Accreditation, in essence, is the process of according formal recognition to an organization’s competence to carry out specific activities, such as testing or certification. This recognition is based on set of universally recognized and established international standards that address fundamental concerns such as impartiality, integrity, and competence.

For customers and stakeholders, the abundance of products and services in the market often makes it hard to make an informed choice based on quality and safety requirements. Consequently, suppliers may seek objective assessments of their products or services from impartial organizations such as certification bodies or test laboratories – that are appropriate to the specific product or service being offered. Such assessments may result in certificates of conformance or test reports being issued to the supplier.

However, confidence in these reports and certificates may only be achieved if they have been issued by competent and qualified organizations or individuals. Accreditation – that is granted for a defined scope of operation – serves as the essential mechanism that delivers this confidence to the customer.

Notably, the universal nature of the international standards means that organizations or products – regardless of their country of origin – may be assessed or tested against the same yardstick of standards, thereby providing confidence in the comparability of certificates and reports across national borders.