For independent Assayers
The Accreditation Standard, explained
The Accreditation Standard is the published measure against which the Foundation accredits an independent Assayer. It is the same for every applicant, so that a Hallmark from one Assayer means what a Hallmark from another means.
The criteria
Four criteria, applied uniformly
Accreditation can be held by a university, an assurance firm or a qualified independent. Whoever holds it is measured against the same four criteria.
Technical competence
Demonstrable command of the methodology and its gates, and the means to assess an engagement against the version of the standard it is assessed under — the specification, the implementation, the test and acceptance evidence, and operation over time.
A documented process
A repeatable, written assessment process, so that two engagements of comparable scope are assessed in a comparable way, and a finding can be reconstructed and reviewed after the fact.
Independence
The structural and procedural independence to reach an adverse finding and record it — free of commercial pressure from the Practitioner, the delivery firm or the client whose work is being assessed.
Standing
Institutional or professional standing sufficient to be relied upon by a third party reading the Register: a university, an assurance firm, or a qualified independent.
How accreditation is audited
Granted against the criteria, held under audit
Accreditation is granted against the criteria and then held under continuing audit. The Foundation reviews an Assayer’s assessments against the standard, re-examines its independence, and samples its findings for consistency. Audit is a condition of holding accreditation, not an occasional event.
Where an Assayer no longer meets the criteria — a lapse in process, a failure of independence, a pattern of findings out of step with others — its accreditation may be suspended pending remedy, or withdrawn. Suspension stops the Assayer assessing new engagements; it does not erase engagements it has already assessed, which remain on the Register. A change in an Assayer’s standing is recorded, because concealing it would weaken the very thing the Register exists to protect.
Cipher allocation
One cipher, one Assayer
On accreditation, an Assayer is allocated a short cipher. The cipher is unique to the Assayer, appears as its mark within the Hallmark, and forms the final segment of the stable identifier of every engagement it assesses, in the form AF-YYYY-NNNN-XXX — for example the specimen AF-0000-0000-SPX, where SPX stands for the fictional Specimen Assayer. The allocation is recorded with the accreditation, so the cipher resolves to a single, identifiable Assayer for as long as the Register stands.
The identifier format and cipher scheme are awaiting final sign-off.
Enquire about accreditation