does not pursue or plan to pursue business activities, which could jeopardise impartiality.
- Does not advertise certification/auditing services, which could affect impartiality.
- Does not employ staff, which may affect impartiality.
- Does not take on clients where there would be a breach of impartiality.
- Has independent arbitration that will advise on matters of impartiality and certification.
- Is responsible for and retains authority for certification decisions for granting, maintaining, renewing, extending, reducing, suspending and withdrawing certification.
- Instances when the certification committee shall be used are:
- Complaints, appeals and disputes.
- Certification and re-certification decisions
- Instances when the Advisory council shall be used are:
- As a consultative committee of Risk assessment process to advise on matters affecting impartiality including openness and public perception.
- Management has in place policies, procedures and work instructions that ensure that total impartiality. The Company will involve all relevant organisations and client companies in the setting of impartiality policy by using the Certification Committee and Advisory Council as appropriate.
- The Board of Directors and the senior managers of the Company ensure at all times that financial or business decisions do not in any way conflict with the requirement to maintain total impartiality of the Company’s operations.
- The Company has a quality improvements programme in place to action suggestions and concerns, which may from time to time arise over matters of impartiality.
Auditors and technical specialists are required to declare any interest, financial or otherwise, in an organisation that could jeopardise the impartiality of an audit or the ultimate decision to recommend certification of a company
All auditors used by the Company are subject to an international code covering auditor’s conduct and ethics. Impartiality takes a prominent position in the conduct of an auditor