ABC conducts independent audit of IAB Gold Standard

Ahead of the launch of Gold Standard 2.0 later this year, IAB UK recently appointed ABC to conduct a rigorous audit of the current Gold Standard certification process to ensure its robustness and transparency. 

The audit, which set out to test the design and thoroughness of our internal process, included a detailed examination of the end-to-end Gold Standard procedure and evaluation of our controls against potential risks. 

Tim Elkington, IAB UK’s Chief Digital Officer, explained: “By appointing ABC - an independent third-party auditor - to audit the Gold Standard certification process, we are not only providing assurance of its thoroughness, we are also able to ensure that we proactively put in place internal measures to maintain this level of rigour as the Gold Standard grows and evolves.”

The Gold Standard was introduced in 2017 to help the industry combat ad fraud, increase brand safety and improve the digital advertising experience. It currently has 95 companies certified – spanning publishers, platforms, media agencies and ad tech companies – and a further 14 registered to certify. In total, 34 companies have registered and not gone on to be certified. 

The Gold Standard also has six signed up advertiser supporters – ASDA, Coca Cola, JustEat, McDonald’s, Nationwide and Tesco –  all of whom have committed to working only with certified digital advertising suppliers wherever possible. 

Later this year, we will be launching Gold Standards 2.0, bolstering the certification process and incorporating the Transparency & Consent Framework as a requirement, to address privacy concerns within the digital supply chain.

As part of Gold Standard 2.0, we plan to employ a third-party auditor to ensure that certified members are upholding the Standard's principles year round. This appointment is yet to be made. Find out more about Gold Standard 2.0 here.