NDEA Smart Rules now in affect

Elmhurst implemented Smart Auditing for non-domestic members (England & Wales) on 1st January 2020. 

The changes will bring non-domestic members in line with those working in the Domestic and On Construction sectors, who moved to the smart auditing system in 2019. 

A Smart Audit is a 'risk based' audit built on a pre-defined set of criteria as agreed by all accreditation schemes and MHCLG. The new practice is designed to focus on the ‘output’ of the energy certificates, rather than the ‘process’ by which they were produced. This is in accordance with the latest version of the Scheme Operating Requirements (SORs) and targets high risk Energy Certificates. 

This is great news for competent energy assessors as the audit selection will now be a mix of both ‘Random’ and ‘Smart’ Audits, with the latter targeting Energy Certificates that are deemed to be at a higher risk of being incorrect. The good news is that this will not result in an increase in the volume of audits for members, with the focus of the audits shifting towards Energy Certificates which present a greater risk of potential errors. 

Josh Wakeling comments: 

"We welcome these changes as we believe smart auditing is a positive step towards better quality Energy Certificates.  Allowing Industry to pay particular attention to high risk EPCs is something that we have all wanted for some time. Auditing is necessary to ensure quality; we add value to our members through our SBEM Online software, our great support and great training – all these things ensure that our members give good quality energy certificates to all stakeholders."

View the Smart Rules

You can view the current Smart Rules here. Additional smart rules will be added in the future and are currently being developed by accreditation schemes and MHCLG.

Further Information

Should you have any questions about the new auditing regime, please contact Non-Domestic Support on 01455 883 231 or email nondomestic-support@elmhurstenergy.co.uk 

Article published 8th January 2020