The UKAS interview
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) has borne the brunt of some criticism over the past few years. What with calls to reduce the number of unaccredited certification bodies and the fiasco with UK certification bodies in China, there have been some suggestions that UKAS is influenced rather too forcefully by the larger certification bodies. But what about the relationship between UKAS and IRCA?
As the most recognised accreditation body and auditor certification body in the world, what are the plans for future collaboration? Nicky Farmer spoke to Roger Brockway, UKAS external affairs director and Paul Stennett UKAS CEO, to find out how they see the relationship developing and how they view overseas expansion
Do you see closer collaboration in
the future between UKAS and IRCA?
RB - Certification bodies are only as good as the raw materials; the
auditors they use. The essential thing in an organisation is technical
competence and certification bodies have to manage teams of people
who must give an appropriate and competent service of understanding
their customers' needs.
IRCA is an essential part of that because it is vouchsafing a baseline
for the auditing profession. We welcome the new ISO 19011 standard
as something with which to define the expectations of auditors and
auditor competence.
IRCA and a lot of other certification
bodies are working to increase their market internationally, particularly
in countries such as Japan and China. Do you think UKAS should go
along with that expansion?
RB - With IRCA the 'i' stands for international. UKAS is a UK body.
We will do what we can in the interests of the UK's economy first.
It is difficult in the assurance world for a UK body to push itself
onto an international market beyond a certain extent, because most
of its activities are done through mutual recognition.
Some UK certification bodies have burnt their fingers in China and
UKAS could not afford to expose itself, in that way.
We can only do what we do by being well known for respecting the fact
that accreditation is not a commercial business. A certification body
[such as IRCA] is. An accreditation body cannot move into terrain
it does not understand, does not have the overt backing of its stakeholders
and does not have committee members who understand the economy in
which it is operating.
PS - From my background I would prefer to take a much more direct
and aggressive approach. People have certain expectations of UKAS
and if we fulfil those expectations the other side is we cannot go
out and hunt after their business. Having said that I know that UKAS
is the accreditation body that certification bodies want to work with
internationally.
I have met some major clients who are not based in the UK, or headquartered
in Europe but who choose to work with UKAS as their global accreditation
body because we have the ability to work with all the continents.
If you currently accredit certification
bodies who are expanding their markets overseas surely you will expand
by default?
RB - UKAS is very much globally focused, UK based. I think we can bring organisations greater value by using the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) as a network of accreditation bodies that can provide a focused assessment, covering all the activities.
PS - By having the ability to move and the experience, we are the
natural partner. But we work with other major, non-UK certification
bodies and we will help anyone who sees a need for our services.
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