Compliance as a Leadership Priority and Cultural Norm

The TRACE team hosts webinars for our membership community throughout the year, and this time of year is always a favorite of mine. 

During the first months of the year, the team works with experts in the field of compliance throughout the world to reflect on the past year's anti-corruption enforcement actions, while predicting what could happen in the year ahead. 

Each region brings different areas of focus and different expectations of individuals working for an organization. But one element that remained universal throughout each discussion, regardless of location, was compliance as a culture.

Yes, legal experts agree that a robust compliance program should include a thorough risk assessment, due diligence for external parties, policies and procedures, and training on those procedures. This is the bare minimum of what is expected from regulators and enforcement agencies. 

Because all of this would be meaningless if leadership does not believe in a compliant workplace. 

And regulators will notice. The SFO, for example, states "a key feature of any compliance programme is that it needs to be effective and not simply a 'paper exercise.'" The U.S. DOJ states in its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs that "prosecutors are instructed to probe specifically whether a compliance program is a 'paper program' or one implemented, resourced, reviewed, and revised, as appropriate, in an effective manner." The French AFA has issued guidance on Article 17 of its Sapin II law, indicating that internal controls must be in place to "monitor the implementation of the measures of the anti-corruption system and test their effectiveness." French law even allows for regulators to audit companies regardless of whether they have not committed a crime, with the understanding that an effective compliance program should already be established. 

The key takeaway that I left with when each of these webinars concluded: that no matter what area of the world your company operates, compliance must be embedded into how you do business to be effective. And this starts with leadership. 

Leadership needs to set an example by allocating the proper resources for a compliance program, then evaluating the program and adjusting it as business needs change. Compliance teams should be established as a part of the culture of a workplace by:

• Having leadership complete training before others in an organization and then encouraging employees to complete training as they have

• Sending language to leadership for email blasts or compliance newsletters that leaders can contribute to on a regular basis

• Leaders knowing details about reporting mechanisms and promoting a culture of speaking up if someone suspects wrongdoing at the organization

• Investing in greater resources for regions of business that are especially high-risk to ensure controls are put in place 

If leadership conveys that compliance is an important aspect of the business, that example will permeate throughout the organization. 

And even though we cannot always predict the future of compliance enforcement, we can continue to promote best practices for compliant and ethical business.

Blaise Stanicic

Associate Director, Compliance Training, TRACE