Do You Need To Be IRCA Certified?

Often times when one wants to attend BCM Institute's audit courses (e.g. BCM-8530 ISO 22301 BCMS Expert Implementer or BCM-8530 Blended Learning BL-A-5), s/he would ask if the course is IRCA Certified?

But do you need to be IRCA certified to conduct ISO 22301 BCMS audits? The answer lies in several factors:

1. Your audit clientele

2. Your audit experience

3. Your audit expertise

4. Your existing IRCA certification

What Is An IRCA Certified Auditor?

An IRCA Certified Auditor course is a course that is approved by the International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA). This organisation, based out of the UK was set up by the  British government to encourage businesses to be more competitive through the implementation of quality principles and practices.

Courses approved by IRCA are not conducted by IRCA itself but is delivered by IRCA Approved Training Partners (or ATPs). While ATP selection criteria are not in the public domain, partners seem to be vetted prior to approval with their status maintained through the payment of ongoing fees. There is little formal auditing done on these partners' performance once they have been approved.

IRCA ISO 22301 BCM Standard courses are based on ISO 22301 BCM Standard along with CQI Competency Framework. While the framework is flexible to be used for a variety of standard audits, it is not specific to BCM.

Here at BCM Institute, our courses are not only aligned to the latest ISO 22301: 2019 standards but are also aligned to the BCM Body of Knowledge framework. This versatile BCM framework not only matches the needs of the latest standards but also earlier BCM standards such BS25999, NFPA 1600, ANZ5050 and HB292 which has now been integrated into the ISO22301 standard.

As an IRCA Certified Auditor to you are needed to apply and maintain your certification with annual membership fees which differ per location (e.g. Singapore Lead Auditors pay an annual membership fee of £222 while Thailand Lead Auditors pay £200 and Tanzania Lead Auditor pay £155).

Alternatively, BCM Institute annual membership is a flat fee of SGD 150 for Business Continuity Certified Lead Auditor and SGD 75 for holders of the Business Continuity Certified Auditor certificate.

Your Audit Clientele

Depending on the organisations you plan to audit, an IRCA certification may prove counterproductive. For lead auditors assigned to audit their organisation's regional and branch offices, it is the need to ensure that the plans are aligned. Again, for organisations that have differing plan references, it would be good to attend a course that references a framework that works for all standards.

The fact that the audit classes allow you to have hands-on experience also ensures you are exposed and ready to provide such internal audits to your organisation.

Your Audit Experience

For someone who has less than 5 years of BCM experience but is trusted to do an audit for the organisation, attending an IRCA course and applying to be IRCA certificated is also counterproductive. To be accredited as an IRCA lead auditor one has to prove 15 days of audit experience of which 10 days are onsite. These audits too have to be performed within 5 years of the certification application.

BCM Institute on the other hand would accredit you with the Business Continuity Certified Lead Auditor certificate if you have at least 1 year of BCM experience.  Certification is awarded by an independent certification body.

Your Audit Expertise

Both IRCA and BCM Institute courses are open to anyone with differing audit expertise such as ISO 9000. While IRCA uses the CQI Competency Framework allowing any auditors to pick up the necessary ISO auditing skills effortlessly, BCM Institute's Body of Knowledge allows you to be not just competent in ISO auditing but also in BCM itself.

The framework allows you to have both the competency of an ISO auditor as well as a BCM professional thus allowing you a wider range of career choices. 

Your Existing IRCA Certification

If you already have an existing IRCA certification with other ISO certification standards, to gain an IRCA lead auditor course you would only need to attend a 24-hour auditor conversion course.

As it is a conversion course, it may not be as comprehensive as BCM Institute's auditor course.

Are You Already A IRCA Auditor? Is It Necessary?

As shown, if you are already an IRCA auditor with another ISO standard, the key is to attend the BCMS focus auditor course as the knowledge and skillset for BCMS is more important for you to effectively conduct an ISO22301 audit.   So before you sign up for any course, check back again on why you need to attend the training in the first place.