Corporate Compliance Program and Effective Corporate Ethics

Effective corporate risk management and safety training programs, including OSHA compliance training help companies meet corporate compliance regulations, including what's outlined in the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines, and offer distinct advantages. Growing data demonstrates a link between ethical business cultures and corporate success, indicating that companies that embrace ethical leadership and earn a reputation for responsible conduct attract and retain the best employees, customers, partners and investors – yielding long-term, sustainable competitive advantage.

Leading organizations build regulatory compliance training into a cycle of oversight to promote a code of business conduct throughout every level of an organization. Taking a business process approach to corporate governance and accountability proactively manages ethics and compliance risk throughout the lifecycle:

• Define legal and ethical risks through a comprehensive assessment process to prioritize risks to be addressed in a holistic compliance management program.
• Prevent risks from becoming liabilities by creating and publicizing an effective code of conduct and designing a compliance training curriculum as part of an overall compliance management program.
• Detect business ethics and compliance issues before they become serious matters, by encouraging employees to become active participants in upholding the code of conduct through certification and registry programs, helplines and open-door policies.
• Respond quickly with corrective action as soon as possible wrongdoing is detected by having principles and protocols in place to manage potential incidents when they are discovered.
• Evaluate risks and continually improve compliance process management.

According to the revised U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO), creating an effective compliance management program incorporates the following seven elements:

• Standards and procedures for compliance management ranging from a code of ethics to specific internal controls for key risk areas.
• Accountability at the top starting with the board of directors and senior management to provide buy-in and oversight of the compliance management program.
• Care in delegation to not grant substantial authority to employees with a history of illegal activity or conduct that would be considered inconsistent with the compliance management program.
• Education and communication of a code of conduct of companywide standards and procedures to employees, officers, directors and even, as appropriate, its agents.
• Business processes including monitoring, auditing and evaluating the compliance management program, including the use of a confidential and anonymous way to report potential misconduct.
• Personal accountability to act ethically through use of incentives as well as disciplinary action for any compliance management violations.
• Response to problems that is swift and appropriate to any criminal conduct, including instituting measures to prevent similar occurrences.

Since 1993, LRN has been an ethics online training leader, helping nearly 300 companies put into practice effective business ethics and compliance management programs. LRN's 350 professionals bring a wealth of experience ranging from academia to business and multimedia as well as software and technology. LRN will work with you to create and implement a unique set of communication and educational training tools to promote and reinforce your code of business conduct and compliance management program. Go to LRN.com for more information about how you can develop an ethics and compliance management program that will inspire principled performance within every level of your organization.