Citation ISO Certification was founded in 1993 specifically as a route for SME’s to access ISO Certification, something that was typically expensive and time-consuming, by providing both the consultancy and auditing services into one for a fraction of the cost of two separate services.
Citation ISO Certification is accredited to ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 by ASCB – Accreditation Service for Certifying Bodies.
ASCB was formed in 1995 to accredit a range of international non-governmental conformity assessment bodies providing certification of management systems, products and personnel, as well as testing and calibration services, in accordance with relevant ISO/IEC standards.
Citation ISO maintains accreditation to ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 by demonstrating in our annual auditing that we have effectively separated the Consultancy and Auditing functions within the business so that we remain impartial, especially in areas relating to certification decisions.
In the UK, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the nationally recognised accreditation body so unlike ASCB, is in GLOBAC (Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated, previously IAF International Accreditation Forum) and co-exists alongside other Accreditation Bodies, such as ASCB. ASCB operates independently as a non-governmental accreditation body, using internationally recognised ISO standards as the basis for accreditation.
There is no legal requirement to use the services of a UKAS-accredited certification body; organisations should select a certification and accreditation arrangement that meets their specific regulatory, commercial and business requirements.
Who validates ASCB
ASCB operates as an independent accreditation body and accredits certification bodies by assessing their competence and impartiality against internationally recognised ISO standards. Accreditation bodies are not themselves certified in the same way as certification bodies; their credibility is established through independence, governance, transparency, and sustained acceptance by the market over time, including ASCB’s more than 30 years of continuous operation.