Impartiality Statement
Approachable Certification Ltd is the legal entity responsible for certification activities. Reference to Approachable Certification Ltd in this Policy and Public Statement refers to these legal entities.
Approachable Certification Ltd, its Director, managers and staff fully understand the importance of impartiality in undertaking its certification activities. Approachable Certification Ltd will therefore ensure that in all its dealings with clients or potential clients all employees or other personnel are and will remain impartial. To ensure that impartiality’s both maintained and can be demonstrated the following principals have been established.
- Approachable Certification Ltd certificates are only issued following a review by an independent authorised and competent member of the management team to ensure that no interest shall predominate.
- Approachable Certification Ltd doesn’t offer (and has never offered) management system consultancy or any other form of consultancy to companies or individuals.
- Approachable Certification Ltd doesn’t offer (and has never offered) an internal audit service to companies or individuals.
- Approachable Certification Ltd doesn’t own or have any interest (financial or otherwise) in any other company that offers certification, management system consultancy or internal audit services.
- Approachable Certification Ltd doesn’t have (and will not form) any relationships with companies who offer consultancy, internal audit services or other services that can be construed as having an impact on the certification services provided by Approachable Certification Ltd. Any proposed relationship between Approachable Certification Ltd and any other company will undergo a risk assessment by the Committee for Impartiality prior to that relationship being formalised. Any current relationships with companies, organisations and individuals will be risk assessed on a regular basis to ensure that the relationship does not impact upon the impartiality of the certification process. The risk assessment will be undertaken by the Committee for Impartiality.
- Individuals employed by or otherwise contracted to Approachable Certification Ltd are required to document and record their current and past relationships with all companies. Any situation past or present which may present a potential conflict of interest is required by Approachable Certification Ltd to be declared. Approachable Certification Ltd will use the information to identify any threats to impartiality and won’t use that individual in any capacity unless they can demonstrate that there’s no conflict of interest. The risk assessment will be undertaken by the Committee for Impartiality.
- Approachable Certification Ltd won’t allocate a member of staff or subcontractor to a management system audit where any past relationship has existed. Exceptionally and at the discretion of the Operations Manager or Director an individual or subcontractor may be allocated to a management system audit where a past relationship has existed but there’s been no relationship for a minimum of 2 years. The risk assessment will be reviewed by the Committee for Impartiality.
- Approachable Certification Ltd doesn’t offer any training in the UK.
- Approachable Certification Ltd will ensure that it isn’t linked or marketed in any way which links it with the activities of a management system consultancy and will take appropriate action should any such link be identified.
- All employees will be reviewed at least annually to ensure that they remain impartial when conducting audits.
- Auditors and others involved in the certification process aren’t and won’t be put under any pressure and won’t be influenced in any way to come to a particular conclusion regarding the result of an audit.
