The concept of Regulatory Compliance is aimed at ensuring that companies develop in an environment of respect for the regulations and internal procedures established in a company, but it has also proven to be extremely useful in public administration, in relation to integrity and transparency.
Although the term Compliance may seem new, the reality is that it has been used for many years and today it is more visible due to globalization and the application of international legislation in the framework of inter-company relations, sanctions and preventive compliance actions by organizations.
In the Central American context, and given the region’s vulnerable conditions, regulatory compliance is very useful to prevent the mismanagement of public funds and loans, and to provide legal tools to avoid the formation of structures that are inclined to become corruption mechanisms.
Rationale.
Both at a personal and corporate level, companies should always seek to have a good reputation, to be part of that group of “good corporate citizens of the world”, which is why companies should adopt compliance programs, in order to prevent the commission of misdemeanors or crimes.
The specific objective of compliance within a company is to prevent corruption, in addition to other crimes that derive from it such as fraud, fraud, improper payments or bribes, to function as an instrument of vigilance to prevent crimes and reduce risks that can directly affect the company.
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With prevention, many problems can be avoided, so it is a good idea to review the compliance programs within our company, or to start applying them if until now it was an unknown term.
An initial basic configuration would have to have at least:
- A map of units susceptible to or at risk of crime.
- Clear explanation of the chain of command and decision making.
- To offer a channel for reporting suspected illicit activities.
- Periodic revision of the model to adapt to changes in local and international legislation.
- Permanently implement mechanisms to reduce and eliminate risks.
Compliance must be part of the day-to-day business of companies and must fulfill its objective, not just be a requirement. In the future, these control mechanisms are expected to grow, although our reality shows us that many managers are unaware of or refuse to be under the lens of ethics and professionalism.
As such, regulatory compliance gave rise to a number of new professions, which we will discuss later.
