CORE Audit™

Compliance Operations Readiness Engagement – CORE Audit™

If you manufacture or distribute children’s products or toys, CPSIA Compliance is the law.

Is your company prepared and do you have the process in place to meet the current regulations?

Regulatory compliance can function as a tool for organizations to continuously enhance the quality of business procedures and so to optimize the company’s performance and service level to its clients, Jacoby Solutions has developed the “CORE “Audit to help you reach that goal and ensure you are operationally ready for CPSIA!

Key drivers or motivations for a Business “CORE” audit function are generally the need for assurance and internal control within a company. There also are the regulatory or compliance requirements such as the CPSIA Act, Canada Consumer Product Safety Act or industry / product specific requirements from the CPSC or state regulations such as Prop 65.

There are five key benefits for a Business “CORE “Audit – five areas in which a Jacoby Solutions audit can add value and provide clear benefits to your organization.

1. Reduce risk. The planning and execution of a business operations readiness audit is generally focused on identifying and assessing risks in an organization’s supply chain and operations environment.

Audits are usually focused on risks related to the supply chain, customer service and availability of information technology infrastructure and processes. It is critical to understand that CPSIA risk is business risk. Threats and vulnerabilities in operations can directly affect an entire organization. The organization needs to understand its risks and then proceed to do something about them.

2. Strengthen internal controls (and improve operational process). After risks are assessed as discussed above, controls are identified and assessed. This allows for poorly designed or ineffective controls to be redesigned and/or strengthened.  The Business “CORE” Audit provides another control framework of internal controls. This framework is used by auditors to get assurance on (1) the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, (2) the reliability of incident reporting and (3) general compliance with CPSIA.

3. Comply with regulations. Wide ranging regulations at the federal and state levels include specific requirements for labels and website registration. The audit serves a critical function in ensuring that specific requirements are met, risks are assessed and controls implemented.

4. Facilitate communication between business and its employees. An audit promotes better communication between an organization’s operations and direct management. Senior management is then informed of how their organization is functioning and can be made aware of any matters that need immediate attention.

5. Improve Internal Process. CPSIA compliance is the responsibility of business owners, executives, and board of directors, and consists of the leadership, organizational structures and processes that ensure that the company’s approach sustains and extends the organization’s strategies and objectives.

To summarize, auditing is extremely valuable to reduce risks, improve process, comply with regulations and facilitate communication between business, its employees and supply chain management. Additional benefits of a Jacoby Solutions Business “CORE” audit include:

Provides Validity

External audits provide an objective opinion on your handling of compliance. Many small business owners do not have an in-depth understanding of CPSIA and how it pertains to daily operations. They simply submit their products to the testing houses to find out what they need, and this usually mainly involves product testing. CPSIA / CPSC compliance does not end with product testing. Your responsibilities are embedded in everyday business and extend years after the sales of your products. We let you know if you have the process in place to meet that need.

Discovers Errors and Omissions

Business owners can use “CORE” audits to discover errors or missing elements in their compliance program

Limits Legal and CPSIA Issues

While the Business “CORE” Audit does not replace legal advice and product testing, it does go hand in hand with helping set up and or to validate your current operational and business reporting process

The CPSIA Act imposes or increases both fines and jail time penalties, and mandates coordination with the CPSC when affecting a manufacturer’s product recall. The law

• Increases civil penalties for failure to report possible product hazards to the CPSC in a timely manner from $8,000 to $100,000 per violation, and from $1.825 million to $15 million for a series of related violations
• Increases criminal penalties for various prohibited acts to include forfeiture of assets and imprisonment for up to five years, and eliminates the requirement that the CPSC first notify a company of noncompliance before seeking criminal penalties
• Requires CPSC approval of the remedy offered in a product recall, rather than giving the recalling party its choice of repair, replace, or refund^.

Educates Business Owner

Business “CORE” Audits can help educate business owners on the importance of compliance readiness as it applies to everyday business activities. Business owners often work closely with our auditors to improve their incident reporting process. Jacoby Solutions auditors may provide business owners with information on current compliance and or operational issues formerly not known to them.

Jacoby Solutions’ Business Compliance Operations Readiness Engagement Audit – “CORE “Audit© is conducted by creating a information baseline of your current operational practices and methods as they exist today. Answering the questions honestly is essential for identifying  deficiencies and  information provided via the audit and any client relevant documentation is essential to a achieving a successful engagement and on-time delivery.

There are  NINETEEN components of the Jacoby Solutions Business CORE Audit™. Each area identified and covered in the Jacoby Solutions CORE Audit can be compared to a strands of wire within a cable and in relation to your company when all the individual wires are strengthened and intertwined your company becomes stronger and able to support more business from an operations and compliance point of view. These areas are the CORE of your Business Operations and each one is vitally important.  After completion of your audit, you will receive a RGB (Red, Yellow, Green) assessment of your operational readiness for CPSIA compliance and suggestions for improvement where deficient.

Jacoby Solutions is your one stop resource for help in making sure that your business is “Operationally Ready” for CPSIA and CPSC compliance.