Certification and accreditation performed by national standardization organizations

Many national standards organizations (NSOs) have become involved in metrology, product testing, certification and/or accreditation in addition to their core activites of standars development, selling standards, providing information on standards and standardization, and maintaining membership in ISO and IEC.
While business theory, especially with regards to the service sector, looks favorably on diversification given certain conditions, the combination of certification and accreditation activities with standardization services represents a conflict of interest.