FIDI-FAIM: Quality by collaboration

As international moving companies face rising pressure on multiple fronts – including cyber security, risk management, compliance and customer expectations – FIDI Affiliates know that independent quality assurance in moving is more important than ever, and that this assurance comes from achieving a FAIM certificate. However, while members will have experienced the audit, they may be less familiar with the partnership between FIDI and auditor EY and how it helps the standard evolve in line with emerging risks and industry developments.

The relationship between the two organisations aims to strike a balance between the closeness needed to ensure each version of the FIDI-FAIM and FIDI-DSP Standards reflects the quality criteria leading movers or DSPs need to meet the distance required for making the auditing and certification process credible and independent. This ensures those responsible for setting requirements are separated from those responsible for determining if those requirements have been met. The approach has helped uphold confidence in FAIM since it was launched.

Keeping the FIDI Quality Standards relevant and applicable to all the Affiliates in FIDI’s international community is challenging because of the diversity of the companies involved, which range from smaller, family firms to larger multinational businesses, and the fact they operate in a wide variety of different markets and cultures.

FIDI owns the FIDI-FAIM Standard, so everything relating to the standard itself, communication about it and its development sits with FIDI. The FAIM Coordination Centre (FCC) and FIDI Quality Supervisory Committee (FQSC) are responsible for defining the standards and requirements Affiliates must meet, and work closely with the EY auditing team to ensure these requirements are reflected in the audit process.

Rather than becoming involved in each version of the standard once it has been completed, FAIM Coordination Centre Quality Project Manager Sofie Vertenten says FIDI wants EY involved early in the development process, giving advice on how proposed requirements should be assessed consistently in any business going for a FIDI audit. This input is particularly important in fast-evolving areas such as cyber security, business continuity planning and risk management, and helps make sure requirements are well-defined and auditable – neither too vague to assess consistently nor too complicated to apply in practice.

‘We need to work closely to get a successful standard,’ says Vertenten. ‘EY’s input is so valuable in making sure we have a standard that covers the risks, that is clear and that is auditable. If it’s not auditable, then it’s not valuable either.’

The choice of EY as auditor is key, she adds. ‘EY has a reputation and we know they will do a good job, so we don’t need to be involved – which is important because we want that independence. EY helps me avoid gaps in the requirements and fill them. If I’m the only one doing the exercise, you will have gaps for sure.’

EY’s work across a variety of other sectors brings an important broader perspective, too.

Thijs Deweerdt, Executive Director at EY, says: ‘We are serving a lot of different industries, a lot of different organisations, worldwide. We are always getting experience of leading practices that we can then translate into what could be relevant for FIDI’s membership, too.’

Clear responsibilities

Vertenten and Deweerdt say their respective responsibilities are divided clearly too, with FIDI managing the framework overall, planning audit cycles, communicating with Affiliates and collecting pre-audit documentation, before EY takes centre stage at the start of the audit process. The EY auditor conducts pre-audit meetings, reviews documentation, performs the audit, assesses the evidence gathered and prepares the final report.

Importantly, FCC staff do not participate in the audits themselves. Any sensitive information that is provided as part of the process is confined to secure systems and shared only where necessary, before findings are evaluated independently and submitted back to FIDI.

‘We are not involved in the audits at all,’ says Vertenten. ‘We get the reports from EY and that is the first time we discover the result.’ The arrangement allows EY to focus entirely on auditing and assessment and, in turn, enables FIDI to concentrate on maintaining and developing the standard independently of audit decisions. The balance between collaboration and independence has underpinned the credibility of FAIM from the start.

Consistency for a global membership

The FIDI Quality Standards have been structured to allow them to be applied equitably to companies operating in markets that can differ markedly. ‘Auditing in a consistent way and ensuring that it is fully aligned with FCC expectations is very important,’ says Deweerdt.

Rather than trying to account for every local variation, the standard has, since its inception, given a global baseline that every Affiliate must meet

‘The standard is a minimum threshold,’ explains Vertenten, ‘and FIDI expects all of its members to comply with this, regardless of where they are.’

Deweerdt adds: ‘The decision about what the thresholds should be and what should be feasible for all members across all regions, across companies of all sizes, was taken when the standard was created.’ While local legislation may impose additional requirements – and companies must comply with those obligations as required – these local rules do not replace the standard.

EY and the FCC hold regular discussions to coordinate their interpretation of requirements and auditing approaches. These sessions help ensure that auditors apply standards consistently and that Affiliates are assessed against the same expectations, regardless of where in the world they are based.

The move to remote auditing

Initially driven by the pandemic, the switch to remote auditing is now a permanent feature of FIDI Quality audits, representing a significant development to the accreditation process. Today, while First-Time Applicants continue to receive onsite assessments, existing Affiliates undergo a remote audit. This has cut travel costs, reduced disruption and helped with scheduling.

However, the shift also means companies must be digitally prepared for audits in a way they weren’t previously. They must provide documentation electronically, be able to demonstrate their procedures online, and be able to help auditors carry out warehouse inspections and reviews of facilities using video technology.

It has required EY’s auditors to change their processes, too, says Deweerdt. Remote audits require significantly more preparation, and more time reviewing documentation before the live audit session, to allow these meetings to focus on clarification, testing and other discussions, and maximise the effectiveness of the time spent online.

‘We now spend more time reviewing the documents that we get up front,’ says Deweerdt. ‘We want to ensure that the time in front of the camera is spent on the most valuable work.’

Although remote audits inevitably lose some of the informal interaction that comes with an onsite visit, Vertenten and Deweerdt say the transition has been a success. They add that, most importantly, despite the change in auditing procedures, the application of each successive version of the standard itself remains as rigorous as ever.

Certification challenges

Achieving compliance in cyber security is one of the most challenging areas for Affiliates, says Deweerdt. As threats evolve and customer expectations on their suppliers increase, compliance requirements have risen, too. Most companies understand the pressing importance of cyber security, but implementing the correct systems and protection means investment, updating procedures and monitoring all the online risks to a new level.

‘The awareness of cyber security is definitely there, but the threshold is now higher. Affiliates need to prepare for that,’ says Deweerdt.

Risk management is another evolving area that has proved particularly challenging for Affiliates, with new considerations such as managing third-party risks and the all-round resilience of organisations coming into play.

‘A lot of Affiliates are still struggling with the whole risk-management side of things, because everyone is so focused on the operations and making sure that day-to-day business goes smoothly,’ says Deweerdt.

Keeping procedures up to date and at the heart of a business’s operations is often surprisingly tough for businesses, he says.

Companies may have robust policies in place, but auditors will sometimes find that procedures have not been reviewed, updated and assigned clearly.

‘This is more about organising yourself,’ he says, ‘making sure that you haven’t just created a procedure, but have also made sure that it stays alive, gets updated, that there’s an owner for it and that it is being communicated.’

This challenge is not unique to the moving industry, he adds, but is one of the areas where Affiliates can often achieve the greatest improvements.

The power of partnership

‘FIDI and EY combine different perspectives,’ says Vertenten. ‘FIDI brings industry knowledge and an understanding of the risks facing movers and relocation companies, while EY brings auditing expertise and broader experience from other industries.’

Deweerdt adds: ‘The FCC manages the broader framework and stakeholder relationships, which allows us to focus on what we do best: independently assessing compliance, providing meaningful recommendations and sharing best practices.’

Ultimately, the two agree that this combination, alongside the two organisations’ well-established partnership, provides a solid foundation for keeping the standard evolving, relevant and robust, well into the future.