HCDI Certified Independent Reviewer
Chapter 2. Two reviewers: the Independent Reviewer and the Internal Reviewer
Source note
Source basis - S4, physical PDF page 7.
HCDI governance ruleHCDI governance rule (Level 4 document, section 1; Units 4.8 and 4.10). Assigned Independent Reviewer Internal Reviewer
What it is A credential holder, one named person per assessment, from outside the delivering Firm An HCDI role Who appoints HCDI Compliance assigns It is HCDI's own
What it does Reads the whole assessment read-only, and records the review completion Resolves evidence conflicts, approves corrective actions, records a check where a Firm offers services in an action's area, and confirms a status change or an integrity closure On a Founding Six engagement Never assigned Records the review, and has no role on the engagement The approved text warns that the two are easily confused. A colleague who says "the reviewer will resolve that conflict" may mean either, and only one of them can. Common Error. Telling a client that the Independent Reviewer resolved an evidence conflict. Only the Internal Reviewer resolves one.
Two reviewer roles have different powers
Basis - general professional knowledge and editorial explanation. External references are identified explicitly; this section adds no HCDI rule.
Similar names can conceal different authority. The Independent Reviewer reads another firm's whole assessment and records completion. The Internal Reviewer is an HCDI role with source-defined conflict and action responsibilities. Do not infer additional powers from seniority or the word reviewer.
Figure 4.2 Two reviewer roles have different powers. Original conceptual illustration; arrows organise the discussion and do not establish a validated causal effect or a scoring procedure.
Original exercise L4 E02
Basis - original fictional exercise. The organisation, events and any numbers are invented for learning. No HCDI result is assigned.
An Independent Reviewer finds a source conflict and is asked to resolve it because they are the most experienced person present.
| Analytical task | Learner response required |
| Observation | Identify what the stated record directly establishes. |
| Inference | State the interpretation that still needs support. |
| Alternative | Identify a plausible alternative or missing context. |
| Authority | Identify the relevant credential or role boundary. |
Question - Which role distinction matters?
Worked answer: Part G, exercise L4 E02.