Independent judgement
My assessment follows the facts and the standard, not what a client would like to hear. An audit result is not negotiable.
Commitment
Impartiality statement
An audit is only worth as much as the independence of the person carrying it out. I commit to impartial, evidence-based judgement and to a clear separation of my roles: advisory, support as external AI officer, implementation, training, audit and seal. This statement sets out how I keep to that in practice.
A version of this statement for signing is available as a PDF on the German page.
What I commit to
One role per company
Either I advise, build a management system, support as AI officer or build software, or I audit. I do not take on both at the same company, and I never issue a certification in any case.
Disclosing conflicts of interest
I disclose existing business relationships or other possible conflicts before accepting an engagement. When in doubt, I decline.
Confidentiality
What I see in an audit stays with the client. Reports go exclusively to the client and to nobody else. NDAs are a matter of course, on your template if you prefer.
Fair, evidence-based reporting
I report in full and in a traceable way, strengths as well as deviations, with evidence and reference to the standard. No whitewashing, no dramatising.
My roles and their limits
I work in several roles. To keep them apart, each one has a clear limit:
| Role | What it covers | The limit |
|---|---|---|
| Advisory / implementation (build) | Building an AI management system as Lead Implementer, gap analysis, preparation for certification. | Does not produce a certificate. Where I advise or build a system, I do not audit the same company: no internal audit, no supplier audit and no assessment for the Audit Ready seal. The internal audit is carried out by an independent party. |
| External AI officer | Ongoing support in the company: AI register, AI policy, approval of new tools, training, point of contact and report to management. | Where I am AI officer, I do not audit: no internal audit, no supplier audit and no assessment for the Audit Ready seal at the same company. An independent party does that. |
| Implementation (software) | Development of AI applications and software, together with my external partner Timo Külbel. | What we have built, I do not audit: no audit and no assessment for the Audit Ready seal at the same company. If a company I audit uses software I built, I disclose this beforehand and do not assess that software there. |
| Training (PECB) | Official PECB courses and exam preparation. | The exam and the personnel certification are PECB's responsibility, not mine. Trainer and examiner roles are separated according to PECB rules. |
| Audit (second-party / internal) | Supplier audits on behalf of the buyer, internal audits. | Only at companies where I do not advise, build, support or implement. Not an accredited certification audit, which only an accredited certification body can carry out. I deliver robust findings, not certificates. |
| Audit Ready seal | A documented readiness assessment as a signal of trust. | Only at companies where I do not advise, build, support or implement. The seal is expressly not a certification and not proof of accreditation. It confirms the level of preparation, not conformity in the sense of a certification body. |
This commitment follows the impartiality and independence principles of ISO/IEC 17021-1 (requirements for bodies auditing and certifying management systems) and the audit principles of ISO 19011, in spirit and in my own words. For an accredited certification, an accredited certification body always has the final say.
If a conflict arises
- Before every engagement I check whether an existing relationship could compromise my impartiality.
- I disclose recognisable conflicts to you in writing before we start.
- If a conflict cannot be fully resolved, I decline the engagement or hand it over.
- Reports and results go exclusively to the client and to the bodies the client names.
Questions about independence?
Get in touch. I will explain openly how I handle roles and possible conflicts in your specific case.