This Year we have continued our work to streamline the IOAS accreditation process to make it more efficient and effective for both our clients and ourselves. Earlier this year we introduced some clarifications on how we classify findings, and set a consistent response timeline of 6 weeks for all. We have now recently introduced some changes to our application and contract processes, as well as our annual fee calculations.
In the past we had a separate contract for each scheme we offered, but as we add more schemes this becomes cumbersome for both our clients and ourselves. Additionally, the contracts for each scheme were renewed and signed again for each accreditation cycle. We have now combined all of our scheme specific contracts into one master service contract that all CBs will sign at time of application and the contract will remain in effect for the duration of the accreditation relationship with IOAS. This will save time and paper, allowing us to focus more on our service.
At the same time as revising our contract terms into a single document, we reviewed our application forms and process, resulting in a single application form and a simpler process allowing us to proceed from receipt of application to application acceptance much quicker than before. For our new clients, this will result in a more straightforward application process, and fewer delays at the start of their accreditation journey.
And finally, what is possibly the most impactful change, is the update to our fee schedule. In order to remain competitive in the global accreditation market, and to fairly compensate our freelance assessors, we have increased our daily rate slightly from $750/day to $850/day which is still below the industry average daily rate. But the real news is that have managed to simplify the calculation for the annual fee, making this fee more transparent and easier to calculate, and most significantly we have designed it in such a way that we will no longer require our client CBs to submit their annual financial figures in order to calculate the annual fee. In reworking this calculation we have also reduced the amount of the average annual fee paid by client CBs by approximately 20%.
Through 2020 we will continue to develop and implement improvements to our accreditation process in order to offer the best service to our clients. We are also working on our internal processes to make or Client Managers jobs easier, allowing them more time for customer service and professional development. All of these changes are being done with our clients best interests in mind, and we look forward to improving and continuing to be the leading global Organic Accreditation Body.
Please email us if you wish to discuss the changes further.
