Compliance
Compliance generally means compliance with rules, laws, standards and guidelines.
What is the goal of compliance?
Compliance aims to minimize risks that may arise as a result of violations of applicable rules. These risks can include financial sanctions as well as loss of reputation and damage to the corporate image.
Compliance with data-related compliance requirements plays an important role for companies to ensure privacy, security, and responsible use of data. The following are some examples of how to implement compliance with data in the company:
Compliance with data protection laws
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Companies must comply with the requirements of the GDPR when processing personal data. This includes transparently informing data subjects about the processing of their data, compliance with storage periods and ensuring information, deletion and correction rights.
Other data protection laws
Depending on the sector and region, other data protection laws may be relevant, such as the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) or industry-specific data protection regulations.
Data security
- Technical and organizational measures (TOM): Organizations must implement appropriate TOM to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their data. This includes, for example, the use of firewalls, encryption technologies, and access controls.
- Staff training: Employees should be trained to handle sensitive data to minimize the risk of data leaks and misuse.
- Incident response plan: Organizations should have a plan in the event of a data leak that outlines the steps to take to limit the damage and restore data security.
Responsible use of data
- Data minimization: Companies should only collect and process the data that is actually necessary for the respective purpose.
- Earmarking: Data may only be processed for the purpose for which it was collected.
- Data quality: Data must be accurate, current, and complete.
- Data Governance: Organizations should set clear policies and procedures for managing their data.
Compliance management systems
- Software solutions: There are various compliance management systems on the market that can help companies implement compliance requirements. These systems provide features for risk analysis, document management, training, and monitoring compliance activities.
- External data protection officer: Companies that handle sensitive data can appoint an external data protection officer to help them implement data protection requirements.
Responsibilities for compliance in companies
In German companies, the management primarily for meeting compliance requirements responsible. It must ensure that a compliance management system (CMS) is implemented and operated effectively.
The CMS must be adapted to the size and industry of the company as well as to specific compliance risks. It should include at least the following elements:
- Risk analysis: Identifying potential compliance risks
- Establishing compliance goals and guidelines
- Implementation of compliance measures
- Staff training and awareness
- Monitoring and control of compliance activities
- Regular review and adjustment of the CMS
Implementation of compliance responsibilities
Management can delegate the implementation of compliance responsibilities to various positions in the company, such as:
- Compliance Officer: The compliance officer is usually an experienced lawyer or compliance expert who advises management on all compliance issues and is responsible for implementing the CMS.
- Compliance team: The compliance team may consist of employees from various departments, such as the legal department, the IT department, and auditing. The team supports the compliance officer in implementing compliance measures.
- Executives: Managers in all areas of the company are responsible for ensuring that their employees comply with compliance guidelines.
It is important that compliance responsibilities are clearly defined and communicated. All employees should know which compliance requirements are relevant to them and how they can meet them.
Additional notes
- In some industries, such as the financial services sector, there may be legal requirements for the appointment of a compliance officer.
- Companies can call in external compliance consultants to help them implement the CMS.
- There are various norms and standards for compliance management systems, such as ISO 19600.
Note: Our team benefited from the support of AI technologies while creating and maintaining this glossary.
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