In today’s world, companies are increasingly expected to “do things right” and to be able to prove that they have done so. The reason for this is not only law and order, but also social and cultural opinions and currents can be a triggering factor. This increases the risk of a company appearing in the wrong light, which can result in serious reputational damage. In addition, more and more business partners are attaching great importance to a functioning compliance system and inquire about it in advance of any cooperation. It is then at least annoying when important orders are not placed because the corresponding systems have not been established or are simply not presentable in an orderly manner.

The speed at which new topics are constantly coming to companies is constantly increasing. For example, the focus is no longer solely on classic compliance issues such as fraud, corruption prevention and money laundering or compliance with regulatory obligations, but more recently increasingly on sustainability promises and requirements. The topic of ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) is on everyone’s lips and is increasingly determining business models and corporate strategies.

But how do you monitor what your own organization is doing here? Where should controls start and where can you simply trust? Does the company have the appropriate skills and knowledge in the compliance department to be able to ask critical questions? Even more: Does the compliance opinion find sufficient hearing in the organization? Companies need to address all of these questions as part of a compliance health check to ensure they are prepared for current and future challenges.

When implementing new processes and structures in the company, great attention must also be paid to the employees as top performers. Change is motivating for some, but many employees are critical of changes in their work routines. Some lack a clear strategy in the company, others do not find themselves in the structure or a general feeling of being overwhelmed occurs. This also plays a major role in ESG as it relates to social and governance.