Auditing · professional practice · Technical definition
Cooling-off period.
Also known as Cooling-off period
Definition
Restriction period between a consulting or implementation service and a certification audit of the same system. It protects the impartiality of the process when there is a risk of reviewing one's own work or a prior interest.
Nature
Normative definition
Correct use
Use it as a separation rule within an impartiality policy, always linked to the scope, the role performed and the applicable standard or scheme.
Not to be confused with
It is not an automatic licence to audit after waiting a set period; the conflict must be assessed by scope, people, entity and commercial relationship.