Value Proposition

Building a compliance program will protect businesses, shareholders, communities, and individuals. On the surface, the investment may feel like a wasteful expense and hassle. Yet effective compliance programs represent an opportunity to both increase revenues and decrease risk for debilitating costs. They provide an excellent return with peace-of-mind. As an aside, they may pay for themselves in a variety of ways, including:

• Lowering exposure to fraud, waste, and theft of company assets,
• Creating a more inspiring corporate culture with transparency,
• Reducing insurance costs,
• Opening opportunities for increased efficiencies, and
• Improving internal communications and messaging with prospective customers.

Good compliance metrics may also put a company in a good position for a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), which may avoid total disruption. Sometimes, the government brings an action but realizes it needs the assistance of the company to prove wrongdoing. For example, federal prosecutors entered into Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Samsung Heavy Industries in 2019. The company agreed to settle matters by paying a fine and cooperating with the government’s investigation of bribery. The DPA likely saved millions of dollars for shareholders and may have spared some people from going to prison.

Maintaining compliance equips employees to do their jobs well, reach career goals, and keep customers happy. To paraphrase Warren Buffet:

• It takes five years to grow a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it.

An integrated compliance program becomes a valuable corporate asset. Leverage the compliance training so that people can empower themselves to reach their highest potential. By showing everyone to act in accordance with corporate values, leaders protect the enterprise, the team members, and they increase shareholder value.