SQMS 1 in practice: how to make quality management truly visible (and workable)

Many accounting firms now have the basics in place. The risks have been identified, measures have been recorded, and the manual has been updated – often with the help of recognized frameworks such as SRA's Risk Control Framework or Novak's Quality Framework Accountancy for SME firms. The real test, however, is not whether you have your documentation and processes in order – which really is ‘just’ a requirement – but whether you see that quality reflected in the workplace.

This is far from always the case: in practice, SQMS 1 often does not get beyond the documentation phase, while the guideline only comes into its own when overview and coherence lead to active follow-up in daily practice.

From fragmented data to a central overview

A common pain point in the implementation of the new directive is fragmentation. In many organizations, information that should be bundled is actually spread across different locations: risks in Excel, measures in Word documents and monitoring somewhere in a shared folder.

SQMS 1, however, requires an integrated system. In WoodWing Scienta, the aforementioned Quality Framework Accountancy (QFA) serves as the ‘coat rack’ on which you hang all relevant information. You have one central place where you:

• Record quality objectives (the SQMS 1 objectives, potentially supplemented with any additions of your own)
• Link risks directly to those objectives
• Define management measures that cover those risks
• Set up monitoring activities to test effectiveness

Don't just implement – make demonstrable adjustments

The biggest difference between the ‘old’ SQCS 8 and the ‘new’ SQMS 1 is in the burden of proof and the PDCA cycle. As Jirina van Daal (SRA) noted earlier, “What offices may have been doing well before, now has to be formally recorded.” It is no longer about gut feeling, but about real demonstrability. In Scienta, you move from ‘checklist’ to ‘control instrument’ by making monitoring explicit:

• Assignment & planning: monitoring tasks are automatically planned and assigned to the right people.
• Assessment of effectiveness: you don't just register monitoring performances, but also their outcomes. Is the measure working as intended? Does it really cover the risk?
• Repair & improvement: did you identify a shortcoming? Then you immediately ensure follow-up and recovery. This makes your office a learning organization – exactly what the supervisor wants to see.
  
  

Ensure quality across the entire organization (without losing control)

A common mistake is that SQMS 1 remains the ‘private party’ of the quality manager or policymaker. It simply won't work, because the standard requires the involvement of everyone in the organization, from assistant to associate.

Using the objects tool in Scienta makes quality management visible to the entire office. Instead of a dusty manual sitting in a cabinet or on a server somewhere, employees get instant insight into the status of actions and the link to their daily work processes.

• Complete overview: direct access to all elements within SQMS 1
• User-friendliness: no complex legal texts, but workable instructions and templates
• Direction: despite broad visibility, you decide who has access to sensitive elements or who is authorized for the final assessment

Use SQMS 1 as an engine for professionalization

The transition to SQMS 1 is often seen as an administrative burden, but it is in fact an opportunity to professionalize your organization. When you have an overview, responsibilities are clear and follow-up is structural, quality becomes an integral part of the way you work.

As we showed in our previous collaborations with Novak and SRA, you don't have to invent the wheel yourself. With the right technical foundation in Scienta, combined with the proven content from industry associations, you can ensure that SQMS 1 doesn't just comply with the rules, but also puts your firm truly ‘in control’.