Guide: New Year, New Approach to Corporate Compliance

If your organization is looking for a way to begin 2024 with an easy win, start by reevaluating your approach to compliance – and establishing a holistic corporate compliance program if you don’t already have one.

January. For most, it’s a month guided by personal resolutions that promise big rewards for the price of a tiny bit of effort: daily flossing, longer runs, more kale, finally reading Moby Dick cover to cover… As long as those commitments aren’t abandoned by February, the payout can be transformative.

When it comes to setting organizational resolutions, you should take the same approach – and understand that, by putting in some focused, savvy legwork now, your organization can reap major rewards through the rest of 2024 and beyond. And, just like committing to squeezing in a few extra steps each day, it’s best to go for the low hanging fruit: invest in the solution that gives you the greatest benefit for the least amount of effort.  

If you aren’t sure what that “low hanging fruit” could be, here’s our proposal: establish a holistic corporate compliance program. We know, that may not sound like the most exciting resolution but, like flossing, it’s one of the easiest and lowest-pain commitments you can adopt to nurture long-term health.

Does My Organization Really Need a Corporate Compliance Program?

With new initiatives like the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) taking effect this year, and general uncertainties swirling around the economy, election and geopolitical landscape, 2024 is gearing up to be a year of increased regulatory scrutiny. This likely won’t come as a surprise to you. 92% of general counsel respondents to FTI’s 2024 General Counsel Report say regulatory compliance is a top five risk for their organization. Just under 50% of respondents to Ernst & Young’s 2023 Global Board Risk Survey said “changes in the regulatory environment” are likely to have a “severe impact” on their organization through mid-2024.

Despite the heightened stakes, many organizations aren’t particularly well equipped to navigate increased scrutiny. According to KPMG’s 2023 Chief Risk Officer Survey, over a quarter of CRO respondents say they are only “moderately prepared or worse” to handle regulatory and compliance risks. And those are CROs – most small to mid-sized organizations don’t have a dedicated C-suite professional focused solely on managing compliance for them.

So, in a word, yes: your organization does need a dedicated, effective corporate compliance program. It’s no longer a “nice to have” – it’s a necessary investment and an insurance policy for the future.  

Guide: How to Build a Holistic Corporate Compliance Program in 2024

Establishing and maintaining a corporate compliance program may seem like a heavy lift, but it doesn’t need to be.

In our experience, the hardest part of getting started with any new resolution or initiative is simply… getting started. To ease the pain that comes with getting started, Filejet created a handy guide: How to Build a Holistic Corporate Compliance Program in 2024. It outlines just how achievable it is for any organization to gain control over compliance and covers:

• Why you need a corporate compliance program
• The elements of an effective corporate compliance program
• Step-by-step instructions for creating a corporate compliance program
• How to leverage software to help maintain your corporate compliance program
• Why an effective approach to entity management should be central to any corporate compliance program

If you’ve resolved to make 2024 the year your organization levels up its approach to corporate compliance, start here – the guide will set you up for success in the new year and beyond.