Conflict-of-Interest Management
A structured approach for identifying, disclosing, reviewing, and managing conflicts of interest that may affect committee work, technical evaluations, and recognition activities conducted within IAF’s membership framework under IAQC oversight.
Purpose and scope
Conflict-of-interest (COI) management supports impartiality and trust in how Technical & Regulatory Experts contribute to IAF activities. It applies to member experts participating in working groups, committees, peer reviews, assessments of technical submissions, and any activity where professional judgment could be influenced by secondary interests.
IAF is membership-based and does not act as a regulator. Any recognition or approval outcomes occur only after membership participation and follow committee review with International Automotive Quality Council (IAQC) oversight, with COI controls integrated into those decision pathways.
How COI is managed in expert activities
COI management is implemented as a practical set of steps that can be applied consistently across technical and regulatory workstreams, from initial engagement through final committee recommendations.
Disclosure and periodic updates
Experts provide COI disclosures at onboarding and refresh them when roles, employers, clients, investments, or other relevant interests change, including before participating in specific reviews or votes.
Documented review and traceability
COI declarations, identified risks, and mitigation decisions are recorded in meeting materials or controlled logs to support traceability of how impartiality was protected during committee review.
Mitigation actions aligned to risk
Mitigations may include recusal from discussion or voting, limiting access to sensitive materials, independent peer review, role reassignment, or additional oversight when the risk cannot be reduced through simple controls.
Separation of roles and decision pathways
Where feasible, technical contribution, evidence evaluation, and committee recommendation steps are separated to reduce undue influence, with IAQC oversight applied to ensure consistent application across workstreams.
What members should prepare
To support timely participation, experts should be ready to describe professional affiliations, current and recent engagements, financial or advisory interests, and any relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing technical judgment. Disclosures should be specific enough to assess risk while respecting confidentiality obligations.
When a potential conflict is identified, the expectation is early notification so the committee can apply proportionate mitigations. This helps maintain credible outcomes for membership activities and ensures that recognition decisions—when applicable—reflect committee review conducted with appropriate impartiality safeguards and IAQC oversight.
Governance connection and IAQC oversight
COI management is embedded in IAF’s committee governance to support impartial deliberation and consistent handling of sensitive technical matters. Committee chairs and designated reviewers apply documented COI steps, while IAQC provides oversight to promote alignment across committees, confirm that mitigations are applied when needed, and support integrity of post-membership recognition processes.
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