The ABC is a non-profit company registered in terms of Section 8 of the Companies’ Act, based on a bi-partite agreement between advertiser and advertising agencies and media owners.

The primary function is the certification and provision of accurate and comparable circulation figures, to assist the bi-partite groupings (advertisers/marketers and publishers) in the buying and selling of advertising and promotional material. This is achieved through agreement or auditing standards, on the certificates and on the reports submitted.

Further functions are the certification of digital data (digital publication circulation, email newsletter circulation and Website traffic) and attendance at exhibitions and conferences.

The affairs of the Bureau are managed by a Board of Directors, elected every year by the Annual General Meeting. The day to day activities of the Bureau are handled by a permanent staff headed by the General Manager.

Members are required to submit data substantiating their circulation, web traffic or attendance, resulting in the issue of a certificate.

The audit of the certificate must be conducted by a Registered Accountant and Auditor, or by the ABC, who must have full access to all financial and other relevant records, for the purpose of a complete and accurate ABC audit.

The Bureau does random check audits to verify the information prepared by the publisher.