AMERICAN GLOBAL STANDARDS, LLC - Oxebridge Quality Resources

AMERICAN GLOBAL STANDARDS, LLC

Updated 6/26/12

Background of Registrar Accreditation:

American Global Standards, LLC (AGS) is accredited by the American International Accreditation Organization- Bureau of Accredited Registrars (AIAO-BAR) a non-profit organization established to accredit independent third-party companies offering registration services to various industry standards including ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, HACCP, OHSAS 18001, ISO 13485, R2 (Responsible Recycling), etc. aiao-

Accreditation is strictly voluntary for registrars, however most are accredited by at least one accreditation body to aid in marketing their ISO certification services/activities and to add a sense of "legitimacy" to the certificates they issue.

Several of the more than 150 accreditation organizations worldwide were chartered or established and/or regulated by governmental agencies within the country of their operations. In the United States this is not the case. ANAB (formerly the Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) a division of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) a trade group of Quality Professionals headquartered in Milwaukee, WI; through a series of events and US governmental disinterest became a "default" accreditation body in the United States in the mid 1990's.

In an effort to provide legitimacy other than the "default" status to their organization, and lacking any governmental authorization or charter- ANAB became the driving force behind the formation of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the implementation of a Multi-Lateral Agreement (MLA) that provides that IAF signatory members recognize each others IAF members "accredited registrars" certificates.

ANAB is one of approximately 45 accreditation organizations (of over 150) worldwide that belong to the IAF. To emphasize the involvement of ANAB in the creation of the IAF it is interesting to note that the financial controller for the IAF is also the controller for ANAB and to join the IAF, accreditation bodies were required to send IAF application and dues payments to the same address as ANAB in Milwaukee, WI. This was the case when AIAO-BAR looked into joining and participating in the IAF, and decided not too.

Coincidentally, the current chair of the IAF is Mr. Randy Doherty, Vice President of ANAB. Thus, the person in charge of the accreditation body trade organization, responsible for mandating the rules imposed by IAF member accreditation bodies on registrars they accredit (such as on-site minimum man-day requirements) is the Vice President of the accreditation body ANAB, whose sole financial support is derived from fees charged to the registrars they accredit.

1187 Coast Village Road, Suite 495 Montecito, CA 93108

AMERICAN GLOBAL STANDARDS, LLC

Updated 6/26/12

ANAB (like all accreditation bodies) derives their revenue from registrar application and yearly auditing fees. These fees range from a low of $50,000--$60,000+ USD for a small registrar to hundreds of thousands to more than $1,000,000 dollars annually for registrars with multiple locations and hundreds of issued certificates.

The accreditation bodies also require the registrars they accredit to pay a percentage of the registrars total annual revenue, typically 10-20% for the "licensing" of the respective accreditation organization "marks" to registrars. Registrars then print these accreditation body "marks" on the certificates they issue to companies they certify to add a level of "authenticity" or "mutual recognition" to the certificate.

The fees ANAB collects from registrars they have accredited are at least several million, if not tens of millions annually.

Some registrars have "multiple accreditations" in the various countries they operate in, to assist in marketing their certification services in those countries.

Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of certificates have been issued by registrars with accreditation body "marks" from accreditation bodies who are not members of the IAF to those certified companies unwilling to pay the extra fee for an " IAF accredited certificate."

The accreditation bodies charge an additional fee to extend the "scope" of a "registrars accreditation" for each industry in which the registrar issues certificates. Additional fees are assessed for every additional SIC or NACE code a registrar issues certificates to containing the accreditation bodies "mark."

IQNET is also an organization offering world wide accreditation recognition similar to IAF and is comprised of 37+ independent registrar organizations with 300,000+ certificates issued or 30% of the world wide market.

Independent accreditation bodies such as AIAO-BAR (USA) and IAB (UK) provide accreditation services by utilizing the same ISO standards and requirements, but without participating in the MLA required by membership in the IAF.

AGS has chosen to be independently accredited to maintain its competitive edge and value added services to our clients. I have taken the liberty of attaching a list of IAF and IQNET accreditation bodies for your information. It is not inclusive, but addresses a majority of the bodies. Thank you for your inquiry.

American Global Standards, LLC

1187 Coast Village Road, Suite 495 Montecito, CA 93108

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