At the end of 2022, UNI, the Italian Standardization Institute, published a national standard to help around 360.000 professionals (of whom, 240.000 lawyers and 120.000 accountants) organize their business, manage the risks and turn them into value: UNI 11871.
Based on this, ASLA (the Italian Association of Law Firms) asked UNI to develop a “prassi di riferimento” (reference practice, which is broadly equivalent to a CWA) to define the specific requirements for the conformity assessment of the management systems of law and accounting firms, according to the new standard’s requirements.
Now this new document is about to be published.
The application of the standard and its certification according to the new reference practice will allow firms to facilitate access to professional assignments in public or private calls for tenders. It will also lead to a reduction in the costs of compulsory insurance coverage for liability related to the exercise of their professions.
The certification will strengthen both the participating firms’ internal organization and the relationship with external customers. Among the most significant elements are the centrality of environmental sustainability, rules for the workplace, and social intervention policies. In particular, for environmental sustainability, the fundamental tools envisaged are the digitization and dematerialization of documents, the use of recycled and eco-sustainable materials, the commitment to differentiate garbage, the elimination of waste, the use of renewable and non-polluting energy sources and incentives towards low-impact mobility.
