Raising awareness of the benefits of certification and assurance services
IIOC (Independent International Organisation for Certification) is a trade body of key international certification and assurance bodies, each delivering a range of certification and assurance services. It represents their views on certification and assurance issues and provides technical input that influences decision making in this field. IIOC is a key source of support to organizations involved in certification and assurance.
IIOC also supports the regulatory framework and development of industry-led schemes to enable certification and assurance to deliver improvements in performance the market expects from third party certification and other assurance services.
Membership of IIOC is open to international certification bodies plus national and regional certification associations that share and support its aims.
Analysis of over 3,000 facilities regulated as major sources under the U.S. Clean Air Act suggests that ISO 14001 certified facilities reduce their pollution emissions more than non-certified facilities.
Matthew Potoski, Iowa State University; Aseem Prakash, (Potoski), University of Washington (2005), ‘Covenants with weak swords: ISO 14001 and facilities’ environmental performance’, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Volume 24, Issue 4, pp 745- 769
From Feb 1990 to Jan 2000, $100,000 invested in the S&P500 would have yielded $423,795.
If the same $100,000 had been invested in a sample of 212 ISO 9000 certified companies, the yield would have been $814,335.
Source: Rajan, Tamini (2003), ‘Payoff to ISO 9000 Registration’, The
Journal of Investing, Vol. 12, No.1
2002 study of 166 Korean companies comparing rate of environmental regulatory violation between 28 companies certified to ISO 14001 and 138 companies with no certification.
In 1998, rates of regulatory violation were 3.5% & 11.6% for certified & non-certified companies.
In 1999, rates of regulatory violation were 1% & 8.5% for certified & non-certified companies.
Source: Kwon, D.M., Seo, M.S., Seo, Y.C., (2002), ‘A study of compliance with environmental
regulations of ISO 14001 certified companies in Korea’, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 65, Part 4
2005 study of 3700 US facilities regulated under the Clean Air Act, compared those certified to ISO 14001 against those not.
On average, the certified companies spent 7% less days on regulatory compliance than those not certified.
Source: Potoski, M., Prakash, A. (2005), ‘Green clubs and voluntary
governance: ISO 14001 and firms’ regulatory compliance’, American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 49; Issue 2
2001 five year study of companies in the Basque region of Spain showed companies certified to ISO 9000 had return on assets employed between 24% and 48% higher than non-certified companies after the five years.
Source: Heras, I., Casadesús, M., Dick, G.P.M., (2002), ‘ISO 9000 certification and
the bottom line: A comparative study of the profitability of the Basque region
companies’, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 17, Iss.1
2000 study of Danish companies, 734 certified and 644 of similar size but not certified.
In the year prior to certification, the firms who would become certified had a 20% higher rate of return than those who would not be certified.
Two years after certification, the rate of return of the certified companies had risen to 35% above those not certified.
Source: Haversjo, T., (2000) ‘The financial effects of ISO 9000
registration for Danish companies’, Managerial Auditing Journal, Volume 15
2007 study of 695 publicly listed US manufacturing companies certified to ISO 9001.
With operating cycle, this was reduced on average by 5.28 days one year after certification, falling to 11 days three years after certification.
On inventory days, these were 3.68 days less one year after registration, falling to 8.75 days three years after certification.
Source: Lo, C.K.Y., Yeung, A.C. L., Cheng, T.C.E., (2007), ‘Impact of ISO 9000 on Time-based
Performance: An Event Study’, ’World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 30
Read more about the Benefits of Accredition Certification
Our members have produced a wealth of video content that showcases their work, explains why certification is important and demonstrates what benefits it brings. View them here.
Want to learn more about the benefits of certified management standards? Our selection of in-depth publications - written by some of the world's leading experts - shed light on certification and standardization. Read them here.
The best way to show the value of management system certification is to see how it has enabled real organizations to overcome their challenges. To find out how certification works in practice, see our case studies.
