Certification and Accreditation has become a multi-million dollar industry in the United States. IAS does not believe a certificate of quality assurance should be a pre-requisite to doing business. However many clients are requiring verification of a formal quality program from their vendors to ensure controls exist confirming the ability to deliver quality products and services consistently.

The successful American organization has typically integrated Quality Assurance into the delivered product or service as is evident in their success. A successful organization has demonstrated controls and customer requirements fulfillment are in place.

Therefore they should not be penalized if they are not in a position to pay large sums to verify inherent quality controls.

IAS was formed in order to provide a balance and choice to industry with regard to certification and accreditation.

A key goal of IAS is to ensure that some currently held misconceptions are corrected. These include:

• That ISO 9000 is currently seen as mandatory.

• That accreditation and ISO 9000 is Government controlled

• That there is no choice available for firms in how they achieve certification.

• That the organization must have a certificate issued by any specific registrar.

These points are not wholly true but are promoted by those who have a vested interest in a monopoly situation. It is to counter this anti-competitive behavior that IAS was formed.

The accreditation function provided by IAS may be accepted on the basis of an independently delivered service designed to support organizations seeking verification of the credibility and integrity of accredited individuals and the quality management systems they evaluate.

IAS is a self monitored 3rd party accreditation service and can make no claims regarding the acceptability of certificates issued.

Ultimately the organization seeking certification must determine the requirements of their clients and seek certification based on known preferences and requirements.