ACERT · OUR APPROACH
Assurance should move
with your business.
Your operations change every day. Confidence in them should be supported by evidence that keeps pace.
ACert is developing an approach to certification built around ongoing operational evidence, system analysis and a traceable assessment process. The certificate is the visible outcome. The supporting report explains how that conclusion was reached.
CERTIFICATION THROUGH ASSURANCE
The certificate is a conclusion.
The evidence gives it meaning.
A management system leaves an operational record: work completed, controls checked, decisions made, exceptions raised and actions reviewed.
ACert’s approach brings those records into the assessment. It asks whether the evidence supports the stated requirements, where gaps remain and what the assurance conclusion can reasonably say.
That creates a basis for scrutiny: a reader should be able to understand the scope, the evidence considered and the limitations of the outcome.
FROM OPERATIONS TO ASSURANCE
A process you can
follow and examine.
01 · Define the scope
Agree the organisation, activities, locations, requirements and assessment period. Establish what the assurance is intended to demonstrate.
02 · Connect the evidence
Use relevant records held in Zebsoft to connect requirements with operational activity, ownership, dates and review history.
03 · Analyse and question
Assess whether records are relevant, current and sufficient. Identify missing evidence, inconsistent outcomes and controls that need closer examination.
04 · Resolve findings
Record gaps and exceptions, assign responsibility and review the response. A completed action needs evidence of its result.
05 · Record the decision
Where the agreed criteria are met, issue a certificate and supporting assurance report stating the scope, assessment basis and review arrangements.
06 · Maintain the basis
Agree how new evidence, material changes and unresolved findings trigger review, including when an assurance conclusion needs revision or withdrawal.
AI WITH A DEFINED PURPOSE
Analysis at scale.
Responsibility made clear.
AI can help examine more evidence, more often.
Our intended model uses AI-assisted analysis to connect records to requirements, highlight inconsistencies and prepare findings for review.
A generated summary is only useful when its claims can be checked against the underlying records. Evidence gaps, uncertainty and contradictory information must remain visible.
The assessment process must identify who is responsible for reviewing findings and authorising an assurance decision. AI supports that process; responsibility remains explicit.
WHAT CONTINUOUS MEANS
Evidence that stays relevant.
Review when it matters.
Continuous assurance means maintaining the connection between operational activity and the assurance conclusion. Review frequency should reflect the significance of the control, the available evidence and the consequences of failure.
Maintain the record
Capture evidence through normal work, with clear ownership and review responsibilities.
Revisit the assessment
Changes to scope, people, processes or risks may change the basis on which assurance was given.
Act on the findings
Overdue actions, failed controls and incomplete evidence need a defined response and follow-up.
Monitoring coverage, assessment intervals and review triggers are agreed for each engagement. Continuous assurance does not imply that every activity is monitored in real time.
PRINCIPLES INTO PRACTICE
Defined with DCA.
Evidenced in Zebsoft.
Assessed by ACert.
Define – Communicate – Assure gives the approach its discipline: establish an achievable requirement, make it understood and examine whether it is being achieved.
Zebsoft provides the operational record across documents, activities, risks, audits and improvement actions. ACert’s role is to assess what that evidence supports within an agreed scope.
CLEAR ABOUT THE OUTCOME
Know what your
assurance covers.
An ACert certificate and report should make the assessed scope, criteria, evidence period, findings and review arrangements clear. Any exclusions or limitations belong alongside the conclusion.
ACert assurance is non-accredited. Before agreeing an assessment, establish what your customers or other interested parties require and whether the proposed outcome meets that need.
START WITH YOUR OPERATIONS
What does your evidence
need to demonstrate?
Tell us which activities, requirements and customer expectations matter. We can discuss the available evidence and a suitable assessment scope.
This page describes the ACert service model and direction of development. Availability, assessment methods and review arrangements are confirmed before engagement.