Keeping on top of compliance regulatory changes can be a full time job.
A company can fall out of compliance at any time due to the rapid changes in regulations. This has been found to be one of the biggest challenges for companies.
Although compliance is expensive and time consuming, studies have also found that the investment in compliance outweighs the risks. Companies that have experienced non-compliance problems have undergone over $10 million dollars in related fines, fees and business lost.
How then is a company to stay on top of these changes?
Below we have a list of 5 easy ways to help you stay on top of the compliance changes.
Talk to your peers
Professionals in an industry are always sharing articles, and current events that occur within their industry. These are very valuable connections to maintain, as they may share something that has slid under your radar. Networking is therefore useful to stay on top of compliance regulations within your industry.
Monitoring agencies’ websites
Changes to regulations are usually posted to agency websites. Become familiar with their official websites and learn how to navigate them to find the information you may need.
Follow the agencies’ official social media accounts
Today, social media accounts are updated more often than websites. You should become familiar with your regulatory agency’s official social media account. Change the settings from your account, to receive notifications when they post so that you will always know when something is changing.
Build relationships with regulators
Whenever new regulation is being considered for implementation, regulators seek feedback from businesses or individuals who will be affected by them. If you are in constant communication with regulators, you can be a source of feedback to them.
Outsource
Lastly, you can choose to outsource your compliance related activities to a firm that is responsible to keep track of changes and develop SOPs that ensure you are always on top of changes.
Use a combination of these sources to make sure that you don’t become another company that spends millions dealing with the consequences.