Next generation of ISO 3rd Party Auditing
Certfication Bodies are under pressure to drive more value to their clients whilst facing challenges of increased auditor costs, scarcity of auditors, and reduced margins.
DeepFathom services are designed and developed by Management System Auditors so Certification Bodies can comply with IAF MD 1,2, 4, 5,11, and ISO17021:2015 requirements and overcome the challenges facing them.
A quantum leap in auditing and value beyond compliance has arrived.
Step up and embrace the new era of compliance auditing.
DeepFathom Next-Gen Auditing: Addressing the objective evidence gap.
Published, patented, and peer reviewed
“Whilst remote audit methods have always been accepted under accredited certification activity there has been a reluctance to adopt and develop such methods…... It is good to see development of the DeepFathom method which appears to provide a remote methodology which not only can address conformity in many aspects of compliance obligations, but also identify risks early via the audit process and more deeply explore aspects of culture and operations often not easily audited by traditional methods, therefore enhancing the accredited certification process, organizational compliance and continuous improvement..”
Ground breaking services for UKAS Certification Bodies.
DeepFathom is the first company in the world to provide digital audits for ISO Certification Bodies whilst they continue meet the requirements of ISO17021:2015, and mandatory IAF MD1, MD2, MD 4, MD5, MD11, and TPS74 documentation.
IAF MD4:2023 has been updated to facilitate the use of technology, specifically mentioning AI as an auditing method, a tool that auditors and Certification Bodies can use within their accredited certification process to deliver robust certification decisions.
Certification Bodies can now take accredited certification to the next level and delvier value beyond compliance.
External 3rd Party Certification: A high level explanation of the The DeepFathom blended approach.
Solutions for ISO Certification Bodies
DeepFathom has developed a 'Blended 3rd Party Audit' ensuring the best elements of traditional auditing are not lost, but also addressing the auditing 'behavioural evidence gap' with the use of AI. The result is a gamechanger for CBs and their clients.
Our patented services require no technical integration for CBs or their clients.
Using the service is easier and faster than placing a qualified competent auditor.
Services activated in less than 5 days.
Over 25,000 tried and tested statement and responses developed over 25 years linking to ISO Management System Standards.
DeepFathom next-gen audits can reduce analogue on-site auditing by up to 50% & meet MD5 requirements.
Interview participation 35 x increase for organisations with over 1,500 people.
1000 x Objective evidence collection and analytics increase due to our neural network Gen-AI services.
Next-gen risk-based report generation articulating new insights and value beyond compliance.
“The evidence collected over the last 4 years shows that the approach has been consistently accurate… and cost effective, addressing well documented and inherent weaknesses associated with surveys and more traditional assessment approaches.”
DeepFathom Next-Gen Auditing
“A clear explanation of how AI aligns with standards such as ISO 17021 and IAF MD 4. The emphasis on maintaining integrity, through impartiality, competence, and consistency, shows a thoughtful approach to integrating AI without compromising the certification's robustness."
The benefits of DeepFathom External ISO Audits
It Improves...
- Aligns with IAF’s requirements for risk-based certification, ensuring audits are focused on critical organisational risks.
- Reduces auditees' effort with digital evidence submission requiring only 5 -10 minutes.
- Enables evidence collection and analysis to be completed prior to the onsite audit, streamlining the process.
- Refines audit plans for greater precision, aligning them with risk priorities.
- Equips auditors with advanced technology for efficient evidence collection and validation.
- Automates risk-based report generation, offering easy editing for auditor comments.
- Ensures clear report publication with structured remedial actions detailed across clauses and sub-clauses.
- Provides a comprehensive articulation of both active and emerging business risks.
Value Creation
- Compliance and certification enhance stakeholder value creation, improving trust and business credibility.
- External audit reports directly link ISO clauses to business value creation, aligning compliance with strategic objectives and maximizing ROI.
- Certification Bodies operate more efficiently, reducing operational costs and improving ROI through streamlined processes.
- Digitalisation of objective evidence collection empowers auditors to add more value, increasing audit effectiveness
- Certification Bodies can scale cost-effectively, expanding their reach without increasing overhead, resulting in a higher ROI.
- Carbon footprint reduction from audits contributes to sustainability goals.
FAQs: AI in 3rd Party Certification
DeepFathom uses trained AI models to analyse your evidence against all clauses using a risk-based approach. This means a single piece of evidence can demonstrate compliance with multiple clauses, providing a comprehensive and accurate assessment of your management system.
ISO 17021 does not prescribe specific audit methods but emphasises delivering robust certification processes. Clause 4.5 of IAF MD 5:2023 reiterates this:
"Certification audits may include remote auditing techniques such as interactive web-based collaboration, web meetings, teleconferences, and/or electronic verification of the client’s processes. If the CAB plans an audit for which remote auditing activities are utilised, it shall apply the requirements defined in IAF MD 4. These activities shall be identified in the audit plan, and the time spent on these activities may be considered as contributing to the total duration of management systems audits."
This confirms remote auditing techniques are valid audit time. IAF MD 4:2023 explicitly mentions AI under ICT in section 0.2:
"ICT is the use of technology for gathering, storing, retrieving, processing, analysing, and transmitting information. It includes software and hardware such as smartphones, handheld devices, laptop computers, desktop computers, drones, video cameras, wearable technology, artificial intelligence, and others. The use of ICT may be appropriate for auditing/assessment both locally and remotely."
This recognition validates AI for both local and remote auditing, complementing ISO 17021's emphasis on onsite auditing.
DeepFathom's platform uses trained AI models to analyse your evidence against all clauses using a risk-based approach. This means a single piece of evidence can demonstrate compliance with multiple clauses, providing a comprehensive and accurate assessment of your management system.
Yes, The High Performance Assessment Ltd (trading as HPA) and Certification International have both used this approach whilst meeting UKAS requirements.
DeepFathom is committed to helping ISO Certification Bodies and their client benefit from Next-Gen auditing services.
The system generates risk-assessed and scored reports for each clause and sub-clause of the standard (depending on the product purchased). It highlights areas of compliance and non-compliance, includes your recorded evidence, and outlines action plans for improvement. This format makes the reports highly suitable for management review.
Yes, the product allows you to efficiently review compliance with each clause. It enables you to record objective evidence and identify areas for improvement where needed.
Absolutely. It’s a simple, click-and-play platform accessed via a URL. There’s no need to download software or apps. The system automatically analyses your responses and shows how they demonstrate compliance with each clause.
Yes, the process is straightforward. We provide a URL for accessing the assessment, and you can pause and resume at any time without losing your data.
Yes, while we offer generic solutions such as gap analysis, internal audits using cultural analytics, and third-party reviews, we can customise these to meet your unique requirements. Simply reach out to us, and we’ll assist.
Yes, our team is readily available. You can email us anytime or call us during our business hours. Contact details are provided on our website.
Yes, we continuously update the gap analysis content to align with any changes in standards. This includes adjustments to reflect new requirements for documents and records, ensuring your compliance remains current.
Yes, our website features examples of how our AI solutions have positively impacted organisations. If you need further information or have specific questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Click here to view case studiesAI provides transformative tools that auditors can use for auditing requirements with its data analytics capabilities and decision-support functions:
- Automating Data Analysis: AI rapidly processes large compliance datasets, identifying trends, patterns, and deviations.
- Enhancing Auditor Decision-Making: Machine learning algorithms pinpoint high-risk areas, reducing human oversight errors.
- Providing Scoring Profiles: These metrics quantify compliance, offering actionable insights beyond traditional pass/fail evaluations.
For effective implementation, AI must maintain certification integrity by addressing:
Risk-Based Thinking: AI identifies risk concentrations, measures cultural impacts, and uses predictive analytics—areas where traditional auditing struggles with its retrospective view.
Impartiality: Algorithms must be unbiased, with transparent programming and validation ensuring objective results.
Competence: Auditors must understand AI tools, their strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate usage based on scope and context. Just as they would understand the strengths and weaknesses of other audit techniques.
Consistency: AI standardises processes, reducing variability across audits.
AI-powered scoring profiles enhance compliance audits by quantifying management system performance across areas like policy implementation, risk management, and operational effectiveness.
Advantages of Scoring Profiles:
- Objective Metrics: Reduces subjectivity through data-driven evaluations.
- Trend Analysis: Identifies compliance progress or decline over time.
- Actionable Insights: Helps prioritise corrective actions, driving continuous improvement.
- Added Value to Reports: Provides strategic insights aligning compliance with business objectives.
For instance, in an ISO 9001 audit, AI-generated scores can highlight low-performing clauses, guiding targeted improvements.
AI’s ability to analyse cultural dynamics, predict risks, and adapt to audit environments offers insights unattainable through traditional audits. This capability, aligned with MD 4 section 0.2, enhances certification audits and builds trust in findings and recommendations.
Generative AI, a subset of AI, learns patterns from existing data to create content like reports and findings through advanced models. Its key components include:
- Neural Networks: Mimicking the human brain, these systems recognise patterns and relationships in data. They can identify anomalies, compliance risks, and inefficiencies, providing immediate insights into operational practices and complementing other audit methods.
- Regression Testing: Evaluates variable relationships to predict compliance risks. By analysing historical data, it forecasts potential non-conformities, enabling proactive responses.
Cultural Complexity Analysis: AI tools assess organisational culture by analysing employee experiences, communication patterns, and workflows. Unlike human auditors’ observations, AI quantifies cultural factors, delivering insights into leadership, engagement, and ethical practices.
While AI significantly enhances certification audits, its integration presents challenges. To ensure AI effectively supports audit processes, its implementation must include the use of pre-trained networks (static models) to reduce risks of bias and false information. AI does not always need to learn continuously; whether continuous learning is necessary depends on the system's purpose and the dynamics of the environment it operates in. For some systems, static models are more suitable, while others may require continuous learning for adaptability. Parallel deployment with traditional auditing can validate AI results and refine its application.
- Bias and Transparency Risks
Challenge: AI may produce biased results due to flawed training data, and complex algorithms can lack transparency.
Solution: Use pre-trained neural networks (static models) vetted for quality and diversity to reduce bias and false outputs. Where static models suffice, avoid unnecessary continuous learning that might introduce new biases. Incorporate academic rigor by applying systems thinking, social systems, anthropology, and other interdisciplinary insights. Run AI audits alongside traditional methods to validate and refine outputs, ensuring transparency and reliability.
- Over-Reliance on Technology
Challenge: Overdependence on AI can overshadow the human judgment critical for nuanced assessments.
Solution: Integrate AI as a decision-support tool that complements human auditors. Use pre-trained networks (static models) where the audit environment is stable and predictable. Parallel auditing with traditional methods ensures AI results align with human insights, maintaining balanced decision-making.
- Ethical and Security Concerns
Challenge: Handling large datasets with AI raises privacy, security, and ethical issues.
Solution: Leverage static models when dynamic learning is unnecessary to limit data exposure and reduce risks. Employ robust data protection protocols and pre-trained networks designed with ethical principles. Test systems against traditional audits to ensure they respect cultural and social dynamics while upholding privacy and security standards.
- High Implementation Costs
Challenge: The costs of integrating AI, including software, hardware, and training, can be prohibitive.
Solution: Use pre-trained networks (static models) to reduce computational requirements and initial investment. Begin with parallel implementation alongside traditional audits to minimise disruption, allowing gradual scaling and ensuring AI-driven efficiencies are validated and cost-effective.
- Potential for Overstandardisation
Challenge: AI-driven consistency may lead to overly rigid audit processes that overlook organisational uniqueness.
Solution: Develop customisable AI systems based on pre-trained networks (static models) for predictable audit environments and introduce dynamic learning only when adaptability is essential. Use parallel auditing to identify and address rigidity, ensuring AI systems remain flexible and context-sensitive.
The platform can use languages written and read from left to right.
Languages which use the following scripts are written left to right: Latin, Modern Greek, Cyrillic, Indic and Southeast Asian. Therefore, most of the modern languages of Europe, North and South America, India and Southeast Asia are written left to right.
There are however 12 languages that we do not currently support namely; Arabic, Aramaic, Azeri, Divehi, Fula, Hebrew, Kurdish, N'ko, Persian, Rohingya, Syriac, and Urdu. Part of our vision is to provide access to all. This will include all languages, but also access to what we call the 'last mile'. The last mile is to provide access for participants who may not have access to the internet, tablets, computers, or literate skills.
This work is under way as we look to develop value chains that provide omnichannel access, but also innovative ways to provide people in remote locations with a voice in our auditing services.