Accreditation today is sold as a guarantee of quality, competence, and international trust—often under the moral patronisation of global trade and development narratives linked to organizations like UNIDO and WTO. In reality, it has increasingly become a highly profitable commercial activity, far removed from genuine quality assurance.
The uncomfortable truth is this: almost anyone can open an accreditation board. Capability, technical depth, and independence are no longer decisive factors. With copied manuals, consultant-written procedures, and staged assessments, accreditation certificates are freely issued—quality being secondary, revenue being primary.
So-called “international recognition” has also been diluted. Instead of building competence through affiliate routes, many accreditation boards apply directly for associate or even full membership under regional or international umbrellas. Fabricated or cosmetic assessment reports are presented, peer assessments are conveniently arranged, and assessors are often trained to assess what the system wants to see, not what the standard truly demands. Recognition becomes a transaction, not a validation.
Meanwhile, laboratories, healthcare institutions, and certification bodies are pushed—sometimes subtly, sometimes aggressively—towards mandatory accreditation. Strong marketing, lobbying, and commercial tie-ups ensure a continuous pipeline of customers. Accreditation becomes a logo to display, not a system to improve performance.
What was designed as a public-interest quality infrastructure, aligned with global trade facilitation, has quietly turned into a certificate-selling ecosystem. Accreditation boards now compete among themselves for numbers, territory, and dominance—while real quality, consistency, and trust slowly erode.
The real question is no longer technical, but ethical:
Is accreditation protecting quality for global trade and public safety—or has it become a fast-track business model operating under the cover of international legitimacy?
International Accreditation Forum Inc
International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation (ILAC)
ISO – International Organization for Standardization
National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia
ANSI – American National Standards Institute
iso #quality #accreditation #iaf #ilac
nata #ukas
About the Author
Dr. Sambhu Chakraborty is a distinguished consultant in quality accreditation for laboratories and hospitals. With a leadership portfolio that includes directorial roles in two laboratory organizations and a consulting firm, as well as chairman of International Organization of Laboratories ( An ILAC stakeholder organisation), Dr. Chakraborty is a respected voice in the field. For further engagement or inquiries, Dr. Chakraborty can be contacted through email at info@sambhuchakraborty.com and contact information are available on his websites,https://www.quality-pathshala.com and https://www.sambhuchakraborty.com , or via WhatsApp at +919830051583