Above BoardIntegrity and governance.
A certificate is only worth the rules behind it. These are ours. They're public so you can hold us to them.
Independence safeguards.
How we keep money from bending results.
Flat fee, pass or fail
The fee is agreed in writing before the audit and is the same whatever the result. No success fees, no bonuses.
Creators never pay
Every tool for creators is free, always. Our income comes only from audit fees.
No paid placement
No rankings, advertising, sponsored listings, affiliate deals or "featured" agencies. Nobody can pay to appear, rank higher or be removed.
No consulting
We don't sell consulting, pre-audits or "compliance packages" to businesses we certify. We publish the standard and a free preparation guide; that's all the help anyone gets.
Separated decisions
The auditor gathers evidence. A reviewer who took no part decides. Appeals go to a third person who took no part in either.
Conflicts of interest.
Rules for everyone who works on an audit.
No financial ties
No one at Above Board may own, work for, lend to or be paid by a business they audit or decide on, or by its owners.
Two-year cooling-off
No one audits or decides on a business they worked for, advised or had a personal relationship with in the past two years.
Declared every time
Everyone declares conflicts in writing before each audit. A declared conflict means they step aside.
No gifts
No gifts, hospitality or favors from applicants or certified businesses, of any value.
Paid per audit
Auditors are paid a fixed amount per audit, never by result, and never by the audited business directly.
Governance.
Above Board is run as an institution, not around personalities. We don't publish the names of owners, staff or auditors, to keep audits free of personal pressure. Identities are disclosed to regulators, courts and partners under confidentiality where the law or a contract requires, and the legal entity is named in our terms.
Standard setting
Changes to the standard are versioned, dated and open for at least 30 days of public comment before they apply. Comments and our responses are kept on record.
Certification
Auditors work to the published procedure. Each audit leaves a trail of what evidence was seen and by whom.
Decision review
Certification, suspension and revocation decisions are made by reviewers independent of the audit.
Appeals
Any decision can be appealed within 30 days to a reviewer who took no part in it.
Integrity function
Complaints about Above Board itself, including about an auditor, are handled separately from certification and answered in writing. Write to hello@aboveboardstandard.com with "Integrity" in the subject.
What we publish
- The standard, the audit procedure and every change to them
- Every certification, suspension, expiry and revocation, with dates
- A tamper-proof public record of each decision
- A yearly transparency report: audits completed, certifications granted, suspensions, revocations, appeals and complaints received
- Aggregate research, never agency-level crawl data
What we never publish
- Anything about an individual creator
- Audit reports, or who said what
- That a business failed an audit
- The identity of anyone who reported a concern
What certification means, and what it doesn't.
Certification means a business met every required criterion of a published standard, checked against evidence, at the time of its audit, and that it remains subject to surveillance and complaints.
- It is not a guarantee of earnings, growth or results
- It is not a guarantee of conduct after the audit, though complaints can lead to suspension or revocation
- It is not legal advice, and it doesn't approve any specific contract you're offered
- It is not an endorsement by any platform, regulator or industry body
Always read your contract and get independent advice before signing.