9.2 Categories of Audit Result

There are four categories of audit result, as follows:

• Pass - No further action is required by the report provider as a result of the audit. In some cases, the auditor may add observations to the audit report, which are intended to help the report provider improve its COUNTER usage reports but are not required for compliance.

• Qualified Pass - The report provider has passed the audit, but the auditor raises a minor issue requiring further action to maintain COUNTER-compliant status. A minor issue does not affect the reported figures but MUST be resolved within three months of the audit to maintain COUNTER-compliant status. Where a Qualified Pass is reported, the reason for the qualification will be included in the COUNTER Registry.

• Interim Report - The auditor has identified an issue that MUST be resolved within three months for the report provider to maintain COUNTER-compliant status.

• Fail - The report provider has not resolved the issues identified in the Interim Report. The report provider MUST start a fresh audit (i.e. a new seeding process) within three months of the Fail report being issued.