Compliance meaning
In order to understand what a compliance officer is, the term compliance should first be understood. Compliance is understood to mean adherence to and observance of the applicable laws, official requirements, regulatory provisions, international standards and agreements that affect the specific company. Compliance also requires adherence to internal company guidelines and instructions from the employer.
Compliance with all applicable regulations essentially contributes to ethical business practice and creates high added value for the company.
Compliance management encompasses the organization of all relevant compliance issues in the company and the implementation of measures to act more compliantly. You can read more about compliance management and the compliance management system (CMS) in our last blog post here.
What is a compliance officer – definition and tasks
The work of a compliance officer (also known as a compliance management officer) is becoming increasingly important as companies have to comply with ever more complex legal and regulatory requirements. A compliance officer is responsible for ensuring that all relevant laws and regulations are observed and that ethical conduct is upheld.
Tasks of a compliance officer
A compliance officer ensures that all business activities and processes comply with the applicable laws, regulations, internal guidelines and ethical standards. They are also the point of contact and interface between department heads and management. The main tasks of a Compliance Officer include
- Monitoring operational processes and procedures:Ensuring compliance with legal provisions, internal rules and ethical guidelines using a compliance management system (CMS).
- Identifying and minimising risks: Recognising potential risks that may arise from non-compliance with laws and regulations and implementing suitable measures to mitigate risks.
- Consulting and training: Training employees to ensure that they are aware of and comply with applicable laws and advising management on decisions with compliance implications.
- Reporting:Regular reporting through analyses to the management on the status of compliance in the company.
- Setting up and maintaining control systems: Implementation of internal control systems (ICS) and risk management systems (RMS) to prevent, detect and respond to compliance risks.
- ISO-Standards: Implementation of standards such as ISO 37301 for compliance management systems
- Supervision of the Whistleblower system: Monitoring reports within the whistleblower system as well as the compliant processing of incoming reports.
- Keeping up to date both legally and in the business world: regularly informing yourself about the latest developments, evaluating them and applying them in the workplace
- ISO-Standards: Implementation of standards such as ISO 37301 for compliance management systems
- Supervision of the Whistleblower system: Monitoring reports within the whistleblower system as well as the compliant processing of incoming reports.
Identifying and responding to compliance risks
Compliance officers can identify compliance risks and determine how to respond to them on an organization-specific basis. From the first step to the long-term strategic direction of compliance, a full range of prevention, detection and response measures are presented, including:
- Establishment of an internal control system (ICS)
- Riskmanagementsystem (RMS)
- ISO 37301 Guidelines for the use of compliance management systems
What are the advantages of having a Compliance Officer?
- Far-reaching knowledge and clarity:They have comprehensive knowledge from a legal, business, ethical and (organizational) psychological perspective. So you don’t have to deal with it yourself. The Compliance Officer can answer your questions and help you gain clarity. For example, they know how liability risks can be specifically minimized and are familiar with the usual pitfalls companies face. They also know the exact procedure for reporting incidents should something unexpected happen.
- Current developments and laws: The compliance officer keeps you informed about current developments and laws, such as the Whistleblower Protection Act, and you can benefit from their expertise.
- Compliance management system: The compliance officer often brings a compliance management system or a whistleblower system into the company, which helps him as well as the management and staff to get a better overview of the compliance situation./circumstances in their own company.
Conclusion: The role of the compliance officer in the company
Compliance with all applicable regulations contributes to ethical business practices and creates high added value for the company. Through the support of a compliance Officers potential risks are identified and minimized as quickly as possible. In addition, you always have a competent contact person for your compliance questions.
