How can an organisation make sure it is compliant, and remains compliant, with legislated obligations?

 

One of the strategies that an organization can use to make sure it is compliant and remains compliant is stay on track with the changing laws and regulations. Since compliance is a continuous process, it is important to scan for changing laws and regulations and identify the areas they apply in the organization and remain on top of any changes. Secondly, it is critical to involve professionals and particularly if the organization is small and growing and therefore may break the laws unintentionally. Involving a consultant ensures that matters of compliance will be put in order and employees can seek for advise whenever it is needed and ensure their actions and procedures remain compliant. Thirdly, transparent and consistent communication between the organization and its employees will help rectify any issues or accidents that employees may make before they get out of hand. Moreover, centralizing communications between staff helps to manage flow of information and sharing of content thereby saving time when managing employees.

The fourth strategy is to schedule regular internal audits which are a great tool for uncovering inadequate and ineffective processes that may lead to noncompliance. Such audits may focus on financial, technological, regulatory and operational aspects of the organization. Lastly, it is critical to use the correct compliance software which will help minimize human errors. An organization that operates without the right tools make compliance much more complex. A good software system will help to organize documents and automatically generate audit trails that can easily demonstrate compliance.