STEP 4 – RESULTS OF YOUR AUDIT
WHEN – will I receive my audit report?
You can expect to receive your audit report and results within 10 working days from when the audit was conducted. If you do not hear from us, please email at [email protected].
WHAT – happens when I pass my audit?
Certificate issued
If you successfully pass your audit, your certificate will be emailed alongside your audit report. This is proof that you are Bronze accredited. Your accreditation is valid for 12 months.
MAINTAIN – the Bronze accreditation
Once you have passed your audit, you will need to maintain your Bronze accreditation. This means, you will need to:
- Comply with the FORS Standard and FORS Terms and Conditions at all times. Failure to do so will result in your accreditation being removed and your organisation being downgraded to dormant. Dormant means that your organisation is no longer a FORS accredited operator. Your organisation will no longer be listed on the FORS website and password rights to the website will be removed.
- Renew your accreditation every 12 months via a re-approval audit.
PROGRESS – to Silver accreditation
When you pass your Bronze audit, you may consider progressing to Silver. Progression to Silver is not mandatory but is recommended.
FORS Silver operators need only to undergo the Bronze re-approval audit every two years – excluding the MOCA organisations. However, Silver accreditation needs to be renewed each year via the online evidencing system.
Once Silver accreditation has been attained, your Bronze accreditation will be extended by one year – excluding the MOCA organisations. A new Bronze certificate will not be issued, however the FORS online expiry dates will be updated.
BOOK – your re-approval Bronze audit in time
FORS operators applying for re-approval of Bronze accreditation must be Bronze accredited with at least 45 calendar days before its expiry date.
WHAT – happens if I don’t pass my audit?
READ – the action plan from the audit report
If you do not pass your audit, you are required to resolve any of the major and/or minor action points that are listed in the action plan. You will need to undergo a follow-up audit in order to continue with progression to Bronze.
Minor action point – when you have partially met the requirement being assessed. The minor action points must be addressed by next year’s audit. Any unaddressed action points raised in the previous year’s audit identified in the re-approval audit will be escalated as major action points, which will result in a failed audit.
Major action point – when you have failed to meet the requirements being assessed. You have 30 calendar days from notification to resolve all major action points listed within the action plan and pass your follow-up audit. You can have more than one follow-up audit if required, however, you must pass within 30-calendar days from initial audit notification. If you exceed the 30 calendar day follow-up period without a successful audit outcome, your organisation will be downgraded to dormant.
REQUEST – a follow-up audit
Your follow-up audit/s must be passed within 30 calendar days of notification of failing your audit. You must ensure that you are prepared for your follow-up audit and have resolved all the major action points highlighted in the action plan before your follow-up audit is undertaken.
TOP TIP – we recommend that you book your follow-up audit as early as possible upon receiving notification of your audit result.
APPEAL AND COMPLAINT PROCESS
FORS operators who feel they have not been treated fairly by the scheme administrator or the audit provider may decide to raise a formal complaint if the issue cannot be amicably resolved.
The protocol to be followed by companies wishing to raise a complaint against the scheme or to appeal against an audit decision can be found in the FORS Accreditation Guide, which can be accessed here.
WHAT – if I don’t book my follow-up audit in time or fail my follow-up audit?
If your follow-up audit is not passed within 30 calendar days, or if you do not pass your follow-up audit prior to your accreditation expiry date, you need to revert back to STEP 1 – prepare for audit and will need to undertake a full audit. complaints complaint complaints complaints complaint complaints complaints complaint complaints