Regulations Ahead… Time to Plan Accordingly
Setting Aside Budget for Employee Compliance Efforts
As we near the end of the third quarter, many organizations are entering a pivotal time—budgeting season. This period, typically in August and September, is when companies evaluate their priorities and allocate resources for the year ahead. A key area to focus on during this process is the review and enhancement of your compliance programs.
Allocating funds now for employee compliance training and system updates is crucial for building a resilient framework that can keep pace with changing regulations and increasing capabilities for modern systems. By investing in these programs today, you’re setting the stage for success in 2025.
On the other hand, failing to do so can place undue strain on your IT resources and compliance team workload, increase the risk of regulatory errors, and potentially lead to financial penalties. In addition, the intangible cost of damage to your brand’s reputation can be insurmountable. Lapses in compliance can significantly erode the trust you’ve worked hard to establish with customers and stakeholders. Prioritizing compliance in your budget planning is an investment in the long-term stability and success of your organization.
Why Review Your Employee Compliance Program?
Employee compliance is a dynamic field that evolves with shifts in regulations, industry standards, and the specific challenges your organization encounters. Regularly reviewing and updating your compliance programs is essential to ensure they remain effective and aligned with both legal requirements and your company’s ethical standards. Keeping your compliance strategies up-to-date and future-ready is key to staying ahead of potential risks and maintaining a strong organizational foundation.
Key Areas of Focus
When reviewing your employee compliance programs, it’s essential to focus on three key areas: personal trading, conflicts of interest and insider information management. These aspects become increasingly crucial as organizations expand and regulatory scrutiny becomes more sophisticated and intensifies.
- Personal Trading: Automating the monitoring of personal trading activities such as front-running and insider trading is essential. This ensures that potential conflicts are identified and addressed promptly, reducing both the administrative burden and the risk of reputational or legal harm.
- Conflicts of Interest: Effectively managing conflicts related to gifts and entertainment, outside activities, and political contributions through automation helps protect against anti-bribery and corruption risks, safeguarding your organization’s integrity and compliance. Automating this process not only reduces the administrative burden but also ensures that potential conflicts are identified and addressed promptly. This is crucial in protecting your company from reputational and legal risks.
- Insider Information Management: Insider information management is another area where automation can play a pivotal role. With the right systems in place, you can ensure that sensitive information is handled appropriately, reducing the risk of insider trading and other related issues.
Finding the Right Compliance Partner
If automating and streamlining these processes are part of your 2025 planning, now is an ideal time to explore your options. StarCompliance (Star), a leader in SaaS-based employee compliance software with over 25 years of experience and best-in-class solutions, can help simplify the management of employee conflicts of interest and insider information, enabling organizations to navigate compliance complexities with greater confidence and ease. Additionally, leading projects like those can be career-enhancing opportunities, allowing you to demonstrate leadership in advancing your organization’s compliance capabilities and contributing to its long-term success.
It’s Not Too Late
With the budget season upon us, now is the perfect time to consider how you can enhance your compliance programs for 2025. By evaluating solutions like the STAR Platform, you can make informed decisions that will not only benefit your organization overall but also help you stay ahead of increasing expectations from internal and external stakeholders alike.
Don’t wait until it’s too late—take proactive steps now to ensure your compliance programs are robust, efficient, and ready to meet the challenges of 2025. Investing in modernizing your compliance tech stack today will safeguard your organization’s future and protect its reputation.
Ready to get started? Get a demo of Star’s platform to discover how our best-in-class solutions can elevate your compliance program and set you up for success in the year ahead.