Global ACI references: update the basis of certification planning

PRACTICAL GUIDANCE

The starting point

Check current document identifiers when discussing certification audit time, multisite arrangements, transfers and remote methods. Keep the source, assumptions and responsible certification body visible in the planning record.

Use the current document register

Global ACI’s technical-document register lists an implementation date of 28 August 2026 for TECH-3-001 on multisite certification, TECH-3-002 on transfers, TECH-3-003 on ICT and TECH-3-004 on QMS, EMS and occupational health and safety audit time.

UKAS’s certification-body publication page maps the current references to the previous IAF documents. TECH-3-004 is the current counterpart of IAF MD 5:2023. Retain legacy aliases where they help readers understand older quotations, but check the current source for new planning.

Record the assumptions behind the quotation

Our recommendation is to request a written explanation of the proposed assessment scope and the information used to plan it. A headcount is only meaningful alongside the activities, sites, shifts, outsourced work and other relevant characteristics.

A budget model should make those inputs visible. If a reduction or increase is proposed, ask which applicable rule and organisation-specific fact support it. Do not turn a generic table into a guaranteed price or audit duration.

• Identify the standard, edition, sites and activities being certified.
• Record the relevant current planning document and its version.
• Separate initial assessment, surveillance and recertification assumptions.
• Ask what changes would require the certification body to revise its plan.

Keep the purpose of the calculation clear

These documents concern conformity-assessment arrangements. They should not be copied into an internal-audit programme as if they set a universal number of internal audit days.

For an internal audit, plan enough time and appropriate methods to achieve the agreed objectives across the selected activities. For certification, the responsible body determines the assessment programme using the rules that apply to its accreditation and scheme.

Make estimates reviewable

Keep the source date, assumptions and exclusions with any estimate. Revisit the calculation when the organisation adds sites, changes processes or expands the proposed scope.

Use the audit brief to describe the operational complexity you need assessed. The result should help a competent provider scope the work; it is not an accredited audit-time decision or a binding commercial quotation.

Related guidance and practical next steps