ARTICLE 102

Accredited Assessment Bodies

Conformity assessments and audits under the IRBAI framework are conducted by IRBAI and by Accredited Assessment Bodies: independent organizations accredited under Article 102 of the Statute, operating under IRBAI oversight, whose findings carry the same standing as those of IRBAI auditors.

Accreditation is how competent, independent assessment capacity scales across industries and jurisdictions without diluting the standard.

REQUIREMENTS

What Accreditation Requires

Independence, first of all: a body never assesses a system it helped develop, and its ownership, finances and staffing must exclude conflicts of interest. Beyond independence, accreditation examines technical competence in the industries and audit levels applied for; the security and confidentiality arrangements that protect the material an assessment touches; and the quality management that keeps findings consistent and reviewable.

PROCESS

How Accreditation Works

An organization applies, is evaluated against the accreditation criteria, and on success is accredited for defined industries and assessment levels. Accreditation is not permanent: bodies operate under continuing IRBAI oversight, their work is subject to review, and accreditation can be suspended or withdrawn where the conditions cease to be met.

Organizations seeking accreditation should contact the Secretariat to initiate the process. An overview of how assessments fit the wider system is on How We Audit.