No “one size fits all” at verification
Verification is an audit process that is required in order for you to be issued with a B-BBEE certificate. All five elements of the scorecard are verified with supporting evidence. Verification happens through a SANAS accredited agency which is empowered through legislation to issue you with a valid B-BBEE certificate. There is a code of conduct and checklist that verification agencies need to abide by before issuing a valid B-BBEE certificate. There is definitely no “one size fits all” process at verification due to different interpretations of the codes by verification agencies. Due to our close relationship with six of the top verification agencies in the country, we know the different interpretations out there in order to guide our clients appropriately. We will detail below what we have learnt through the 20 years of verification experience, the “must-do list” to ensuring a stress-free verification process. Planning
- You need to have a verification project plan to guide the process of verification.
- You need to track your turnover and NPAT every month to ensure are you still a QSE or Generic as this will impact your score due to the different targets between a QSE and Generic scorecard. Any discrepancy with your NPAT will negatively impact the score.
- Verification planning is a year-long project. You need to have your verification file ready two months before your planned verification (also keeping it in line with when your current certificate will expire). Leaving it to the last minute is problematic.
- Due to the checklist that verification agencies have, we can tell you before your verification what information will be required from you to claim points. However, the information will be required in a specific format to meet the standard of the verification agency. For example, an ID copy must be certified.
- Certain evidence will be requested at verification stage that is not known until the verification agency has sampled under the elements of management control, procurement and skills development. This means you need to have the information ready and on hand depending on which staff members are sampled under management control. As some companies are working virtually this can waste time at verification if information is not readily available when sampled.
- It’s important to have a mock scorecard before you go for verification so you know what your likely level will be.
- We are able to easily pick up when points have not been adequately awarded as we use similar software to verification agencies. Unless you know where to look, you can lose out on valuable points and your desired level. The verification agency is not under an obligation as an auditor to show you where you can earn more points, consultants are needed to fight for your points.