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Saturday, January 30, 2021
With renewed optimism we welcome 2021, with expectations set on mass vaccinations and a better social outlook for all. No wonder, finally after a very hard year for both families and the economy, we see the light at the end of the tunnel materialized in two words: “New Normal” (New Normal).
The New Normal from a practical perspective implies maintaining in the medium and long term the main lessons learned from the unfortunate covid-19 virus. Faced with these, business compliance must be able to provide an adequate response, generating adaptive and more intuitive programs, focused on technology and business culture.
The following are the main pillars of the New Normal and the challenges that are required for compliance:
First pillar: Greater and better use of technology to inform business interactions.
Challenges: In a telematic work environment far from a common physical work point, compliance schemes should be able to remotely give employees sufficient training to make autonomous decisions in line with the law and compliance policies.
The code of ethics, the corporate governance manuals and the fundamentals of ethics must be easily accessible to employees.
The audits should be able to have remote access to computers and cell phones, since advanced companies will avoid returning to the total face-to-face scheme.
Second pillar: More economical and sustainable alternatives for our companies.
Challenges: The change of suppliers for other cheaper ones on the one hand and the incentive to get new customers, must be monitored to have a due “Due Diligence” of the new “stakeholders” avoiding possible surprises.
Cost reduction is the order of the day, to which representation expenses, business trips and donations will be limited; For this reason, we cannot neglect the solidity of our compliance. There may be staff reductions in the legal and / or compliance areas as they are “operational”; however, we must guarantee operability through technological leverage.
Third pillar: New operational models to mitigate unforeseeable risks.
Challenges: Personnel change involves the arrival of people with diverse corporate cultures, for whom a culture of business ethics may not be common. For this reason, job profiles and a mandatory online education in business ethics should be clearly defined.
Compliance and auditing must be in line with the needs of the new times, being tools allied to commercial processes, maintaining healthy standards when choosing commercial partners.
A clear process for reviewing contractual risks should be established, with a view to mitigating the effects of future economic, social, political or health difficulties.
The New Normal will be the general rule in the coming years, we must adapt to its characteristics to keep our business compliance schemes current.
