The mechanisms
Four safeguards, each with a published rule.
Risk & Impartiality Committee
Oversees threats to impartiality across all accreditation activities, reviews risk assessments, and monitors the separation between assessment, decision, and any commercial activity. Committee composition is published as appointments are made.
Conflict-of-interest screening
Every assessor and decision-maker completes a declaration under POL-COI-01 before assignment to a file. Declared conflicts exclude the individual from that file, with no exceptions.
Independent decision function
Accreditation decisions are made by people who took no part in the assessment, as ISO/IEC 17011:2017 requires. Assessors recommend; they do not decide.
Structural separation
ASC performs no certification and owns no certification body. Training revenue is separated from accreditation decisions: attending ASC training neither helps nor hurts an application.
The written rules
Impartiality Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy and Declaration Form, Anti-Bribery and Integrity Policy, Confidentiality Policy, and the Complaints and Appeals Procedure are all published on the public documents portal. If you believe an ASC decision was not impartial, the appeals route is open to you and its procedure is public.
Want to challenge or verify a decision?
The complaints and appeals procedure is published, and every accreditation is publicly verifiable.