Have you yet decided on how to keep your business ahead amidst regulatory changes?

Regulatory compliance helps ensure that companies maintain high standards of conduct, safety, and ethics in their work. So, today, sticking to out-dated methods of merely meeting the bare minimum of compliance standards is insufficient.

 As the demands for openness and responsibility continue to increase, there is a greater focus on thorough due diligence, and a higher standard for data protection and cyber security. Businesses of every scale and location must evolve and embrace efficient approaches to get ready for regulatory adherence. 

6 Strategies to Stay Ahead of Regulatory Changes

Here are 6 approaches for proactive compliance, so that companies can keep abreast of new regulations and gaining a competitive edge:

Keep Up with Regulatory Updates

In this business landscape, companies must monitor regulatory information from both global and regional authorities. It can be sourced from a variety of places such as regulatory publications, industry groups, both national and local media, and specialized providers. This task is both time-consuming and requires significant resources.

Maintain a Uniform Regulatory Classification System

A multinational company faces the challenge of dealing with varying regulations across different regions and its various business operations. Establishing a uniform regulatory classification system that aligns with the company’s structure, uses consistent language and terminology, and has a clear structure will enhance communication among stakeholders, simplifying the creation of a strong compliance framework. 

Assign Regulatory Duties

To ensure responsibility is clear, it is crucial to outline the duties and responsibilities of those managing compliance. While a cloud-based content platform ensures the correct information reaches the appropriate users, each user should be a trained compliance expert capable of evaluating these regulatory updates to determine their relevance to the organization. It is important to identify key subject matter experts within the company who are well-versed in the relevant laws or regulations and have the knowledge to thoroughly analyze these updates.

Clearly Document Duties and Responsibilities

It is essential to document these roles and responsibilities, ensuring accountability throughout the entire information lifecycle, from the moment a new alert is received to its successful implementation. It is also advisable to have senior management actively involved at every stage, and the board should have a clear understanding of the entire process.

Evaluate the Impact on the Business

Every regulatory update must be evaluated for its impact on the organization. Following the initial assessment of its applicability, each business unit can conduct a detailed analysis of the impact of an update to identify which risks, controls, policies, procedures, training, and reports need revision.

It is also beneficial to categorize similar regulatory updates, as this not only helps in eliminating duplications but also in spotting similar trends and patterns in risks, controls, policies, and other areas affected. This analysis should then be aggregated according to the established organizational structure to provide a comprehensive view of the impact across the company.

Implement Regulatory Changes

The next step involves creating action plans that outline the tasks to be assigned to the relevant users. Standard workflows should be established for the review and approval processes, with mechanisms in place for task escalation if they are overdue. To prevent any oversights, it would be helpful to notify business users of their assigned tasks through standard email notifications and reminders. 

Final Words 

Companies at all times must be ready to implement strategies to handle regulatory shifts efficiently. Technology can serve as a powerful tool in meeting this challenge. In addition, in this case, PEO services can simplify regulatory compliance by providing expert guidance and updated resources. We, as a reputable company offering PEO, also manage HR, workers’ compensation, and payroll, ensuring your business stays compliant and efficient. 

So, if you need any of these services for your organization, feel free to contact us. Our team of experts can help you navigate the complex world of regulations. You can also learn more about this topic and others by visiting our blog section. 

Reference Links:

https://www.v-comply.com/blog/how-to-stay-on-top-of-regulatory-changes-in-2023/ 

https://www.athennian.com/post/10-strategies-to-prepare-for-key-regulatory-compliance-changes-in-2024 

https://www.metricstream.com/insights/proactive-approach-regulatory-change.htm 

https://www.grantthornton.global/en/insights/retuning-your-business/preparing-for-regulatory-changes/