Red Flag

Alert! Alert! Corporate Compliance Red Flags

So, you developed a corporate compliance program. Now what? A lot of business leaders don’t think about what needs to be done once a compliance program has been put in place. As time passes, the risks your company is exposed to will change, which means your compliance program will need to be changed too. Failure to monitor a compliance program makes it pretty useless. Business leaders need to stop making excuses and face the fact that compliance programs are becoming the norm.

Successful compliance programs requre a commitment of time, people and other resources. Compliance must be built into the culture of the organization, especially in the role of the CEO, in order to get other managers and employees to follow. Without appropriate support from the entire organization, compliance programs can only fail.

I had the opportunity to interview Anthony Boswell, an experienced educator, lawyer and compliance program builder. Anthony and I talked about some of the “red flags” business leaders need to monitor for in order to ensure that their program is successful. Based on Anthony’s experience in the compliance field, here’s what he had to say:

Red Flags: What to Look For

Anthony stresses the importance that the presence of a single red flag doesn’t mean your compliance program is doomed. However, if present as a collective, these signs could signify that it will be challenging for a compliance program to be effective. Some of the red flags include:

• Budget Constraints- Telling the compliance department they can’t have money for audits and other activities makes it challenging for them to get the job done. Audits and reviews provide compliance with the information they need to address risks and other issues that might hurt the company if they aren’t corrected.
• Lack of Leadership Support- Culture is defined by the tone at the top. If there’s no support from the top, a compliance program will, without a doubt, fail. I discuss the importance of leadership below.
• Employees/ Managers Going Above You- When employees or managers go to compliance for an answer, but don’t like the answer they receive, in some companies, they will go above compliance to get the answer they want to hear. This snubs the compliance program and communicates that compliance doesn’t matter.
• Organizational Culture- Cultures that aren’t open to discussion or disagreement make it difficult for a compliance program to work. When the compliance team isn’t part of leadership, invited to meetings or given a voice in the company, it makes it hard for compliance programs to be successful.
• Compliance as a Cost- Leadership needs to switch their outlook from the present to the future to see the value or the return on investment of a compliance program. In the short term, compliance is a cost, but in the long term, compliance will save your company a lot of money in legal fees and fines.
• Threats- Watch for comments like “just go along with us on this one” or “this is a decision we already made”. Comments like this show a disregard for compliance.

About the Author

i-Sight is a case management software platform designed to simplify your process and provide outstanding reports. It’s primarily configured to manage customer complaints and corrective actions, or employee relations, HR & ethics investigations. It’s also used for a variety of other customized case management solutions. We blog at i-Sight.com, providing advice and tips to HR managers and investigators in regards to managing internal investigations.

Billy Talent – Red Flag (Video)

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