The Programmatic Audit Permission Letter (APL) Toolkit is the industry-approved instrument required to gather the multiple supply-chain permissions necessary for an audit of financial programmatic transactions that advertisers routinely require.
The original APL Toolkit was released in February 2022 and the updated version (1.2) released in September 2024. Refinements to the APL Toolkit documentation have been introduced to work coherently with prevailing market and industry conditions, to ensure its widest application, cross-industry such as ensuring that the specialist skills needed to audit the complex programmatic supply chain are addressed within the principles and definitions of the Toolkit.
The APL is the result of the work of the Cross-industry Programmatic Taskforce. It was originally published in February 2022 and version 1.2 (August 2024) includes updates and refinements, following market testing during the 2nd Programmatic Supply Chain Transparency Study, published in February 2023 and which PwC carried out on behalf of ISBA and the AOP.
The APL Toolkit is open for use to all participants in the programmatic supply chain on both the buy and sell side and is free to download from this website.
For ISBA members looking to develop their programmatic auditing processes, we are continuing to develop these information and training resources [LINK] that will support you.
For Publishers, AdTech Suppliers and Agencies, please check for resources on the following websites: AOP, IABUK and the IPA.
See the full press release, here.