Compliance Management System: How to Keep from Tripping the Regulatory Alarm
No matter which industry you operate in — automotive, financial, transportation, energy, you name it — you operate under federal, state and industry regulations. In fact, it’s likely your industry is getting more regulated each year. Yet surprisingly, many companies are struggling to keep up with those regulations. Often it’s because they are still using manual or other systems that lost their effectiveness a decade or more ago. It’s no wonder companies are at risk of being in non-compliance, and are unprepared when faced with audits or violations are uncovered.
Regulatory agencies, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, Departments of Justice, and Attorneys General are increasing scrutiny and stepping up enforcement when violations are uncovered. The impact is this: What you might consider a compliance molehill can quickly escalate to a regulatory mountain of a problem. As perhaps the most heavily regulated industries, oversight and investigation has been particularly tough on financial institutions, especially in terms of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where companies’ fines make the headlines every week.
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An effective Compliance Management System can proactively address the risks to your organization while meeting regulatory requirements.
Beyond the binder: automating the Compliance Management System
Compliance manuals placed in binders collecting dust on a shelf help no one, least of all your company’s ability to withstand a compliance audit or investigation, which is happening more frequently and becoming much more expensive.
It’s important to accept that regulations and compliance are never finished. You will continually be adding or editing guidelines and content. How do you do that effectively and efficiently with a manual or incomplete system? An automated compliance management system will make it much easier for you to manage all that content—rules, laws, regulations, policies, procedures and training. It also makes it possible to develop a compliance culture, one that establishes oversight, communication, feedback loop and operational responsibilities.
An automated compliance management system is also one of the most effective ways to remain in compliance – and to help stay off regulators’ radar.
An automated compliance management system is also one of the most effective ways to remain in compliance – and to help stay off regulators’ radar.
How does an automated Compliance Management System work?
If you’ve ever worked with a cloud-based software system, such as Microsoft Office 365, you get automatic notices when there are updates to the system. Can you imagine trying to keep up with code changes on your own? It would be unmanageable, even impossible for most companies.
An automated compliance management system works in the same way. For instance, Compli partners with industry and subject matter experts who monitor changes to laws and regulations that warrant a change to the compliance content, as well as the policy, procedure or training that supports those changes. Compli makes the changes and then pushes it out to customers—automatically.
Can you imagine trying to keep up with code changes on your own? It would be unmanageable, even impossible for most companies.
As a result, your company and staff are relieved of the overwhelming task of staying on top of what can be confusing updates to your compliance program. This is one of the biggest benefits of an automated system, and the first step in saying goodbye to inefficient paper-based methods.
Read more about compliance management systems in an article by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. While it focuses on financial institutions, it outlines the foundation of creating a compliance culture in any company or industry.
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An effective Compliance Management System can proactively address the risks to your organization while meeting regulatory requirements.
