Business Events

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Reporting Standards for products registered in the Business Events sector.

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( printable PDF )

Reporting Standards

• General Principles and Record Keeping
• Certificate Types
• Reported Data
• Unique Attendance
• Demographic Analysis
• Exhibiting Company Data
• Return Form Submission, Audit, Certification
• Personal Identifier Question

Latest updates

Issued November 2016

• You may now report up to three demographic analysis tables on a new Certificate of Attendance with Demographics. The Profile Certificate option remains if you wish to report more tables, cross-analyses or include graphics.

Issued August 2015

• We have undertaken a major exercise to re-write the Event Reporting Standards to make them easier to use. These new rules will come into effect for Events ending on or after 1st October 2015.

• Following a similar exercise with the print sectors the new rules have moved from a prescriptive style to a principle-based approach, allowing for more flexibility to deal with new and changing developments in event attendance and verification.

• Each section is outlined by a simple definition/introduction, underpinned by principles and then followed by more detailed requirements. Separate guidance notes provide common examples and applications of achieving the requirements.

• As a result of this exercise some rules have changed, but these are minor changes linked to simplifying requirements and harmonising the approach with other ABC sectors. Click on the link above to view a document summarising the changes.

• There are no major changes. The changes affect peripheral information about the events certified and include the following:

  • The organiser statements “Main products exhibited” and “Target audience” (which are not audited) that are currently included on all certificates will now be optional.

  • The ABC certificates will continue to show the attendance figure broken out by visitor and exhibitor personnel. However the requirement for organisers to quote this analysis in other material will now be optional.

  • The reporting of stand space and number of stands is currently optional for Business Event Standard certificates (the vast majority of ABC certified Events) and mandatory for Business Profile and Consumer Events. This will now be optional for all Event Certificate types.

If you require information on any earlier changes please contact us.

Business Media report

View the latest report for this sector and find out when the next report is released.

Latest report

Consumer Events

For consumer event standards please click here

Archived standards

If you require past versions of Reporting Standards you can find them here.