The gold standard for the success of a compliance management system is a clear allocation of responsibilities within the business. Having management and staff understand their responsibilities across the organisation will mean they better understand the organisation’s policies and operational procedures.   In large companies (such as the banks), the “Three Lines of Defence” model…

What is a conflict of interest? In a busines context, it is the conflict between profit and ethical sales practice or more broadly it can using information that is not readily available to others (such as insider trading or leaks from a government department. At all times, it arises where the private interests of an…

Ethics provides the overarching principles and rules which govern individual and organisational behaviour. These rules are normally documented in a values statement and reflected in policies, procedures and expected behaviours. Why promote ethics in business? An organisation with a strong ethical base is less likely to breach legal obligations, particularly where the law or circumstances…

Governance is the system by which organisations are directed and controlled, involving the allocation of rights and responsibilities across all constituencies including the Board, management, staff, shareholders and other stakeholders. Governance provides the rules for decision making and accountability – setting levels and measurement of performance against objectives – the structure and compliance requirements, ranging…

Compliance is the process by which organisations identify and meet their strategic obligations whether arising in law, standards, codes of practice or from stakeholder expectations. Focussing on legal obligations in isolation results in a minimalist and narrow approach, which cannot leverage an organisation’s ability to efficiently manage all aspects of compliance risk. The Board should…

The purpose of risk management is to identify potential events that may impact on an entity, quantify the impact and likelihood of occurrence and then manage the risk in accordance with the organisation’s risk appetite. Risk appetite is the amount of risk an organisation will assume in pursuit of its goals – this should be…