About the IFABC
The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Certification is a global network of assurance organizations serving ad agencies, marketers and media owners committed to greater verification and standardization across media channels. Member organizations collaborate and share innovations, best practices and solutions to support transparency and accountability in an increasingly complex media environment. IFABC member organizations play a pivotal role in delivering comparable, independent information needed for objective media-buying decisions and industry growth around the world.
A History of Transparency
The first audit bureau was established in the United States in 1914 by the Association of National Advertisers to bring order and transparency to media. Over the next few decades several other countries established their own audit bureaux. As a means for these organizations to increase their knowledge and share solutions, the IFABC was founded in 1963 during the 13th International Advertising Association Congress in Stockholm. Audit bureaux leaders established a working group to develop a set of bylaws that were informally adopted by delegates of 10 member organizations. Today, the IFABC’s members represent audit bureaux throughout the world.
Why Verified Media?
​Marketers spend billions of dollars yearly to promote their products and services across websites, apps, print publications, events, billboards and much more. As the media ecosystem becomes much more complex, the demand for transparency increases. Marketers want assurance they are getting what they pay for, and an independent, third-party audit provides that. Through industry-established standards, audit bureaux provide transparent and comparable media data necessary for informed media-buying decisions.