Commitment to Objectivity and Fairness
At CAS Conformity Assessment Services, we recognize the critical importance of impartiality in conducting certification activities. As an integral part of our commitment to uphold and promote impartiality, we have implemented stringent policies and procedures to manage any potential threats to impartiality and to ensure the integrity of our certification processes.
Acknowledgment of Impartiality’s Importance
We acknowledge that impartiality is paramount to our operations. We ensure that all our personnel, both internal and external, understand the necessity of impartiality in our certification activities and the potential consequences of biased behavior.
Identification and Management of Threats to Impartiality
Our approach to maintaining impartiality involves:
- Identifying Potential Threats: We continuously identify potential threats to impartiality, including self-interest, self-review, familiarity or trust, and intimidation.
- Managing Impartiality: We undertake our conformity assessment activities impartially, free from any commercial, financial, or other pressures that might compromise our impartiality. Top management is committed to managing conflicts of interest and ensuring objectivity throughout our certification processes.
Restrictions on Certification Activities
To safeguard impartiality, we impose specific restrictions on our certification activities:
- We do not certify other certification bodies for their quality management systems.
- We refrain from offering or providing management system consultancy services to ensure there is no conflict of interest.
- We avoid providing internal audits to our certified clients, as this could significantly threaten impartiality.
- We do not certify a management system if the client has received consultancy from any entity related to our certification body within the last two years.
- We prohibit outsourcing audits to organizations that provide management system consultancy.
Conflict of Interest Management
All personnel involved in our certification activities are required to act impartially and are not permitted to participate in any activities where they may have a conflict of interest. Specifically:
- Personnel who have provided consultancy must refrain from participating in audits or certification decisions for that client for a minimum of two years.
- We actively manage and respond to any threats to impartiality arising from actions of other bodies or organizations.
- All personnel must disclose any situation that may present them with a conflict of interest.
Liability and Financial Management
We ensure that:
- Risks associated with certification activities are evaluated and adequately managed.
- There are sufficient arrangements to cover liabilities.
- Our finances and income sources are regularly evaluated to ensure they do not influence or compromise our impartiality.
This policy is endorsed by our CEO, Ahmed EL-Enbabi, demonstrating top-level commitment to impartiality in all our certification activities.