Being ISO-certified gives customers a level of reassurance that your company is operating at international standards.

The International Organisation of Standardisation is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies. It is a non-governmental organisation that comprises standards bodies from more than 160 countries.

ISO certification is a seal of approval from a third-party body that a company runs to one of the international standards developed and published by the ISO. Each industry has different standards.

Speaking on MoneyMoves JA with Kalilah Reynolds, Quality Officer at Exim Bank, Monique Burroughs noted that Exim Bank was the first of 19 local Government agencies and ministries to be ISO certified.

“Once you have become ISO certified it means you have received that seal of approval to say that you are compliant and abiding by all the rules and international standards,” she said.

She explained that Exim Bank is ISO 9001:2015 certified. This standard applies to any organisation, regardless of industry and speaks to the quality of its management systems.

Burroughs explained that to obtain this certification, the bank had to prove to auditors that it was following international best practices for meeting its statutory requirements, management transparency, and documentation. 

“So we apply to the National Certification Body of Jamaica, they’ll give us all the guidelines we need to be following. Then they’ll do a surveillence audit and once the auditor is satisfied that we’re doing everything we should be that’s when we receive our certificate,” she explained.

She noted that the certification expires every three years, and the bank is currently coming up on a recertification period. 

The Quality Officer said that receiving ISO certification is important to show stakeholders and customers that they are operating at international standards.

“We’re not just operating in a local market, we’re operating in an international sphere. So, we want to know that we are being competitive and we’re matching standards across the globe,” she said.