Audit Standard

The HAP Auditor

The value of certification is the confidence and trust that is established by an impartial and competent assessment by HAP auditors.

HAP Auditors have been trained to follow specified principles ensuring consistency, impartiality and competency in their work.

By impartiality we mean an actual or perceived presence of objectivity. HAP works hard to makes sure that conflicts of interests do not exist or are resolved so as to not adversely influence outcomes or activities undertaken.

The prime objective of an auditor must be to provide a thorough and rigorous examination of the agency's adherence to our HAP Standard. Only with such an examination can stakeholders have confidence that a certified agency fulfils the specified benchmarks and requirements outlined in the HAP Standard.

Stakeholders include (but are not limited to):

Disaster Survivors and host communities
Aid agencies, be them members or not of HAP
other Quality and Accountability Initiatives
the HAP General Assembly, Secretariat, and the Certification and Accreditation Review Board
National governments
Donors, individual supporters, corporations and foundations

Principles of Confidence and Trust:

Impartiality
Competence
Responsibility
Openness
Confidentiality
Responsiveness to Complaints

Management of Auditors

HAP Auditors are managed under the Regulatory Services division and selection is carried out against a specified set of competencies (as detailed in the ToR, which is available from the Register link below and can also be found in our Resource Library).

Selected individuals under go intensive training and examination, supervised audits are then undertaken with performance reviews to assess individual competency. Once approved, each Auditor is required to carry out a minimum of 2 audits per year and meet the required level of performance in order to maintain their registration. A register is kept of all currently recognised auditors.