Certification standards

This page sets out what Trusted Firms Global certifies, the values a firm or adviser must meet, and how a score is computed and corrected. Clause 2.1 of the Certification Services Terms refers to this page.

This is criteria version 2025.12, in force from 11 March 2026; its text was published on 10 September 2026. Each clause can be cited by its number and version, for example “Standard 3.2, version 2025.12”.

Every current credential issued by Trusted Firms Global was checked against this text on 26 September 2026.

Criteria common to all tiers

These criteria are the same at every tier.

Coverage

The survey list is built from the firm's client records. The response rate is the share of surveys sent that received a response. Clients the firm holds no email address for cannot be surveyed.

Survey basis

The firm's complete invoiced client population for the assessment period. No firm-chosen sample.

Minimum responses

250

Minimum response rate

No minimum. The response rate is reported to the firm.

Assessment period

Twelve months to the assessment date

Validity

Twelve months from issue

Minimum score

The minimum score differs by tier.

Small firms

Firms with fewer than 250 invoiced clients in the assessment period qualify on coverage rather than volume, assessed over the 24 months to the assessment date:the survey list drawn from the firm's complete invoiced client population, a response rate of at least 40% across the window (total responses divided by total invitations, so a client surveyed in each year counts in each), and no fewer than 100 responses.

Managing principals

For a firm's managing principal, Trusted Firms may assess on the full period since the firm joined the program where the twelve-month sample is too small.

Assessment

Firm certification is assessed by Trusted Firms against these values on the complete verified record. The assessment date and values are shown on the verification page.

The certification tier reflects what Trusted Firms Global is willing to vouch for publicly. Each tier is a stronger public claim than the one below. Tier describes the strength of the evidence behind the claim, not the quality of the firm.

Tier comparison

Only the criteria that differ between tiers.

Fee ledger

A fee ledger is an export of all invoices in the assessment period from the firm's billing or practice management system, supplied by the firm's finance function. Duplicate lines may be merged; no client may be removed.

Trusted Adviser

Survey basis

The adviser's clients within the firm's complete invoiced client population for the assessment period, as the responsible adviser. No chosen sample.

Minimum response rate

15%

Minimum responses

15

Minimum score

NPS ≥ 45

Assessment period

Twelve months to the assessment date

Validity

Twelve months from issue

Eligibility

Trusted Adviser credentials are available only to advisers within a firm that holds a current Trusted Firms Global certification, at any tier. The firm's certification establishes the survey basis (the complete client population, independently measured), and the adviser standard is an evidence test on the adviser's own clients within it. A sole practitioner is assessed as a small firm (2.3).

The record

A credential is a point-in-time assessment against this standard, and its verification page is the record of that assessment. A firm record states the response count, the assessment window, the basis of the client list and, at Verified and Gold, the score; an adviser record states that the Trusted Adviser standard was met. Both are stated as at the certification date and fixed there. The record is not live. It is corrected only in place, with the correction visible.

The living surfaces

The reviews pages and the widget are the living surfaces. They show all-time figures, labelled “since [month year]” and refreshed on the schedule stated on the page, with what clients value most, adviser pages and consented reviews. They come with the reviews service; the score's publication does not depend on it, because the record publishes it.

Count and window

Every figure carries its count and its window. Nothing on the record is suppressed, and the firm does not choose the window: twelve months is the assessment window (24 months on the small-firm basis); all-time, labelled, is the window on reviews pages. Both are legitimate when labelled; neither is legitimate unlabelled.

One public score

One public score: the average client score out of 10. NPS is the assessment metric, seen by the firm on the platform, and appears on the record only as the test (“Standard met: NPS ≥ 70”). A score is displayed only where the response count is at least 30, always with its count and window; firm records at Verified and Gold clear that by definition. Firm records do not show the response rate; it is reported to the firm. An adviser's credential record states only that the Trusted Adviser standard was met; the thresholds are published in this standard (4.1). Where the firm subscribes to reviews pages, an adviser at a Verified or Gold firm shows their all-time average score and number of reviews; at a Standard firm, reviews only. Reviews pages show the all-time score at 30 or more responses and otherwise say “score published at 30 responses”.

Issuance

The standards are code. An assessment function computes the figures from the verified response record held by Client Culture, never from a separately maintained copy, stores the assessment and gates issuance. A credential is issued only when the assessment passes. There is no operator override. Credentials issued by Client Culture before 11 March 2026 are identified as such on their record. Issuance is supervised by Greg Tilse, Managing Director.

Corrections

A correction is made in place and remains visible as a correction.

Fees

Fees have no bearing on certification outcomes.

Review of a decision

If a firm disagrees with a decision, it can ask for reconsideration within 30 days. This is free and answered within 10 business days. If it still disagrees, the decision goes to an independent reviewer drawn from the ACICA panel of arbitrators and agreed by both parties. If they cannot agree within 10 business days, ACICA makes the appointment. The firm pays all costs of the review, including ACICA's fees, and the reviewer's decision is final. For a request for independent review made before 24 October 2026, Trusted Firms Global bears the reviewer's costs.

The binding wording is clause 6.2 of the Certification Services Terms. The published standards are not open to review; their application is.

Changes

Changes to these standards are published on this page with at least 90 days' notice. A change does not withdraw a credential already issued. Editorial revisions that do not change a requirement are made without a new version number.

Change notes

• 26 September 2026, editorial correction to 6.1: a credential is issued only when the assessment passes, with no operator override, reflecting the platform. The criteria are unchanged.

Safeguards

• Coverage: the survey list is built from the firm's client records
• A minimum response count for every credential, and a minimum response rate for adviser credentials and on the small-firm basis
• Manual integrity review at Standard: client-list shrinkage, statistical outlier flagging and response-rate monitoring
• Reconciliation of the firm's own client record, with coverage checks, at Verified and Gold
• Year-over-year coverage and shrinkage monitoring to detect selective omission
• Annual renewal, with Gold sustaining coverage across every cycle for a full year
• Public verification pages, which create accountability