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The rest of Aurelle

The six criteria, version 1

The same for everyone, and shown on every profile with the date of each check. Anyone can read them before applying.

Criterion by criterion

Each criterion says what is checked, against what, what you supply and what fails.

Credentials confirmed with the regulator

What is checked
That you are registered or licensed, in good standing, and that no condition limits the work you would be named for.
Against what
The regulator's own public register or directory. For example: CIRO and the Canadian Securities Administrators' national registration search; FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC's adviser search; FP Canada and the CFP Board; the provincial CPA bodies and state boards of accountancy; the law societies and state bars; provincial insurance regulators.
What you supply
Each registration number, the regulator, and the jurisdiction.
What fails
No registration, a suspended or restricted one, or a name that does not match the record.

Fees in plain figures

What is checked
That a client can read what you charge before the first call.
Against what
Your own published fee schedule.
What you supply
The schedule: flat, hourly or a percentage, what it covers, and any minimum.
What fails
"Contact us for pricing" and nothing else, or a figure that leaves out charges the client pays.

Every way you are paid, disclosed

What is checked
Every way you are paid for the work you would be named for.
Against what
Your signed statement, product providers' disclosures where they are public, and the regulator's record.
What you supply
A list of every commission, trailing fee and referral arrangement. Everything on it goes on your profile. If there is none, you say so.
What fails
A payment found that is not on the profile. Where your rules bar referral payments, your profile says so and no Introduction fee is charged.

Where you are licensed, stated

What is checked
Where you are licensed, in which country, state or province, and for what. A professional licensed in one country is listed for that country. One licensed and in good standing on both sides is marked cross-border on the seat card and the roll.
Against what
The register of each jurisdiction you name.
What you supply
Your licences by country and by state or province, with their scope.
What fails
A claim to serve a state or province you are not cleared for. A client in Florida needs someone cleared for Florida.

Client reviews, published whole

What is checked
That reviews come from clients you invoiced, collected by Aurelle and not by you, and that none is held back except for the reasons on the reviews page.
Against what
The client's own reply to Aurelle's invitation, and a sample check of your invoices with the client details covered.
What you supply
A list of every client you invoiced for this work in the last 24 months, with each client's name and email, and your statement that each has agreed Aurelle may contact them about a review.
What fails
A list that leaves out clients to avoid a review, or a review you edited, delayed or tried to influence.

A discipline and complaints check

What is checked
Discipline and complaint records, at election and again at every re-election.
Against what
Each regulator's public discipline record, your signed statement, and any complaint Aurelle Standards has upheld.
What you supply
A list of any discipline or complaint on a regulator's record, with the regulator, the year and the outcome, or a statement that there is none. Also a promise to tell Aurelle within ten days if that changes.
What fails
Discipline you did not disclose, a finding that meets the thresholds below, or a complaint upheld by Aurelle Standards.

Recruiters' seats

A recruiter's seat is checked against the same six criteria, with two changes.

  • Criterion 1 reads: you hold any licence your province or state requires of recruiters, and its number appears on the seat card.
  • Criterion 2 covers everything you charge, to employers and to candidates.

Where the licence rule comes from

Other provinces and states set their own rules. Aurelle checks the rule for each place a recruiter names.

What counts as a fail for discipline

Draft thresholds. Reviewers confirm them at the first election, and any change is dated and logged first.

Discipline thresholds, version 1 (draft).
What is foundWhat happens
A current suspension, restriction or revocation in any jurisdiction you nameFails.
A finding of dishonesty, misuse of client money or an undisclosed conflict of interest, by a regulator or a court, in the last 10 yearsFails.
Any other finding after a hearing or a settlement, in the last 5 yearsShown on the profile with its date. Aurelle Standards decides in writing whether it fails.
An older finding, or a purely administrative one such as a late filingShown on the profile. Does not fail.
An open investigation that the regulator has made publicThe application waits until the matter is closed.
Discipline you did not discloseFails.

Appeals

If you are not elected, or your seat lapses, you may appeal.

  1. Write to standards@aurelle.institute within 30 days of the decision, with your reference and your reasons.
  2. A reviewer who took no part in the first decision checks the file again.
  3. Aurelle Standards replies in writing, with its reasons, within 30 days.
  4. The outcome is counted in the yearly Index. Your name is not.

Version history

  • Version 1 (draft)
    First publication. Six criteria, recruiters' variant, discipline thresholds, appeals.

A seat elected under one version is re-elected under the current one. A change to a criterion is published before it applies, and logged on the corrections page. Report a mistake on this page.

Who decides, and who pays

Aurelle Standards applies these criteria. Sponsors never see an application, touch a criterion or influence a score. Read the conflict-of-interest policy.

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