Announcement to all certification bodies regarding the occurrence of the coronavirus 

Announcement to all certification bodies regarding the occurrence of the coronavirus 

As you have been informed earlier on our website https://www.ats.rs/en/new/2020/03/release, Accreditation Body of Serbia (ATS) is continuously monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak. In line with this, ATS informs all certification bodies to follow the instructions given in ID3: 2011 (IAF Informative Document For Management of Extraordinary Events or Circumstances Affecting ABs, CABs and Certified Organizations) regarding contingency management that may affect the work of certification bodies, especially concerning potential changes to the schedule of certification audits, or the introduction of other audit techniques that can be used in this situation.
If certification bodies choose to use information and communication technologies enabling remote audit providing support and maintaining the integrity of the audit, they, consequently, need to implement the mandatory IAF MD 4 (ICT) Mandatory Document for the Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Auditing/Assessment Purposes).

According to the IAF recommendations (https://www.iaf.nu/articles/IAF_Statement_on_COVID19/636), all the actions are in place to ensure the health and safety of the Certification Body and Accreditation Body staff, as well as to maintain the accredited certification in the best possible way in this particular moment. Needless to say, all the actions prescribed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the competent authorities should be carried out.

IAF has posted answers to frequently asked questions (https://www.iaf.nu/articles/IAF_COVID19_FAQs/638) with respect to the situation on its website. We kindly advise you to check the answers that have been provided in this section.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Natalia Jovicic Zaric, the ATS Assistant Director via e-mail natalija.jovicic_zaric@ats.rs. 

Yours sincerely, ATS