Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to bolster your firm's compliance processes. First, you need a culture that stresses good governance from the top down.
Your leadership team must be fully on board with your efforts to make compliance as watertight as possible - a 'do as I do' culture underpins your efforts, while a 'do as I say' approach serves only to undermine them. Then, you need to communicate that while you may have a compliance team, good governance is not solely that team's responsibility.
Compliance should be everyone's responsibility, with internal audit, general counsel and company secretaries, risk officers, marketing and sales teams and other areas of the business all playing their part.
Having clear processes makes it more likely that they will be followed. Mandating stages like compliance team review and approval of financial promotions goes a step further, reducing the chances of non-compliant materials slipping through the net. Many firms have found that a degree of automation has helped here, increasing rigor, clarifying processes and making compliance team review an inherent part of operational processes.
Whether you're responsible for operational or other elements of compliance, there are some universal steps you can follow to make your procedures more robust. Keeping pace with an ever-evolving compliance landscape is clearly a challenge.
Putting a degree of rigor into your approach via a compliance program incorporating these five stages will certainly make it more robust, and more able to respond to your changing obligations. Those looking to ensure their compliance program is effective should consider Diligent Compliance which empowers compliance teams and internal auditors to measure their compliance program, identify gaps and risks, and continually improve and keep pace in a constantly evolving landscape.
Lauren has been writing about the world of compliance and governance for half a decade, but she's been a journalist and copywriter for longer '' that's 20 years spent writing for media, for agencies and for businesses across sectors including finance, professional services, healthcare, technology, energy and entertainment.
As an editorial strategist, she has set the tone for national and multinational companies, and loves nothing more than getting to the heart of great stories. An Aussie in London for 13 years, and married to a true English eccentric.
First, let's revisit why compliance is so important - and becoming increasingly so. Strengthen Your Approach to Compliance Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to bolster your firm's compliance processes. The 5 Stages of an Effective Compliance Program So, what are these steps, and how can you ensure they're embedded into your compliance processes? Measure Your Compliance Program Never underestimate the importance of compliance monitoring.
When allowing access to IT systems, use identity management and provisioning to enable administrators to assign system resources and privileges to users. Implementing access controls based on job function, role, and responsibility can also be helpful. Emphasize training and communication Organizations are well-served by putting compliance training and communications programs in place so individuals with access to regulated processes and sensitive information understand what they need to do to comply with all internal and external regulations.
Effective programs that promote awareness of compliance initiatives and stress the importance of following rules governing corporate conduct can also in the long run help prevent cases of corporate misconduct, fraud and limit liability concerns.
The documentation of controls are useless and can be a business liability if they are not put in place and working properly. Moreover, an organization should develop procedures to help incorporate approved recommendations that concern the control monitoring process and allow for accelerated measures when those accepted changes are not carried out.
Keep enforcement consistent Making sure enforcement of the policies and controls are consistent is paramount to an effective compliance program. In doing so, it allows necessary internal controls to be instituted and applied throughout the entire organization, business processes and relationships that will ensure that specific control violations are recognized and enforced accordingly.
Consistent enforcement will also help create an environment where compliance is understood and ingrained in the culture and that nothing less than zero tolerance for unethical and noncompliant behavior will be accepted.
Effective IT compliance programs must have appropriate procedures that will prevent and respond to violations and gaps in controls. For the compliance program to succeed, it should not only monitor how well employees are complying, but also incorporate regular policy reviews and updates, as suggested in the fifth key element in the above list.
Think of this as future-proofing your program — establishing a monitor-and-review process from the beginning ensures the program stays relevant and does the most good. The solution? Build accountability into the program up front, including clear disciplinary guidelines and protocols that are actively and consistently enforced. Learn more tips to successfully implement a compliance management program here.
Keeping tabs on all this is easy with PowerDMS. It allows you to electronically track data for each employee. Plus, it tracks and gives you a company-wide overview of all of the policies, signatures, and training each employee has completed. While creating an effective compliance program can seem like a daunting task, you can get the ball rolling.
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Take a Tour Get Demo. Start Tour. Article highlights What is a compliance program? Elements an effective compliance program Getting started with your compliance program With a fluid environment of laws and regulations to stay on top of, addressing compliance requirements makes good business sense.
What is a compliance program? An effective compliance program addresses the following questions: Who is responsible for maintaining and proving compliance? How frequently do compliance policies need to be reviewed and updated?
How are employees held accountable to compliance policies and procedures? Can employees quickly access job-critical procedures in the field when needed?
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