Accreditation for Business Continuity Management Systems

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Accreditation for business continuity management systems refers to the process of evaluating and certifying that an organization has a management system in place to ensure that it can continue to operate in the event of a disruption or disaster. Business continuity management systems are designed to minimize the impact of disruptions on an organization's operations, and to ensure that the organization can recover from a disruption as quickly as possible.

To obtain accreditation for a business continuity management system, an organization must typically demonstrate that it has the necessary policies, processes, and procedures in place to ensure the continuity of its operations in the event of a disruption. This may include demonstrating that the organization has a comprehensive business continuity plan in place, that it has trained its employees on how to respond to a disruption, and that it has systems in place to monitor and test the effectiveness of its business continuity efforts.

There are several different accreditation standards that may be applicable to business continuity management systems, depending on the specific type of organization and the industry in which it operates. For example, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed a standard for business continuity management, ISO 22301, which provides guidance on the principles and processes for managing business continuity effectively.

Obtaining accreditation for a business continuity management system can be beneficial for several reasons. It can help to demonstrate the organization's competence and credibility to regulatory bodies, customers, and other stakeholders, and may be required in order to qualify for certain contracts or business opportunities. Accreditation can also help to improve the organization's ability to respond to and recover from disruptions, and may help to increase customer satisfaction and trust in the organization's brand.

Business Continuity Management System certification is provided by certification bodies to organizations who have demonstrated that they have implemented a system for business continuity.

A business continuity management system brings together methods, procedures, processes and rules surrounding the continuation of critical processes. It is a process-oriented approach that requires interaction between management, business and support processes and can be interwoven with existing management systems such as your QMS (quality management system) and ISMS (information security management system).

An important part of the BCMS is the business impact analysis (BIA), which not only identifies the essential processes for your organisation, but also examines the requirements for the availability of these processes. If you have you completed such a BIA, then you can develop concrete business continuity strategies and plans to cover your organisation against all common risks. Business continuity management (BCM) is a framework for identifying an organization's risk of exposure to internal and external threats.

ISO 22301 that specifies security requirements for disaster recovery preparedness and business continuity management systems (BCMS) and emphasizes the importance of Understanding continuity and preparedness needs, as well as the necessity for establishing business continuity management policy and objectives, implementing and operating controls and measures for managing an organization's overall continuity risks, monitoring & reviewing the performance and effectiveness of the business continuity management system.

The goal of BCM is to provide the organization with the ability to effectively respond to threats such as natural disasters or data breaches and protect the business interests of the organization. BCM includes disaster recovery, business recovery, crisis management, incident management, emergency management and contingency planning.

According to ISO 22301, a business continuity management system emphasizes the importance of:

• Understanding continuity and preparedness needs, as well as the necessity for establishing business continuity management policy and objectives.
• Implementing and operating controls and measures for managing an organizations overall continuity risks.
• Monitoring and reviewing the performance and effectiveness of the business continuity management system.
• Continual improvement based on objective measurements.

Certification Bodies interested to apply for an Accreditation scheme for Business Continuity Management System can send an email at [email protected]