Risk & Compliance Matters

Most organizations weren’t prepared with a business continuity plan to help them get through the pandemic. So when COVID-19 hit, the most  companies could do was dust off their disaster recovery plans and react. Here are 6 ways to be proactive and shift from disaster mode to a business continuity plan.

The DOJ’s latest guidance calls on compliance programs to leverage multiple sources of data to assess organizational risk, review their programs, and update policies, procedures and controls. To do that, compliance officers must work closely with IT departments and learn how to put the information they collect to good use.

Social justice and equal protection under the law took a big step forward on June 15, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal civil rights law prohibits workplace discrimination against gay and transgender employees. Corporate compliance officers must now ensure that the Bostock ruling is upheld in their own company’s policies, procedures, and practices.

For more than 150 years, June 19th has commemorated the effective end of slavery in the United States and is recognized as a day to celebrate freedom. Today, we join those in the US and around the world in acknowledging and celebrating Juneteenth.

The pandemic has changed the scope of  business risk assessments in many ways. Risk assessors must rely on a different set of tools, like good relationships with other business units, to get buy-in for needed changes.

Risk management is in the spotlight in 2020. COVID-19 leads the topic list that includes third-party risk, data breaches and policy management. Leading thought leaders offer five ideas for programs to implement.

Companies that take a “check-the-box” approach to third-party risk leave themselves vulnerable. There are three easy ways to minimize risk from contractors: do a risk-based assessment to prioritize risks, automate where possible, and monitor for risk.

“Speak-up" culture puts the reporting responsibility exclusively on the employees. “Listen-up" culture holds management and senior staff accountable. CEO Bob Conlin offers three ways to get there.

Anti-discrimination is the law. In an open letter to employees, NAVEX Global CEO Bob Conlin reaffirms the company’s principals which are both professional and personal: We oppose discrimination of every kind and stand for racial justice in America. Black lives matter.

On June 1, the DOJ updated its guidance for evaluating effective corporate compliance programs and one thing is clear – having a compliance program isn’t enough. Matt Kelly tells us what’s new.

Speed enables businesses to run faster and gain a competitive edge. But there’s a correlation between speed and risk. Here are three major risk management challenges brought on by speed and why a governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) platform is crucial.

Testing, PPE, and social distancing: What business should consider when deciding when and how to bring employees back to work in the wake of the pandemic, from an employment legal expert.