I have just sent the following to a client who described it as “extremely helpful” so, I thought, why not share it with a wider audience. The firm in question are Crime only and did not have an SQM Delivery Partnership audit as part of a Civil bid in 2011/12. If you did this has a 3 year lifespan and you will require a re-audit in 2015 or sooner.
As part of the recent bid you committed to having SQM or Lexcel by 1/7/15 (probably 1/2/15 if you intend to bid for a Duty Contract). This time SQM has to be accredited by the SQM Delivery Partnership
Lexcel is the better but tougher standard and is likely to be around for longer that SQM, which is getting a bit long in the tooth. The latter is however cheaper to achieve in all respects, implementation, accreditation and the fees of firms like ours.
If you want Lexcel you should start asap. If you want SQM the key factor is that the auditor will want to see at least 12 months audit evidence when they visit, ideally you want to be through the audit process well in advance of the July deadline.
We can help with either and if you are undecided please have a chat with my colleague Andy Bean who knows considerably more on the subject than I do.
Drop us an email if you would like the outline of our SQM support package I attached to it.
