Grant Thornton – first Georgian certified PCI QSA company

Grant Thornton has become the first Georgian company to be certified by the PCI (Payment Card Industry) Security Standards Council as a Qualified Security Assessor.

Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) companies are organizations that have been qualified by the Council to assess compliance to the PCI Data Security Standard. This certification comes to supplement the advanced Business Risk Services practice of Grant Thornton that supports clients in Georgia and CEMEA countries in determining their exposure to various risks and managing risk for improving operational efficiency of the business as well as providing compliance with local and industry regulatory requirements.

Nelson Petrosyan, Managing Partner of Grant Thornton Georgia, provides insight into the new offering: “The PCI Security Standards Council is a professional body, founded by five global payment brands, that sets security standards for all payment card data processing organizations across the world. Data processing organizations are required to comply with the Data Security Standards and undergo an annual quality assessment. Grant Thornton is the only Georgian firm that is certified to perform the quality assessment, and we are happy to assist our financial sector clients in Georgia and CEMEA countries in fulfilling their data security obligations and compliance with industry standards”.

Grant Thornton is an audit and advisory services firm in Georgia, providing a range of professional services to clients in public and private sectors. The firm’s profoundly developed advisory practice also includes a spectrum of business risk and business consulting services, with specialization in the fields of Technology audit and risk management; Enterprise risk management including operational, process and finance risk; Internal control and Internal audit; Corporate governance advisory, design and compliance; Business process re-engineering; and Information security and data protection.

The PCI Security Standards Council is an open global forum, launched in 2006, that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards.

The Council’s five founding global payment brands - American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard, and Visa Inc. - have agreed to incorporate the PCI DSS as the technical requirements of each of their data security compliance programs.