# Certify Stage — Elaboration

## Criteria Guidance

### Good criteria — concrete and verifiable

- "Audit readiness checklist confirms all evidence is current, accessible, and mapped to the auditor's request list"
- "Each auditor finding has a documented response with remediation evidence or a justified exception"
- "Finding resolution includes root cause analysis to prevent recurrence, not just a fix for the immediate gap"

### Bad criteria — vague (no clear check)

- "Audit is prepared for"
- "Findings are resolved"
- "Certification is obtained"

