When deciding on the appropriate conformity assessment approaches for a particular situation; it helps to be aware of the amount of investment and cost associated with each alternative approach. For most compliance options in regulation, resources must be committed to undertaking conformity assessment. Whether these commitments are considered to be ‘costs of compliance’ or ‘an investment’ in achieving company or public policy outcomes is a matter of perspective.

There is always an investment or cost associated with carrying out self-assessment but as soon as another party becomes involved it is necessary to take account of what additional costs might be incurred and by whom. If the purchaser of a product decides to carry out their own assessment, they will generally have to bear the costs of undertaking their own conformity assessment (e.g. employing or outsourcing their testing activities, auditors, and inspectors). If an independent body is contracted to carry out conformity assessment, the body will need to recover its costs from whoever it is working for. In the case of product certification, it is usually the supplier who will engage and pay the certification body.

The conformity assessment body’s costs will not only relate to the assessors involved in the assessment work but also all of the expenditure incurred in running its business, a proportion of which will be charged to each certification customer. Thus the decision to establish a conformity assessment scheme can add to the costs incurred in the supply of the certified products.

source፡International Organization for Standard (ISO)