• Client Contracts
• Servicing Clients
• Service Evaluation
• Financial Controls
• Insurance Requirements
• Employee Recruitment and Selection
• Employee Evaluation and Training
• Subcontracting Requirements
• Record Keeping Requirements

With more than 500 AMCs worldwide, the IAAMC/ANSI standard serves as a benchmark by which to separate AMCs from their competition. This article aims to provide an overview of the accreditation and its related importance to AMCs and prospective clients.

Client Contracts (Section 4.0)
Section 4.0 of the IAAMC Accreditation program requires AMCs to have written contractual agreements with all clients, including written commitments that ensure high quality service and service delivery. This section also requires a documented system for periodic reviews of the contract, contract amendments, and procedures for transition of a client’s property. The importance of this policy is to demonstrate to clients that the AMC is organized, professional, and committed to high quality service.

Servicing Clients (Section 5.0)
When establishing the Servicing Clients standard (Section 5.0), the IAAMC did not intend to identify the specific ways in which clients were to be serviced. Rather, the IAAMC sought to ensure there was clear communication between the AMC and its client regarding the expectations of both organizations, and a method by which to evaluate those services. This section requires AMCs to establish service policies and delivery systems that include the quantity and scope of services to be performed, background information on AMC staff servicing the client, delivery speed, accuracy, and flexibility, as well as methods to measure the service provided and improve performance (if necessary). This ensures that AMCs have measurable performance requirements in place; achieved through process, controls and systems.

Service Evaluation (Section 6.0)
Section 6.0 of the Accreditation program elaborates further on Section 5.0. It requires AMCs to demonstrate that they have written procedures and policies to evaluate the AMC performance, measuring client satisfaction, and a procedure for necessary performance improvements. This section provides a high level of importance to prospective clients as it will ensure that the accredited AMC they choose will be expecting an evaluation from the client during the course of its contract. This section is also important to the AMC itself as the performance evaluations allow the AMC to continually strive for high quality customer service and grow to meet the changing needs of its clients.

Financial Controls (Section 7.0)
There are two purposes of Section 7.0 as it relates to financial management and internal controls within AMCs. One purpose is to verify that AMCs have a strong checks and balances in place to ensure that client money is properly handled. The second purpose is to ensure that the AMC is in compliance with accounting rules and regulations as promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). This includes policies to prevent co-mingling of client funds, and policies regarding the confidentially of all client records, data, proceedings, contracts and other information. This section is important to a prospective client as it requires all AMCs to provide a written confidentiality policy to all clients, and it is important to both the AMC and the client in that the AMC has demonstrated all of its financial controls are in compliance with FASB.

Insurance (Section 8.0)
Section 8.0 of the IAAMC accreditation program requires all AMCs to have minimum insurance coverages in place to adequately protect both the AMC and the client. Insurance requirements include general commercial liability, property (including property in transit), valuable papers, employee dishonesty, monies and securities, computer equipment and data, auto liability, work comp, errors and omissions, and professional liability insurance. AMCs going through the accreditation program often assume their business office insurance package (BOP) includes these items, when in reality, it does not and needs to be requested specifically. By having these insurance coverages, the client can be assured that all of its property, money, and data are fully protected in the event of an incident outside of the client’s control.

Employee Recruitment and Selection (Section 9.0)
The importance of having written and documented procedures regarding employee recruitment and selection lies in the fact that the AMC has pre-determined expectations of its various staff positions and what the job requirements entail. By having written job descriptions, candidates are fully aware of the expectations of the open position, and the requirements necessary to fill the position. This provides for clear communication between the AMC and its staff, as well as an efficient interview process of candidates for the open position. These job descriptions are also important to clients, as they are able to know exactly what the AMC expects from its staff when servicing their client. The purpose of Sections 9 and 10 is to assure the AMC’s employees know, understand and comply with company procedures and systems.

Employee Evaluation and Training (Section 10.0)
Section 10 of the IAAMC Accreditation program requires AMCs to have written policies and procedures for employee performance reviews. This section also requires AMCs to have written policies regarding periodic training in areas such as process monitoring and control; data collection and analysis; performance improvement and corrective action; teamwork, interaction and communications. This will ensure that the AMC has established and implemented a training program for its employees to ensure that the delivery of services meets the standards set by the AMC. By having these policies in place, AMCs are demonstrating to their clients that they have a strong commitment to ongoing employee training and education – ensuring that their staff is always up-to-date on the latest trends and issues relating to nonprofit associations.

Subcontracting and Purchasing Requirements (Section 11.0)
In an effort to maintain the ethical standard of the AMC industry, the IAAMC included this section in the accreditation program to make clear to prospective clients as well as AMCs that the utmost integrity is expected when subcontracting and purchasing on behalf of a client. In doing so, the IAAMC wrote Section 11 of the accreditation program to require all AMCs to exercise due diligence in purchasing products or services on behalf of their client. This includes written procedures for hiring subcontractors, completing purchase orders, and disclosing any finder’s fees or commission received by the AMC for services contracted by specific vendors. (Information regarding commission disclosure is more specifically addressed in section seven). This section is important to AMCs as it makes clear the expectation of ethical practices in the AMC industry, and it is important for prospective clients so they are assured the AMC is not benefiting on the client’s behalf.

Record Keeping Requirements (Section 12.0)
In recent years, national headlines such as “Enron” and “Arthur Anderson” have come to be a household term. Prior to the revelation of the Enron scandal, the IAAMC had already established a requirement for accredited AMCs to have written and documented procedures relating to the storing, archiving, and destroying of client documents. This policy requires AMCs to adopt a records retention policy and a policy regarding the safeguard of records protecting them from damage or deterioration and/or unauthorized access. With the conception of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other recent issues of security, this section is very important to both the AMC – ensuring they are in compliance and protecting both themselves and their clients – as well as to the prospective client as they are increasingly aware of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its implication on nonprofits.

Independent Review
In order for an AMC to become accredited by IAAMC, they are required to undergo an independent review by a third-party CPA. The Reviewer must not be employed by the AMC and must be experienced in conducting reviews, which includes a successful peer review of their own. The importance of this independent review is for an outside party, someone completely unaffiliated with the AMC, to verify that the AMC actively follows the standards required by the Accreditation. Upon the completion of a successful review, the Reviewer submits a report to the IAAMC making his or her recommendation as to whether the AMC should receive the Accreditation. The IAAMC Accreditation committee then makes the final determination as to the approval of the AMC’s application.

Earning your Accreditation with the IAAMC is an enormous accomplishment and demonstrates an AMC’s commitment to consistent, high quality service. It shows that an AMC has developed comprehensive quality control systems, giving assurance to volunteer leaders searching for the right AMC. As the only IAAMC/ANSI standard for the industry, being an IAAMC-accredited AMC will distinguish your firm from your competitors.


Jaime Nolan is president of IntrinXec Management Inc., a Minneapolis-based association management company. Contact Jaime by clicking here.