TNV Global Limited ("TNV Global", "we") is a UAF Accredited, IAF (GAC) recognised certification body operating under ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 — the international standard for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems. Impartiality is fundamental to the value, credibility, and legal effect of every certificate we issue. This Statement explains how we identify, govern, and mitigate threats to impartiality across all our certification activities.
This Impartiality Statement is approved by the Board of TNV Global Limited and is binding on all employees, contracted auditors, technical reviewers, the Impartiality Committee, members of certification decision panels, sub-contractors, and any other personnel acting on behalf of TNV Global.
1. Our Commitment to Impartiality
TNV Global Limited understands the importance of impartiality in conducting management system certification activities, manages conflicts of interest, and ensures the objectivity of certification decisions. This commitment is signed and personally endorsed by senior management and is communicated to all interested parties.
Top management is committed to operating in a manner that is impartial and free from any commercial, financial, or other pressure that may compromise impartiality. We make decisions based on objective evidence of conformity (or nonconformity) with the relevant management system standard, and not on any other basis.
2. Scope of This Statement
This Statement applies to all certification activities carried out by TNV Global, including but not limited to:
- ISO/IEC 42001 (Artificial Intelligence Management System) certification
- ISO/IEC 27001 (Information Security Management System) certification
- ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) certification
- ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certification
- ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) certification
- ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System) certification
- ISO 41001 (Facility Management) certification
- ISO 55001 (Asset Management) certification
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits, surveillance audits, recertification audits, transfer audits, scope-extension audits, and special audits
- All certification decisions including initial issuance, suspension, withdrawal, and restoration of certificates
3. Regulatory and Accreditation Basis
This Statement is published in conformance with:
- ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 Clause 5.2 — "Management of impartiality" — the core requirement that certification bodies operate impartially and manage threats to impartiality.
- ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 Clauses 4 and 5.1 — Principles of impartiality, competence, responsibility, openness, confidentiality, responsiveness to complaints, and risk-based approach.
- UAF Accreditation Requirements — United Accreditation Foundation requires accredited certification bodies to maintain documented impartiality governance, including an Impartiality Committee with structured oversight.
- IAF Mandatory Documents — Particularly IAF MD 4 (remote audits) and IAF MD 5 (audit time determination), which include impartiality requirements.
4. Definition of Impartiality
Impartiality is the presence of objectivity, meaning conflicts of interest do not exist, or are resolved so as not to adversely influence subsequent activities of TNV Global. The actual presence of impartiality, AND the perception that impartiality exists, must both be safeguarded.
Other terms useful in conveying the element of impartiality include: objectivity, independence, freedom from conflicts of interest, freedom from bias, freedom from prejudice, neutrality, fairness, open-mindedness, even-handedness, detachment, balance.
5. Threats to Impartiality (Risk Categories)
In accordance with ISO/IEC 17021-1, TNV Global identifies the following five categories of threats that may compromise impartiality. We maintain a documented Impartiality Risk Register and conduct annual reviews, with ad-hoc reviews on triggering events.
| Threat Type | Description | Example for TNV Global |
|---|---|---|
| Self-interest threats | Arising from a person or body acting in its own interest, including financial gain. | Pressure to issue a certificate to retain a high-value client; auditor financial dependency on a single client. |
| Self-review threats | Arising from a person reviewing work previously performed by themselves. | Same auditor conducting both Stage 1 and certification decision; consulting on a system and later auditing it. |
| Familiarity (trust) threats | Arising from a person being too familiar with or trusting another. | Same Lead Auditor for many consecutive cycles with one client; close personal relationships with client management. |
| Intimidation threats | Arising from a person or body having a perception of being coerced openly or secretively. | Client threats of legal action over audit findings; pressure from a powerful client to change a determination. |
| Advocacy threats | Arising from a person or body acting in support of, or in opposition to, a given organisation. | Public statements supporting or criticising a client's industry; promoting a client's services in TNV marketing. |
6. Impartiality Mitigation Measures
For each identified threat, TNV Global applies the following structural and procedural mitigations:
6.1 No Consulting on Systems We Certify
TNV Global does NOT provide, and shall never provide:
- Consultancy on the design, implementation, or maintenance of management systems
- Internal auditing for organisations we certify
- Drafting of policies, procedures, or other management system documentation for clients
- Training that is marketed as preparing organisations for our specific audits
TNV Global is an audit and certification body only. Where a client requires implementation support, we refer them to independent third-party consultants with no commercial relationship to TNV Global.
6.2 Cooling-Off Period for Auditors
Where a person has provided consulting services or internal audit services to an organisation, that person shall not participate in any TNV Global audit of that organisation's relevant management system for a minimum of 2 (two) years after the consulting engagement ended. This applies to:
- Lead Auditors and audit team members
- Technical Reviewers
- Certification Decision Makers
- Impartiality Committee members reviewing the engagement
6.3 Auditor Rotation
Lead Auditor rotation is applied to mitigate familiarity threats:
- Maximum 3 consecutive surveillance cycles with the same Lead Auditor for a given client
- Mandatory change of Lead Auditor at every Recertification audit (Year 3+)
- Records of auditor allocation are retained for traceability
6.4 Decision-Maker Independence
The certification decision (issuance, refusal, suspension, withdrawal, restoration) is made by a competent Certification Decision Maker who:
- Did NOT participate in the audit team
- Has not provided consultancy to the client within the past 2 years
- Reviews the full audit file independently
- Has authority to refuse, delay, or seek further evidence before making a decision
6.5 Marketing and Sales Separation
Sales and commercial staff have no authority over:
- Audit findings or determinations
- Certification decisions
- Auditor allocation to specific clients
- Suspension, withdrawal, or restoration decisions
Auditors are not compensated based on certificate issuance rate, retention rate, or commercial outcome. Auditor compensation is structured to reward objectivity and professional competence.
6.6 Financial Independence
TNV Global Limited's commercial structure ensures:
- No single client represents an excessive proportion of revenue (target: no client more than 5% of revenue; monitored quarterly)
- Booking deposits and audit fees are paid for audit time and certification process, NOT for certification outcome (see Refund Policy and Book Audit Terms)
- Refunds are never offered or withheld based on audit findings
- Annual financial review by independent auditors
7. Impartiality Governance
7.1 The Impartiality Committee
TNV Global maintains an Impartiality Committee, structured in accordance with ISO/IEC 17021-1, with the following composition:
- Independent Chair (no executive role in TNV Global)
- Representative(s) of certified client organisations
- Representative(s) of users of certified products/services
- Independent technical expert(s)
- Representative of TNV Global senior management (non-voting on impartiality decisions)
The Impartiality Committee:
- Reviews TNV Global's impartiality policies and procedures annually
- Reviews the Impartiality Risk Register and mitigation effectiveness
- Provides advice on perceived or actual threats to impartiality
- Has authority to require TNV Global to take corrective action where impartiality is at risk
- Has authority to require independent investigation of impartiality concerns
- Meets at least once per year, with additional meetings as needed
- Maintains documented minutes available to UAF for accreditation review
7.2 Ownership and Control
Information about TNV Global's ownership, governance, and any organisations TNV Global is part of (the TNV Group) is published openly. Where ownership or governance arrangements create or could create a threat to impartiality, this is disclosed and mitigated as documented in our Impartiality Risk Register, available for review by interested parties on reasonable request.
8. Marketing, Consulting, and Training Separation
TNV Global does not link certification services with management system consultancy. Specifically:
- We do not market consulting services alongside certification
- We do not imply that using a particular consultant or training provider will result in easier or quicker certification
- We do not provide training that purports to prepare clients for our specific audits
- Where TNV Group entities offer training, this is delivered by separately-staffed organisations under separate branding, with no information-sharing with certification operations beyond what would be available to any third party
9. Public Disclosure and Reporting
TNV Global publishes and maintains the following impartiality-related information:
- This Impartiality Statement on https://tnvglobal.com/impartiality
- Conflict of Interest Policy on https://tnvglobal.com/conflict-of-interest
- Complaints and Appeals Procedure on https://tnvglobal.com/complaints-appeals
- Certificate verification at global-aci.org (live status, suspensions, withdrawals)
- Impartiality Committee summary terms of reference (on request)
10. Reporting Impartiality Concerns
Any person who believes that TNV Global is failing to act impartially, or that a specific audit, decision, or interaction was influenced by a threat to impartiality, may raise the concern through the following channels:
| admin@tnvglobal.com (subject: "Impartiality Concern") | |
| Postal Address | Impartiality Committee, c/o TNV Global Limited, Sabichi House, 5 Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Greenford, England, UB6 7JD |
| Confidentiality | Concerns are reviewed confidentially. The identity of the person raising the concern is protected unless disclosure is required by law. |
| Anonymity | Anonymous concerns are accepted but may limit our ability to investigate fully or respond to the person raising the concern. |
| Acknowledgement | Within 1 business day |
| Investigation Timeline | Within 30 business days for routine concerns; 60 business days for complex investigations. Escalation to UAF or external review if required. |
| Escalation | If unresolved internally, concerns may be escalated to UAF directly: https://uafaccreditation.org |
11. Non-Retaliation
TNV Global guarantees that no person — whether a client, auditor, employee, sub-contractor, or third party — will be subject to retaliation for raising a genuine impartiality concern in good faith. Retaliation includes withholding of services, threats, contractual penalties, or adverse career consequences for TNV Global personnel.
12. Annual Review and Continual Improvement
This Impartiality Statement, the Impartiality Risk Register, and related policies are reviewed annually by the Impartiality Committee and senior management. Triggers for ad-hoc review include:
- Material change in ownership or governance
- Entry into new business activities
- Substantiated impartiality concern
- Changes in ISO/IEC 17021-1, IAF Mandatory Documents, or UAF accreditation requirements
- Significant change in client base composition
13. Signed and Approved
This Impartiality Statement is approved and signed by:
| Pragyesh Kumar Singh | Salil Kumar Jha |
|---|---|
| AIMS Auditor | Senior Advisor & Independent Board Member |
| CS, MSc (IT), M.Com | Former MD, HAL |