Our Process

Assessment

The most frequent question we hear is “How quickly can I get certified, and how much will it cost?” An assessment by a specialist is the only way to know with certainty.  

JBW Group, the information assurance specialist, will explore the status and condition of your business infrastructure as thoroughly as if we were performing the final certification audit.  Once complete, you’ll have a comprehensive understanding of what steps are required to achieve certification, and also be better able to estimate the effort it will require. The results we’ll provide include not only the education provided by your participation in the assessment, but also final documents detailing your level of compliance for every facet of the applicable standard, and details on each of those requiring attention. Many of our specialists perform registrar certification audits, so you’re certain our assessment will be complete and correct. 

Realistically understanding the “gap” from where you are versus where you need to be makes an assessment by The JBW Group a smart investment. Not only will we complete the assessment quickly and efficiently, but its results will show you exactly where effort is needed such that no effort will be wasted.

Implementation

The key to improving your security program and being ready to cross the finish line of certification is having an implementation that conforms to the requirements of the standard.  Although assessment results provide your blueprint for the implementation tasks to be completed, the effort itself can be derailed by the complexities, jargon and occasional minutia of the standards documentation.  At the same time, you want to get there as quickly, easily, and economically as possible.   Misinterpreting the meaning of even a single requirement can expend a significant amount of resources without achieving the desired goals, while applying insufficient resources to even a single requirement can yield an implementation which falls far short holistically, causing expensive delays and further unanticipated expenditures.

The JBW Group’s specialists have decades of experience in helping organizations with standards compliant implementations.   Our proprietary methods ensure your success by validating scope, understanding goals, applying appropriate procedures, developing a documentation infrastructure and establishing governance which are specific to and customized for your business.  In effect, our methods interpret and apply the standard such that you are able to leverage as much of your existing infrastructure as possible, and in the process save time and money not only with the implementation but also with ongoing operations.   

Audit and Certification

Receiving and maintaining certification makes the statement to your business partners and customers that you demonstrate compliance with international standards. Of course, before that happens, you’ll first need to demonstrate compliance to the certification auditor, and you’ll want to get it right the first time. 

There are three audit phases leading to certification:

An Internal Audit is conducted by, or on behalf of, your organization to make self-determination as to the status and correctness of your implementation. An Internal Audit should be performed as carefully and comprehensively as the actual certification audit, to provide peace of mind moving on to an External Audit.    

A Stage 1 Audit, or documentation audit, is a review of all the documents required by the standard, and will include conversations with executives and other key persons involved in the implementation. 

A Stage 2 Audit, or implementation audit, is a review of the actual operationalized management and systems, to ensure that the system mirrors the documentation, but is functioning correctly. Together, the Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits constitute your “Certification Audit.” 

The JBW Group enjoys a 100% unblemished history of helping organizations of all sizes to achieve certification. Moreover, our entire team of professional paranoids has received formal auditor training, while many are certified to teach auditor training and do so on a regular basis! As a result, enlisting our help to perform your Implementation and Internal Audit means you’ll not only be leveraging our experience and history, but since our auditors teach the auditors, you can have confidence in that your subsequent Certification Audit will yield no surprises.