Chapter 7
Enterprise Compliance Issues Today
We introduced enterprise compliance issues in Chapter 2 as one of the three key principles in an enterprise governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) culture. To use a dictionary definition, compliance is either a state of being in accordance with established guidelines, specifications, or legislation, or the process of becoming so. Many manufactured products, for example, will be developed in compliance with specifications created by some standards setting body. This says that a bolt for fastening equipment must be manufactured in compliance with a defined screw thread pattern. For enterprise management, compliance is the process of adhering to a set of guidelines or rules established by government agencies, standards groups, or internal corporate policies. Adhering to compliance-related requirements is a challenge because of the many and varied laws, rules, and standards that an enterprise faces on a local, national, international, and industry-wide basis. Failure to comply with some of these matters can result in fiscal, legal, or even criminal penalties. In other situations, an enterprise may just ignore some rules or standards and operate without a problem.
This chapter will explore techniques for an enterprise to assess its current compliance requirements and then to establish processes to monitor its compliance with significant rules and regulations affecting its operations. A strong compliance program will help to build an effective ...
