Please see below for some FAQ on ABC and ABCe auditing. If you can't find what you are looking for please feel free to contact us at
abcpost@abc.org.uk
- What is an audit?
- An audit is an independent verification of a claim made for data relating to circulation, attendance or digital media activity.
- Who undertakes the audit?
- What is an inspection?
- If audits are carried out by third party auditors, ABC auditors will inspect these titles at random to ensure that circulation claims have been made in accordance with the ABC Reporting Standards.
- How do I appoint an ABC auditor?
- If you are in one of the mandatory categories above, the appointment of ABC is automatic. We suggest that you contact your account manager who will help you throughout the whole process.
- How do I appoint a third party auditor?
- When using an external auditor, return forms must be filed with ABC by an approved auditor who must be a registered auditor and a member of either The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) or Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
The standard letter of engagement, as agreed with the ICAEW, must be completed between the member, their auditor and ABC. This standard has been issued by ICAEW as Audit 01/04 and is available on their website. This should be filed with ABC prior to the commencement of the audit.
- What exactly will be audited?
- What will be audited depends on the Reporting Standards for that sector, what is being claimed and what you wish to have certified.
For circulation audits we are proving print distribution and qualification to the relevant circulation categories on a certificate. We recommend having clearly set out issue by issue work papers supporting your claim. In addition you should ensure that you have the relevant third party proof that demonstrates the figures have been achieved in compliance with the Reporting Standards.
For attendance audits we require proof of attendance at the exhibition, generated either by ticket sales or attendance lists which we validate back to the attendees claimed. In addition you need to have the relevant supporting documentation as specified by the Reporting Standards.
For digital media audits we recommend that you check that the configuration of any web analytics tools are up to date and compliant with the industry-agreed standard. You must also be able to make available all the supporting data used to generate your claim.
Contact your account manager for further details.
- What steps do I need to take to ensure that my publication is ready for an ABC audit?
- We suggest you speak to your account manager; who will be able to guide you through the process and provide you with the necessary assistance.
- What happens if there is a problem with my audit?
- Any issues arising will be discussed with you by your auditor who will explain the implications. If we find errors in your claim or the supporting documentation, we will amend the certificate and reissue it if necessary. This will be communicated to the market by an ABC e-Alert.
- When will my certificate be issued?
- If you are audited by ABC, your first audit will be done before the certificate is released to ensure that all data has been correctly prepared in accordance with the Reporting Standards. Thereafter the certificate is normally released after your claim has been processed by ABC. The audit will be then completed after the certificate has been issued. If you are audited by a third party auditor, the certificate is always released after the audit has been completed.
- How often do I need to audit?
- How much will an audit cost?
- Audit costs depend on the frequency of certification and the scope of the audit. For a full list of audit fees
- Can I take an audit 'break'?
- Can an issue be excluded from a circulation audit?
- An issue may be excluded as long as there a good reason why production or supply has been affected for that issue for reasons beyond the control of the publisher. All exclusions must be submitted to ABC in writing and ABC must agree the reason in advance of the audit. Excluded issues are clearly shown on the certificate.
- Can days be excluded from a digital media audit?
- No. Please also note that the industry agreed standard does not allow use of extrapolation for missing data.
- How are free newspapers audited?
- Publications which are distributed in bulk and are free to the reader are called ABC Bulk/free pick up. Examples include Metro, London Lite and thelondonpaper. Publications must follow a regular distribution pattern with appropriate distribution points. Adequate proof of distribution and receipt must be maintained and made available for audit. A feature of this type of audit is ‘reality testing’. Periodic testing of actual distribution will take place throughout the audit period.
Free copies can also be distributed door to door – formerly known as VFD, now known as Regional Publications Letterbox. Round records must be maintained and detailed confirmation of distribution, known as “back-checking” must be carried out.
- What is an ABCe web traffic audit?
- An ABCe web audit verifies activity for a calendar month or over a 6 monthly period. Supporting data (log files), site filtering rules and a claim form is sent to ABCe in order to verify the claim made. The log files need to be filtered so that any invalid traffic is excluded. Invalid traffic includes non-human actvity e.g. robots and spiders which crawl the web in order to build search engine indexes and internal usage. Only valid web usage which complies with industry agreed standards is counted for ABCe certification.
- How do I count my traffic to make my claim?
- There are basically 3 options:
• The media owner can filter their log files in-house and send it to ABCe to be audited.
• The media owner can send their entire unfiltered raw log files to ABCe who will then filter it before continuing with the audit process (an additional counting fee applies).
• The media owner can use an ABCe 2 star accredited Web Traffic Analytics Tool (ABCe Associate) to filter the data.
- What is an ABCe 2 star accredited Associate company?
- These are third party tools which are accredited by ABCe to ensure that they are capable of providing auditable data which complies with the industry agreed reporting standards.
- How do these ABCe 2 star accredited tools work?
- They usually work by way of the media owner placing a tag (code/javascript/GIF image) in the source code of the pages of the site. When any tagged page of the site is then rendered by a users browser this generates a record that is captured. At the end of the audited month the page tag data is sent to ABCe and audited to confirm the claim provided by the client.
- What gets checked in an ABCe audit?
- The ABCe audit checks that the supporting data (filtered log files or page tag data) is genuine and tests are run to ensure that all invalid activity, including any suspicious activity, has not been counted. ABCe 'seeds' the web property during the audit month so that it can detect and hence confirm its own activity in the clients supporting data. This is done to authenticate the data and to ensure it has not been manipulated. The client also provides ABCe with their filtering rules, which confirms invalid activity that has been removed e.g. activity from internal IP addresses, invalid URLs etc. and ABCe checks that this activity has been excluded.
- What happens once the ABCe audit is done?
- Once the auditor is satisfied that the data supports the claim and complies with the industry-agreed standards the audit is passed. The media owner is then issued with a certificate. If the media owner chooses to publish the certificate they will also receive an ABCe kitemark – a logo which they can display on their site and use in appropriate literature which shows that they have been certified for a specific audit month.