Code of Ethics for Certified Professionals

• This document establishes the ethical principles that candidates who accept this code and persons certified by FVR must uphold, and the consequences of non-compliance.

• This code applies to candidates from the moment they accept it as a condition of certification and to persons certified under the schemes administered by FVR while their certificates remain in force. FVR personnel are also subject to FVR_GD-POL-04 and FVR_IM-FO-02 in their capacity as personnel; those instruments do not displace this code when a person applies for or holds FVR certification.

• FVR certification attests to a person's competence within the certified scope. This code establishes the conduct obligations that form a condition of certification.
• Misconduct by a certified professional, including signing unverified work or acting where a conflict of interest exists, can undermine confidence in the scheme and its certificate holders and may not be remediable through technical controls alone.
• FVR communicates these principles before certification. The candidate accepts this code as part of the certification agreement, and it becomes enforceable upon acceptance.
• FVR applies this code to every certified person equally, whatever their scheme, level, seniority or commercial relationship with FVR.

• Certified professionals shall act in accordance with the following principles: integrity, independence, professional competence, confidentiality, and professional conduct.
• Integrity. Certified professionals shall act with honesty, objectivity, and responsibility in the exercise of their professional activities.
• Independence. Certified professionals shall avoid conflicts of interest and maintain independence in their assessments and audits.
• Professional competence. Certified professionals shall perform only those activities for which they possess the necessary competency.
• Confidentiality. Certified professionals shall protect the confidentiality of information obtained during audits, assessments, or professional activities.
• Professional conduct. Certified professionals shall behave in a manner that preserves public confidence in the certification scheme and the certification body.

• FVR undertakes to:
• 1. Make this code known before certifying, as part of what the candidate accepts, and never to demand conduct that was not stated in advance.
• 2. Keep the current version available to every certified person, in Spanish and English, at no cost and without having to request it.
• 3. Handle any report of a breach through the documented channel (FVR_QA-PR-01), with the person given the ground in writing and the opportunity to reply before any decision is taken.
• 4. Apply this code uniformly, without regard to the scheme, the level or the commercial relationship between the person and FVR.
• 5. Notify a change to this code to every certified person in force, and not apply a new obligation retroactively to conduct that preceded it.
• 6. Ensure that any sanction is decided by a person independent of those who received or investigated the report.

• A person certified by FVR shall not:
• 1. Declare a competence they do not hold, or present work outside the certified scope as covered by their FVR certification.
• 2. Sign, endorse or report as verified anything they did not personally verify.
• 3. Take part in an assessment or audit where they have an interest, or fail to declare such an interest as soon as it appears.
• 4. Accept a gift, payment or favour that could reasonably be read as compensation for a professional outcome.
• 5. Disclose or use for their own benefit information obtained in the course of an audit, assessment or professional activity.
• 6. Present their certification as an approval of an organization, product, service or management system, which is what FVR_GD-POL-10-17024 and FVR_GD-POL-07 govern in detail.
• 7. Disclose the content of an examination, or assist another candidate in circumventing the assessment.

• Certified person: to comply with this code for as long as their certificate is in force, and to declare a conflict of interest as soon as it appears. Designated receiver under FVR_QA-PR-01: to receive, record and coordinate handling of the report. Technical Director: to take any certification-status decision under FVR_GD-POL-08 §3 and FVR_RD-PR-06-17024, provided they did not receive or investigate the report. General Director: to ratify a withdrawal deriving from ethical conduct. Appeal decision-maker: to decide any appeal without having participated in the challenged decision. Impartiality Safeguarding Committee: to be informed of any sanction motivated by a conflict of interest, since it is a matter of its remit.

• Non-compliance with this code of ethics may result in disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation of certification. The suspension and withdrawal conditions and process are developed in FVR_GD-POL-08 §3 and executed through FVR_RD-PR-06-17024; this policy does not restate them in order to maintain a single controlled source for these requirements.

• The closest registered risks in FVR_GD-MZ-04 are R-13 — misuse of the FVR certification mark — and R-12 — a forged or altered FVR certificate.

• Candidates must accept this code of ethics as a condition for obtaining and maintaining certification. Acceptance is recorded with the version accepted, so that what a person agreed to can be established later.

Approvals / Aprobaciones