Program Certification

Program certification is a voluntary process which allows company management to obtain an independent assessment regarding the completeness and effectiveness of its compliance efforts and ensure maximum reduction of identity and access management risks around identity verification and validation, data protection and privacy, identity theft and fraud, regulatory compliance, access management, and suspicious account activities. A certified program provides company management, its board, as well as its customers and other business partners the assurance that the company is in compliance with various regulations and requirements which is ultimately an indication of the effectiveness of management’s risk management posture. Even if management does not seek program certification, an audit of selected areas can provide management with feedback and actionable steps to improve its programs and processes.

Other benefits may include:

• Demonstrate a commitment to an effective program
• Improve the program through an objective assessment
• Gain customer and public trust
• Reduce business risks including intrusions and data breach incidents
• Minimize losses due to identity theft and fraud
• Comply with regulations and business requirements
• Streamline and improve business processes
• Educate and certify employees

The speed of a program certification depends largely on the organization’s scope, budget, urgency, available resources, gaps, and remediation strategy. Depending on the objective, the certification process which also allows time for planning, gap identification, and remediation can vary from 3 to 24 months. One of the important aspects of IAM program certification is employee training and certification.