A clear route from informal AI use to structured governance.
AIGAS gives accounting firms a structured certification pathway. Start free with visibility, progress to Bronze, mature to Silver, and prepare for ISO 42001 when the time is right.
Four stages. One direction of travel.
Every firm starts in the same place: with visibility. From there, Bronze and Silver take you into structured, defensible governance, and ISO 42001 sits beyond.
Your living inventory of every AI tool in use across the firm. The natural entry point.
Structured foundation. 15 controls across 6 domains. Self-assessed with guidance.
Independent validation. Documented controls, defined ownership, and evidenced governance.
The international AI management systems standard. AIGAS gets your firm ready for the jump.
Understand, control, evidence, mature.
The pathway is designed to meet firms where they are today, whether just beginning or already using AI across multiple parts of the practice.
Understand your AI usage
Identify where AI is already running, including embedded features in software, staff experimentation, and informal automations.
Introduce governance controls
Apply proportionate controls, define ownership, set approval logic, and add documentation that reflects how the firm actually operates.
Evidence what you are doing
Turn governance from assumed into demonstrable. AIGAS produces evidence you can show to clients, insurers, regulators, and partners.
Demonstrate assurance
Progress from Bronze to Silver, and prepare for broader frameworks like ISO 42001 as your firm and its AI footprint grow.
Bronze for structure. Silver for assurance.
Both levels are built on the same framework. Bronze is where firms get control. Silver adds independent validation and credibility.
Bronze
Self-certification & core governance controls
A credible, structured foundation for AI governance. Bronze helps you establish visibility, basic oversight, documented ownership, and proportionate control over current AI use.
What Bronze covers
- Creation of your AI Register
- Identification of all AI tools in use
- Understanding where client data is involved
- Core AI usage policies
- Staff awareness and safe usage principles
- Initial governance structure
Who Bronze is for
Firms at an early stage of AI adoption who want to establish control and visibility. Small and mid-sized practices, firms using tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Xero AI, and any practice with no formal AI governance in place.
Silver
Independent assessment & stronger defensibility
Independent validation of your firm’s AI governance practices. Silver builds on Bronze and introduces a more formal, evidence-based approach where governance becomes embedded in how the firm operates.
What Silver covers
- Full assessment against the AIGAS framework
- Review of AI usage, risks, and controls
- Defined ownership and accountability
- Human-in-the-loop controls
- Governance recommendations and documentation
- Independent validation of compliance
Who Silver is for
Firms actively using AI who need defensibility, structure, and credibility. Multi-partner firms, growing practices scaling AI use, firms handling higher-risk data, and any firm wanting external assurance to demonstrate to clients or stakeholders.
15 controls across 6 governance domains.
Every AIGAS control maps to a real, practical area of firm activity. Bronze evidences 9 of 15. Silver evidences all 15 with independent validation.
AI Strategy & Purpose
Register your AI tools, record the business purpose for each, and formally declare responsible use across the firm.
Risk & Compliance
Assess AI risk in the context of client work, regulatory expectations, and professional accountability.
Data Protection & Confidentiality
Understand where client data flows through AI tools and how confidentiality is maintained in practice.
Governance & Accountability
Define who owns AI decisions in your firm, who approves new tools, and who is accountable when things go wrong.
Operational Controls
Introduce human-in-the-loop review, approval workflows, and the practical guardrails that make governance operational.
People & Awareness
Ensure the people using AI understand the boundaries, risks, and expectations that apply to their work.
From AIGAS to the international standard.
ISO 42001 is the emerging international standard for AI management systems. For most accounting firms, going directly to ISO is disproportionate. AIGAS is the practical bridge that gets you there.
- Build governance in structured stages, not all at once
- Develop internal capability before external certification
- Establish an evidence base auditors will recognise
- Move to ISO 42001 when the firm and its AI footprint justify it
Think of it like Cyber Essentials to ISO 27001. AIGAS is the proportionate first move.
Progress, not perfection.
Every firm moves at its own pace, but here is a realistic view of what the journey looks like.
Build your AI Register
Log the tools already in use, capture purpose and data touchpoints, and generate your first governance picture.
Introduce Bronze controls
Apply the 15 AIGAS controls, document policies, assign ownership, and complete self-certification.
Strengthen and progress
Deepen governance, embed controls into daily operations, and prepare for Silver’s independent assessment when ready.
Questions firms are asking us.
Do I need to complete Bronze before Silver?
Is AIGAS a formal certification?
Is AIGAS only for large firms?
How long does Bronze typically take?
What happens after Silver?
Do I have to renew each year?
The pathway starts with visibility.
You don’t need to commit to Bronze or Silver today. Start with the free AI Register, build your baseline, and take the next step when you are ready.