The compliance culture shows how important it is for a company to adhere to the rules. At the same time, this culture should promote the willingness to comply with rules. It is essential for this reasons that managers and employees recognise the importance or significance of the rules, values and standards for the company. If both managers and employees of a company adhere to all existing moral and legal rules, the company is living its compliance culture.
Identification
When leaders and employees believe in the moral and legal rules, this is the best impetus to achieve the targeted goals to achieve and the optimal protection against possible risks.
Leading by example – Tone at the Top
The company management has a role model function towards the employees. Therefore, it is important that above all, the management of a company adheres to rules and has/shows integrity. The example of this attitude by the top management is called “Tone at the Top”.
Exemplary behaviour creates commitment. Corporate management should therefore keep integrity firmly in mind as a goal. Integrity thus serves as a compass of values for employees. Only with this created commitment is it possible to effectively steer employee behaviour through compliance guidelines. The steering effect of corporate cultures is an elementary component of compliance management. If the company management exemplifies this culture in a picture-perfect manner, this is referred to as “walking the talk” in compliance jargon.
Indispensable for compliance success is the credible orientation of the entire company towards the corresponding values and principles. We offer training for employees and managers.
Academy
Guiding Principle – Code of Conduct
The internalised values and norms of a company are not only lived, but also written down and published. The collected corporate values and guidelines are usually formulated in the form of a mission statement. In technical jargon, this mission statement is called a “Code of Conduct”.
The company management defines the goals pursued, which arise from the compliance culture and the compliance strategy. The management then communicates these internally and externally. The briefing on the Code of Conduct and its implementation should be clean and consistent.
A credible mission statement is a necessary condition for good results.
The Code of Conduct reflects four motives:
- Rules and standards
- Core values of the company
- Duties towards claimants
- Mission and Vision
Authenticity, practicability and moral defensibility – these are the requirements for a mission statement that holistically reflects the goals and values of a company.
Compliance in itself simply means that the applicable legal rules and recognised social values and standards are always adhered to in the context of all entrepreneurial activity.
Attorney-at-law, Engineer Mr. Michael Horak, LL.M.
Questions on corporate culture
From occupational safety to dealing with complaints to awarding contracts, the culturally sensitive issues in many companies are wide-ranging. To illustrate this, we list a few topics that require regulation:
One of the classic compliance issues is the observance of antitrust regulations, but corruption through the acceptance of gifts and invitations, the giving of gifts and invitations, donations and goodwill contributions are also a hot topic. Conduct towards business partners and suppliers as well as the associated expectations should be regulated by precise rules.
Data protection and data security as well as confidentiality fall under the area of handling information and have gained enormous importance in recent years.
Other questions about the company culture could be: How does the company deal with discrimination? What insider rules are there or how are secondary employment and participation in third-party companies regulated? But also the handling and use of facilities can be clearly regulated in a mission statement.
A company wants to avoid conflicts of interest. Issues such as due diligence and fiduciary duty, compliance with internal company regulations and laws are therefore ultimately part of the basic rules of conduct.