Since its inception, the CSIA Member Certification process has been achieved through the auditing of specific, single operating locations of CSIA Member companies. Although this approach has been suitable for companies with one or few operating locations, the need for alternative approach to address the size, number of locations, and underlying organizational structure that is created via the acquisition of several companies has become apparent.
Based upon feedback and requests from Members, CSIA is pleased to announce the successful pilot to certify an entire enterprise via Enterprise Audit. With the addition of an Enterprise Audit, companies now can choose to certify only their head office (and one or more branches, if desired) or can choose to certify their entire Enterprise, if eligible.
The “Enterprise Audit” is an adaptation of the current CSIA audit process to address the specific case of larger SI companies that pursue CSIA Certification that reflects the integration of its various business units, divisions or companies (e.g., from M&A in the latter case) across regions as a single entity and under a single brand. The traditional single operating location audit process remains as is and will continue to cover the needs of most SIs. The CSIA Certified status represents that what has been audited meets the requirements for CSIA Certification, and this meaning is consistent and applies across all audit types and levels. The underlying audit criteria that must be satisfied are the same for both Enterprise and traditional audits.
The Enterprise Audit process starts with the SI Member submitting an application for an Enterprise CSIA Certification. Once eligibility is confirmed and application approved, representatives from both the SI Member undergoing certification and their CSIA approved Auditing Body jointly develop a customized audit plan. This customized plan maps existing audit criteria requirements, based on the current version of CSIA Best Practices, across the entire organization, to effectively provide suitable sampling coverage requirements across multiple business perspectives.
This mapping will typically include:
a) Regional representation in the markets they serve
b) Profit and Loss Center or Business Unit
c) Strategic core competencies as presented to the markets they serve
d) The legacy organizational entities acquired through acquisitions that underly the current organizational structure today
The audit plan is presented to CSIA management for approval as the basis for CSIA Certification under the Enterprise option. Once approved, the SI Member will engage the CSIA approved Auditing Body to schedule and begin the Enterprise Audit.
Essential to obtaining Enterprise CSIA Certification is the requirement for the organization to pass the audit based on using the lowest score of the criteria assessed multiple times across the different business perspectives. This is different than the standard audit approach used for the head office/branch office audits where each location is scored independently, allowing a head office location to pass or fail independently of the status of the branch locations.
An SI company suited for an Enterprise Audit tends to be larger (large Level C) and is often more organizationally diversified and/or segregated, sometimes resulting from having formed through M&A. This SI company typically wants to take a more holistic approach to representing the entire organization as CSIA Certified rather than just a division, location, or head office. For this approach, the auditor will need to spend a longer time understanding the organization in order to jointly craft an audit plan with the SI that will provide a fair, comprehensive, and equitable assessment and verification of compliance to CSIA Best Practices across the organization. It is very likely that the audit will require more time than the audit of a simpler single primary office and/or branch location(s). The extent and complexity of the audit will, of course, depend on the size and complexity of the organization.
CSIA is pleased to announce that it has issued the first certification of an Enterprise via this pilot, and we invite other CSIA Members who are interested in pursuing this certification level to contact us and your preferred approved CSIA auditing firm to participate in this pilot. The CSIA Certification Committee is finalizing the necessary updates to the Certification Management System to include provisions for an Enterprise Audit, and updates to the website will be made soon.