The Kesteven Management Documentation governance framework provides a general method for validating and verifying the effectiveness of your management system. This method is designed to be used both for internal purposes, to satisfy management that their organization is functioning as they intend, and as a basis for third-party certification against formal management system standards.

The framework can be used to substantiate compliance with  —

• Certification standards such as ISO 9000 (Quality) and ISO 14000 (Environment), and their various industry-specific equivalents.
• Guidance standards such as ISO 26000 (Social responsibility), ISO 31000 (Risk management), or ISO 50001 (Energy management).
• Financial reporting requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley or ASX Principle 7.
• Corporate governance requirements such as AS 8000, ASX Principles of Good Corporate Governance, or OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.

Benefits of this approach

1. Eliminate duplication of effort
2. Avoid debates about motivation
3. Minimise the compliance and audit task
4. Make life easier for line managers
5. Compliance is built in, not added on
6. Compliance is not an end in itself, but an outcome to help achieve the organization’s objectives