Independence safeguards

Financial Independence Policy

Controls client concentration, funding pressure, compensation incentives, and other financial conditions that could threaten impartial certification decisions.

Controlling public principle

The rule an outsider should be able to rely on

No fee, funding source, revenue dependency, compensation model, or financial target may create an incentive to change a certification outcome.

Outcome-independent economics

Revenue follows work, not result

Success fees, outcome-linked discounts, equity compensation from certification clients, outcome-contingent payment, and certification bundled with consulting or remediation are prohibited. Permitted pricing ties payment to defined work, scope, and milestones rather than the certification result.

Concentration

Dependency risk is governed and monitored

Clause5afe monitors client and sector concentration on a rolling basis and escalates concentration risk to Board oversight. Exact thresholds, runway, client revenue, reserve levels, and mitigation plans remain controlled financial information.

Funding

Capital does not buy certification influence

Investor, lender, grant, and other funding arrangements may not grant control over client selection, evaluator assignment, certification activity, or outcomes. Outcome metrics may not be embedded in debt, conversion, or return provisions.

Compensation

Quality may be rewarded; pass rates may not

Evaluator compensation may reflect thoroughness, documentation quality, methodology adherence, and calibration. It may not depend on pass rates, client retention, certification volume, or satisfaction with outcomes. Sales incentives may reward lawful client acquisition but not certification results.

Information barriers

Decision-makers do not receive commercial pressure data

Evaluators and certification reviewers are insulated from engagement value, client revenue contribution, and commercial importance. The non-override principle prevents financial considerations outside the certification function from reversing an evidence-based decision.

Authority boundary

What this policy does not authorize

The public governance summary explains the control system. Confidential client-level revenue, thresholds, compensation records, runway, margins, and funding terms remain available only through appropriate controlled diligence.

Controlled information

What remains outside the public layer

Exact financial thresholds
Client revenue concentration records
Runway, margin, and funding information
Individual compensation records

Connected governance

Follow the policy into the institution.

Outcome independence Investor diligence