All businesses have regulations they need to abide by. As time has passed, the governmental regulations businesses have to follow have significantly increased in volume. If the sheer volume alone weren’t enough, the changing nature of regulations only adds to the difficulty of staying in compliance. So what’s a business to do?
Develop Plans Around Regulations
It pays to be informed. In the case of regulatory compliance, it can literally save you money. There are penalties associated with non-compliance, with fines being among them. Get your business started on the right foot in regards to regulatory compliance by forming your business plans around regulations. Make sure that you as a leader are familiar with the applicable regulations you need to follow so you can develop your plan around them. The specifics will depend on your business and industry.
Keep Records
Regulatory compliance audits are a good way to ensure that your business is operating within its applicable regulations. Successfully making it through an audit hinges on your ability to prove compliance. Keeping careful records of compliance measures can go a long way towards making sure you pass. You’ll need to keep copies of any necessary licenses and permits, for example. A Safety Data Sheet contains information about health and safety in the workplace. It’s best to keep your records safe and secure, and in one place. There are multiple ways to do this. However, binders are outdated and manually updating spreadsheets leaves a lot of room for human error. You may find a document management system to be a better solution.
Hire a Compliance Officer
Given the changing nature of regulations you need to stay in compliance with, it may be best to make it someone’s job to keep track of them. A corporate compliance officer’s job is to monitor the regulations relevant to your business and industry. As they are updated, the CCO can implement and monitor a compliance program to help your business stay within regulatory compliance. This takes some of the burden off of you and makes it easier for your business to be in compliance.
Keeping track of and maintaining regulatory compliance can be tough, given the volume of regulations and the potential for them to change. You can make compliance easier and get your business set up on the right track by developing your business plans around current regulations. Keep meticulous records. You may find it helpful to hire someone specifically for the purpose of helping your company maintain compliance. Take steps now to ensure your business complies with regulations to avoid the penalties of failing to do so.
