The Corporate Governance component of the RMA™ audit offers a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s leadership and operational frameworks, tailored specifically for the Web3 ecosystem. The auditors aim to verify fundamental governance and organizational structure, including verifying the entity’s legal registration and compliance within its jurisdiction ensuring adherence to local laws and regulations. The audit examines the company’s banking history and creditworthiness, confirming transparent and reliable financial practices.

In the Web3 landscape, fundraising can occur through traditional share raises and token sales. The RMA™ audit scrutinizes the fundraising history, ensuring that all capital raised—whether through equity or tokens—is well-documented and compliant with regulatory standards. If the raise is done through tokens, the auditors will challenge the tokenomics and seek out risks such as vesting periods that may later hurt the organization’s reputation with a broader pool of stakeholders. This dual approach ensures organizations maintain transparency and accountability in diverse funding methods.

The audit assesses the governance structure, evaluating the composition and effectiveness of the board of directors, management accountability, and the independence of key leadership roles. It ensures that the legal structure aligns with the company’s business activities, growth stage, and operational regions, promoting sustainable growth and adaptability. Ethical standards and business practices are also reviewed, reinforcing the company’s commitment to integrity and responsible management. Companies will provide a variety of documentation to meet these standards.

The Revenue Model component of the RMA™ audit comprehensively evaluates a company’s income-generating strategies (how do they make or intend to make money), ensuring financial robustness and sustainability. The auditors begins by understanding the organization’s revenue streams, whether derived from product sales, subscription sales, transaction fees, token sales, or other innovative models. To pass these criteria of the RMA™, justification must be provided allowing a complete understanding of current and long-term viability, plus strategies to adjust to external factors, changing market conditions, consumer behavior, and competition.

The RMA™ audit questions the organization’s readiness for varying market conditions, most notably as bear and bull markets, which is particularly important for products or services relying on a certain market condition. The audit identifies the financial controller responsible for overseeing the revenue streams, managing financial performance, and maintaining accurate accounts. This includes verifying the effectiveness of financial controls and performance reporting mechanisms in place.

Additionally, the auditors seeks justification to ensure that the revenue model aligns with the company’s current growth stage and future expansion plans. They evaluate the balance between revenues received in cryptocurrency and FIAT, and scrutinize the measures taken to safeguard funds against market volatility. Beyond income streams, the organization can provide stability via assets and cash, a common and acceptable situation for most early companies. By ensuring that revenue strategies are well-structured and secure, the RMA™ certification enhances credibility and stakeholder confidence, reinforcing the organization’s standing as a responsible and trustworthy entity more likely ready for sustainable growth.

The Technology and Security component of the RMA™ audit offers a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s technical infrastructure and security protocols, ensuring robust protection and operational resilience. This part of the audit assesses the organization’s technological framework, including blockchain integrations (where relevant), system architecture, and overall IT infrastructure. It verifies that the codebase adheres to industry best practices, emphasizing quality, scalability, and efficiency.

A pivotal aspect of this component is the requirement for comprehensive security measures. While RMA™ does not perform smart contract audits directly, it mandates that projects undergo rigorous third-party security assessments, such as those conducted by Hashlock and Certik. RMA™ then reviews these results within the company’s broader technical and business landscape. Additionally, projects holding certifications like SOC2 and ISO 27001 are highly encouraged to submit these credentials, as they demonstrate a strong foundation in security and operational controls and are viewed favorably during the audit. VaaSBlock values established industry standards highly, and auditors generally need to gather less information when presented with trusted certifications.

The audit examines the implementation of advanced security measures, including encryption protocols, multi-factor authentication, secure key management, and incident response strategies to safeguard user data and assets. It also evaluates the organization’s risk and crisis management practices, including bounty programs that incentivize vulnerability reporting. By ensuring that technology and security practices are both robust and adaptable, the RMA™ certification underscores a company’s dedication to maintaining a secure and trustworthy platform, enhancing credibility and fostering lasting trust among users, investors, and stakeholders.

The Planning and Transparency component of the RMA™ audit offers a thorough assessment of how an organization manages its workflow and prepares for unexpected challenges a business might encounter, plus the additional risks of the Web3 ecosystem. This audit examines the company’s operational frameworks, organizational charts, project management tools, including relevant resources such as visual snapshots of Kanban boards or workflow diagrams. Documentation that illustrates how tasks are created, tracked, and completed is reviewed to ensure the organization employs efficient and transparent processes to deliver its products or services.

A critical aspect of this evaluation is the organization’s ability to plan for and respond to black-swan events. RMA™ auditors assess the robustness of crisis management strategies, including the roles and responsibilities of key personnel during emergencies. This includes reviewing templates for customer communication (if relevant) in the event of data breaches, ensuring that the company is prepared to assist clients promptly and effectively if issues arise. The audit examines whether the organization conducts regular drills and simulations to test its readiness for various crisis scenarios, reinforcing its capability to handle disruptions without compromising security or service quality.

By evaluating both the structured planning processes and the transparency in operational execution, the Planning and Transparency audit under RMA™ confirms that organizations are well-prepared to maintain continuity and trust, even in the face of unexpected challenges.

The Team Proficiency component of the RMA™ audit thoroughly evaluates an organization’s personnel, ensuring that crucial team members possess the expertise and dedication necessary to execute current business models and scale effectively within the Web3 ecosystem. This audit delves into the backgrounds of founders, executives, and core team members, verifying that their professional histories align with the project’s objectives and demonstrate a track record of success in similar ventures.

A critical aspect of this evaluation is assessing the commitment of key personnel. RMA™ auditors scrutinize the dedication of founders and departmental leaders, ensuring they are fully engaged and unlikely to abandon the project prematurely—a common challenge in the Web3 space. The audit also examines the educational backgrounds and practical experiences of team members, confirming that they have the qualifications and adaptability to grow alongside the rapidly evolving blockchain industry.

Beyond resumes and LinkedIn profiles, RMA™ auditors conduct in-depth interviews and reference checks to understand each individual’s capabilities and commitment. Additionally, the audit evaluates the expertise and backgrounds of advisors, confirming they provide valuable guidance and support. Ensuring that the team is highly qualified and deeply committed, the Team Proficiency audit reinforces the organization’s capacity to sustain growth and long-term success, thereby enhancing trust among investors and stakeholders.

The Results Delivered component of the RMA™ audit comprehensively evaluates an organization’s ability to achieve its goals and honor its commitments. It focuses on the success and track record of a company’s completed projects, emphasizing tangible outcomes that align with stated objectives. RMA™ auditors meticulously review key performance indicators (KPIs), project milestones, and the overall impact of the organization’s products or services on the market.

Importantly, RMA™ acknowledges that targets may not always be met for valid reasons. Auditors explore what the company has learned from meeting and missing targets, ensuring that adjustments are logical and justified. This approach confirms that organizations remain honest and capable of validating their performance, enhancing trust among investors and stakeholders.

A pivotal focus is on validating claims made during fundraising, partnerships, and marketing efforts. Auditors ensure that the company has fulfilled its promises to stakeholders, such as meeting revenue targets, completing product development on schedule, or securing strategic partnerships. Metrics like user adoption rates, transaction volumes, and community engagement are closely analyzed to assess actual performance against expectations. Additionally, the audit examines the frequency and reliability of code releases, ensuring regular updates without causing system downtime, which is crucial for maintaining user trust and platform stability.

The audit also evaluates the organization’s partnership track record, favoring companies that consistently form alliances with larger, reputable businesses. Understanding who is responsible for managing partnerships within the company provides insight into the effectiveness and strategic alignment of these collaborations. Furthermore, auditors assess whether the company’s announced goals are ambitious and substantial enough to drive significant growth and innovation.