Hellios, FSQS & JOSCAR: Shared Assurance For Supplier And Third-Party Risk

Hellios operates shared assurance communities -including FSQS and JOSCAR - that help organisations manage supplier and third-party risk with confidence and at scale.

Rather than relying on fragmented, one-to-one due diligence processes, Hellios provides a community-led assurance model that enables regulated organisations to assess, monitor, and evidence risk across their supply chains and third-party ecosystems.

Through FSQS and JOSCAR, buyers gain access to structured, validated assurance data that supports regulatory oversight, operational resilience, and informed decision-making -without duplicating effort across teams or suppliers.

This page explains:

• How Hellios, FSQS and JOSCAR support supplier and third-party risk management

• Why shared assurance communities are increasingly used in regulated industries

• Where FSQS and JOSCAR fit within wider risk, procurement, and governance frameworks

Hellios is the organisation behind FSQS and JOSCAR - shared assurance communities used by regulated industries to manage supplier and third-party assurance more effectively.

Hellios designs, operates, and governs these platforms on behalf of buyer communities, providing a standardised assurance structure that replaces fragmented, one-to-one due diligence approaches.

Through this community model, assurance data is standardised, governed, and shared across participating organisations - improving data quality and reducing duplication.

FSQS and JOSCAR support third-party risk oversight by providing organisations with:

• Standardised, evidence-based assurance data across third-party relationships

• Ongoing monitoring and refresh cycles to support continuous oversight

• Audit-ready documentation aligned with regulatory and industry expectations

• A single, trusted source of assurance data shared across internal teams

This enables TPRM, risk, compliance, audit, and procurement teams to work from a consistent evidence base - without relying on ad hoc questionnaires or fragmented data sources.

Read more: Why Buyers Join Shared Assurance Communities For Supplier And Third-Party Risk Management

Organisations face a wide range of external risks - from supply disruption and financial instability to cyber, regulatory, and reputational exposure. While these risks are often managed under a single third-party risk framework, supplier-specific risks require a different level of visibility and control.

FSQS and JOSCAR support organisations managing both third-party risk and supplier risk through a single, shared assurance approach.

Rather than treating all external relationships the same, the platforms enable buyers to apply structured, proportionate assurance based on risk profile, while maintaining clear governance and accountability across the organisation.

For third-party risk management, risk, and compliance teams, FSQS and JOSCAR provide:

• Consistent, evidence-based assurance across third-party relationships

• Audit-ready data maintained throughout the third-party lifecycle

• Clear support for regulatory oversight, accountability, and governance

• Reduced duplication across risk, compliance, audit, and procurement functions

For procurement and supply chain teams, the same assurance ecosystem provides visibility into risks that affect continuity and resilience, including:

• Supplier stability, capability, and operational readiness

• Financial, cyber, sustainability, and ESG-related risk indicators

• Supply chain dependencies and concentration risk

• Early warning signals that enable faster response to disruption

By supporting both perspectives through a single, governed assurance ecosystem, Hellios helps organisations avoid common blind spots created when supplier risk and third-party risk are managed in isolation.

Read more: How Shared Assurance Supports Procurement, TPRM, Cyber And ESG Teams

Through FSQS and JOSCAR, Hellios manages the day-to-day execution of assurance activities on behalf of buyer communities, including:

• Inviting suppliers into the FSQS and JOSCAR communities
  Managing supplier onboarding at scale and acting as a single, consistent point of contact.

• Guiding suppliers through structured, standardised questionnaires
  Supporting suppliers through the assurance process, answering queries, and reducing incomplete or inconsistent submissions.

• Validating assurance data and maintaining refresh cycles
  Reviewing submissions, monitoring expiries, and ensuring assurance data remains current and reliable over time.

• Providing buyers with dashboards, reporting, and actionable insight
  Giving organisations access to a trusted, up-to-date evidence base without manual chasing or reconciliation.

Hellios’ dedicated Support and Validation teams manage this process day to day, handling supplier queries, tracking updates, and maintaining consistency across the community.

For buyers, the impact is tangible. On average, organisations save over 10 hours of administrative effort per supplier, per year - time that would otherwise be spent chasing documentation, managing expiries, and resolving data issues. For organisations managing hundreds of suppliers, this can equate to multiple full-time roles redirected toward strategic risk oversight.

The result is supplier assurance that is clear, predictable, governed, and efficient -supporting stronger risk management without placing additional strain on internal teams.

Read more: What Is The Hellios Shared Assurance Model?

By managing the assurance process centrally, assurance data is collected and governed once and shared across the community. As a result, buyers and suppliers work from a single, trusted source of truth, and much of the administrative burden is removed from individual organisations.

Buyers no longer need to:

• Design, maintain, and update their own assurance questionnaires

• Chase suppliers for updates, evidence, or clarification

• Reconcile conflicting or incomplete information from different sources

Suppliers also benefit from fewer, more consistent assurance requests across buyers.

As a result:

• Duplication of effort is significantly reduced

• Data quality improves over time through consistent validation

• Suppliers are more engaged and responsive

• Buyers gain faster access to reliable, comparable insight

Hellios acts as a neutral, trusted operator, providing consistency, structure, and continuity across the assurance process for both sides of the relationship.

As requirements evolve - whether through new regulations, emerging risks, or industry shifts - the assurance process continues to run smoothly, without placing additional strain on internal teams or supplier relationships.

FSQS and JOSCAR are not one-to-one assessment tools. They are active networks of buyers and suppliers working toward a shared goal: improving assurance quality while reducing friction across the supply chain.

Managing supplier and third-party risk doesn’t have to mean managing it alone.

A shared assurance model becomes especially valuable during periods of disruption or regulatory change, when buyers need reliable information quickly and suppliers need clear, consistent guidance. Because expectations and standards are aligned across the network, changes can be communicated and adopted more efficiently - without confusion, rework, or conflicting requests.

Over time, this creates a more transparent and cooperative environment where assurance is treated as a collective responsibility rather than an individual burden.

Teams can move away from administrative firefighting and towards active risk oversight and strategic control.

Instead of reacting in isolation or chasing documentation, organisations can lean on the strength of the network - focusing on what truly matters: resilience, oversight, and informed decision-making that stands up under pressure and over time.

Read more: Why Shared Assurance Models Are Replacing One-to-One Due Diligence

Regulators and auditors increasingly expect organisations to demonstrate control, not simply describe policies or intent. When assessing supplier and third-party risk, the focus is on whether organisations can produce clear, consistent, and defensible evidence at scale.

Through FSQS and JOSCAR, Hellios helps organisations provide evidence that supports regulatory and audit scrutiny, including:

• Evidence of due diligence and risk assessment
  Structured, standardised assurance data collected and validated through a governed community model, enabling organisations to assess risk consistently and justify decisions taken outside the platform.

• Ongoing monitoring and control
  Maintained assurance data, refresh cycles, and monitoring processes that demonstrate active oversight rather than point-in-time checks.

• Clear cross-functional ownership
  A shared evidence base used across procurement, TPRM, risk, compliance, and audit teams, reducing ambiguity around accountability.

By providing a single, trusted source of assurance data, Hellios enables a more confident, defensible response to regulatory and audit expectations.

Read more: Why Evidence Matters More Than Ever in TPRM

The assurance questionnaires used across FSQS and JOSCAR are actively governed, not static.

Hellios works with buyer communities, regulators, and industry bodies to:

• Regularly review and refine assurance questions

• Align requirements with new regulations, standards, and emerging risks

• Reflect changes across areas such as cybersecurity, ESG, sustainability, and operational resilience

This governance-led approach ensures assurance frameworks remain relevant, defensible, and aligned with real-world expectations - without organisations needing to redesign their processes or reinterpret requirements independently.

Read more: Why Static Assurance Frameworks Create Risk

As organisations grow, managing supplier and third-party assurance through one-to-one processes becomes increasingly difficult. Approaches that work for a small supplier base often break down at enterprise scale.

At this level, challenges compound. Fragmented ownership, inconsistent assurance criteria, and duplicated assessments create supplier fatigue, slow onboarding, and gaps in audit evidence.

Rather than asking organisations to assess more suppliers more often, FSQS and JOSCAR provide a community-led structure that enables assurance to be applied consistently across teams, business units, and geographies. Assurance data is collected once, governed centrally, and reused wherever it is needed.

When supported by a shared assurance community, supplier and third-party risk management shifts from a fragmented control activity into a strategic, enterprise-wide capability - delivering clearer visibility, more reliable evidence, and scalable oversight.

Read more: Why Third-Party Risk Management Becomes Harder At Scale

• Explore how FSQS supports third-party risk management in financial services

• Learn how JOSCAR strengthens supplier assurance in defence, aerospace, and security

• Understand how Hellios supports audit readiness, sustainability, and regulatory confidence