In a rapidly changing world, business cannot stand still. There is an ever increasing need to evolve, to move from prescriptive instructions intended to satisfy narrow compliance standards, to systems designed to ensure delivery against organisational commitments. This requires broader, deeper and more intelligent systems with flexibility in their application.

The future of management systems

Organisations of all sizes need to be able to manage risk, the uncertainty of global supply chains and legislative demands. In effect, management systems need to be central to the way modern, successful organisations manage themselves. The challenge facing management systems professionals is designing systems that meet these needs. And, in order to do so, they must become bi-lingual - able to speak the language of business and systems.

Management systems are becoming inextricably linked to assuring the future of the business. As a result, we must start assessing such systems in a different way. They need to be viewed through the prism of an organisation's stakeholders and top management for what they are - business assurance systems.

Our approach

These new business challenges have led us to develop a different approach to our services and the way in which we carry out our assessments with clients. We have named this 'Business Assurance'. Business Assurance is based on the idea that building trust stretches far beyond the issuing of certificates. Its aim is to ensure clients:

• have the capability to deliver on the promises they make, enhancing their reputation, creating confidence in their capabilities, helping them to substantiate claims and differentiate themselves
• see the tangible benefits of the value of management systems, linking these benefits to financial performance or improvements in effectiveness and efficiency
• develop their capability to manage a range of non-financial risks.

In short, Business Assurance is about continually weaving vision, precision and the will to improve into the fabric of an organisation, irrespective of size or location.

Leading edge companies now expect management systems to contribute significantly to their capability to achieve strategic goals. They understand that management systems are fundamental to maintaining organisational capability whilst undergoing change. To gain the greatest benefits from their systems, progressive organisations recognise the advantage of making themselves more transparent and sharing information about their real business issues.

Management systems have matured to meet the expectations of business. Now certification has grown up to match the evolution - and it is called Business Assurance.

Read more about Business Assurance.