ISO 9001:2001 has been designed to help companies in establishing quality management system that enables them to produce products and render services which meet customer requirements and enhance their satisfaction. This article is an introduction to the requirement of ISO 9001:2000 standard whose reading would help in understanding the essentials of the standard. The Article also identifies the areas in ISO Certifications in which CAs can render their services.

The term ISO 9000 refers to a set of quality management standards. ISO first published its quality standards in 1987, revised them in 1994, and then republished an updated version in 2000. Standards presently applicable are known as “ISO 9000:2000 Standards”. The purpose of ISO is to facilitate international trade by providing a single set of standards that people everywhere would recognize and respect. ISO 9000 certification is awarded to the organization and not to the product and/or service. An ISO certification does imply that you have the capability to make quality product. 

ISO 9000 is sweeping the world. It is rapidly becoming the most important quality management standard. Thousands of companies in over 100 countries have already adopted it, and many more are in the process of doing so. Why? Because it controls quality. It saves money. Customers expect it. Competitors use it. It has also been made mandatory by many big corporations and the Govt. buying agencies that their suppliers must have ISO 9001:2000 certification. This makes it the logical choice for any organisation who want to assure their customer, who demand an international standard of quality, of the quality of their products and/or service. Simply put, if you want to have a quality attitude you must have a quality system. This is what ISO recognizes, and this is why ISO 9000 is important.

ISO 9000 standard is structured into five main clauses i.e. 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 with 23 sub-clauses. The same being a copy right cannot be published here. However the key features of ISO 9001:2000 are as below:

• Greater emphasis on customer focus.
• Process based approach.
• Emphasis on continual improvement.
• Measurable quality objectives.
• Greater emphasis on planning.
• More focused management commitment to achieve customer satisfaction and provide resources.
• Consideration of regulatory requirements for products is mandatory.
• Internal communications is a requirement.
• Reduced emphasis on documentation but more on providing evidence.
• Emphasis on assuring skills of personnel.
• Judging the effectiveness of the training.
• Provision of suitable work environment is a requirement.
• Requirement to measure customer satisfaction introduced.
• Requirement to measure process performance introduced.
• Language made simpler.
• Standard structure aligned with actual business processes in an organisation.
• Manufacturing bias has been reduced.
• Standard made fully relevant to non-manufacturing organisations.

ISO 9001:2000 based Quality Management System is not a benchmark of product quality. It is as good as the way you design and implement it.

ISO 9001:2000 applies to all types of organisations. It doesn’t matter what size they are or what they do. It can help both product and service oriented organisations achieve standards of quality that are recognized and respected throughout the world. In fact it is practically impossible to find an area of business/service which has not achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Here’s how it works. You decide that you need to develop a quality management system that meets the ISO 9000 Standards. That’s your mission. For this you have to develop a quality management system that meets the requirements specified by ISO 9001:2000. But, how do you develop such a system? Well, you start with a gap analysis comparing your existing systems with the systems prescribed by ISO standards. An ISO 9001:2000 Gap Analysis will tell you exactly what you need to do to meet the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Standard. Once you know precisely where the GAPS are, you can take steps to fill these gaps. By doing so, you will not only comply with the ISO 9001 Standard, but you will also improve the overall performance of your organisation’s processes.

Once your quality management system has been fully developed and implemented, you carry out an internal assessment to ensure that you’ve met every single ISO 9001:2000 requirement. You then ask ISO Registrars to audit the effectiveness of your quality management system. The ISO Registrars upon finding that you have successfully implemented the ISO 9001:2000 standards will issue you a certificate stating that your quality management system meets ISO’s requirements.

Application of ISO 9001:2000 based QMS has many benefits. Some of which are given below :-

• Assured and consistent provision of quality products and services.
• Optimal use of resources by elimination of waste, scrap and non-value adding activities.
• Greater clarity in the way we perform our operations leading to higher efficiency.
• Timely execution of all activities.
• Higher credibility of the organisation leading to greater confidence amongst customers.
• Confidence of suppliers and own employees in the organisation.
• Continual improvement in the operational effectiveness.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction.
• More orders, lesser costs and thus greater profitability.
• Morale boosting for the workforce with a great sense of achievement and well being.
• More focused orientation of the workforce in achieving organisational objectives.
• Emphasis on better housekeeping and work environment leads to improved productivity.
• Certification as per ISO standard boost company’s external image and is a powerful marketing tool.
• Creates an ethos of excellence and steers the organisation to higher levels of performance.
• Involvement of all peoples enables the use of their collective abilities.
• Emphasis on training results in continuous improvement.

The field of ISO 9001:2000 certification provides many avenues for CAs some of which are given below.

As a start CAs can render the services in the field of ISO consultancy. The consultancy service includes preperation of quality documentation of the entity seeking ISO 9001:2000 certification in line with the requirement of ISO 9001:2000 standard. Quality Documentation is like making of Accounting/System Manual, which many CAs make as part of their existing professional activity.

Further every company already certified to ISO 9001:2000 does need the services of a consultant on regular basis to update and maintain their system on regular basis. CAs can easily render this service.

Any entity who wants to achieve ISO 9001:2000 certification normally has a size of operations which utilises the services of a CA in one or the other capacity. Therefore it should not be difficult for a CA to identify the companies who need ISO certification. Furthermore as a CA you always enjoy the confidence of trade and industry as far as your competence is concerned. Any entity seeking ISO certification needs a competent consultant who can lead them to successful ISO 9001 : 2000 certification. CAs having the required competence can easily do this job.

A CA can also act as an Auditor for ISO 9001:2000 certification. Many certification bodies utilise the services of external auditors for conducting ISO compliance audit. These audits are normally of duration of 1-3 days during which time you visit the premises of clients and audit their system to ensure that they are in compliance with the requirement. To become an ISO auditor one is required to undergo a training/exam, which are held regularly in all big cities of India. It is however suggested that that you undertake this exam after having a little exposure to ISO as consultant.

After having gained the required knowledge in all related areas you can also promote a company acting as ISO 9000 Registrar. All big international accounting firms are acting as ISO 9000 Registrar in one or the other country.

ISO 9001:2000 is just a start for CAs. Once you make ISO as a part of your profession then you would find that ISO family of standards has various other challenging assignments for you, which of course offer very good financial rewards along with job satisfaction and last but not the least the chances of exposure at international level.

The author is a member of the Institute. The views expressed herein are his personal views and do no necessarily represent the views of the Regional Council