Companies face a myriad of compliance risks that can significantly impact their operations, reputation and financial standing. One primary risk is regulatory compliance, which involves adhering to laws and regulations specific to their industry. This includes data protection laws like GDPR, financial regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley, and health and safety standards. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in hefty fines, legal action and damage to the company's reputation. Additionally, the ever-changing landscape of regulations means that companies must continuously monitor and adapt to new requirements, which can be resource-intensive.

Another significant compliance risk is operational compliance, which pertains to the internal policies and procedures that ensure that the company operates efficiently and ethically. This encompasses areas such as employee conduct, environmental impact and supply chain management. Companies must ensure that their employees are well-trained and aware of these policies to prevent breaches that could lead to operational disruptions or ethical violations. Moreover, maintaining transparency and accountability within the organization is crucial to mitigate risks associated with fraud, corruption and other unethical practices.

To address these compliance risks, companies should implement a robust compliance management system that includes regular risk assessments, employee training programs and a dedicated compliance team. Regular audits and monitoring are essential to identify potential risks early and take corrective actions promptly. Leveraging technology, such as compliance software, can also streamline the process of tracking regulatory changes and ensuring adherence to internal policies. Furthermore, fostering a culture of compliance within the organization, where employees understand the importance of compliance and feel empowered to report issues, can significantly reduce the likelihood of compliance breaches. By taking these proactive steps, companies can safeguard themselves against compliance risks and maintain their integrity and trustworthiness in the market.

1. Compliance Overview Questionnaire

This Compliance Overview Questionnaire is a critical tool designed for organizations to carry out a meticulous self-assessment of their adherence to various legal standards and best practices in the workplace. The 27 samples included in the attached document cover an extensive range of compliance areas, including federal laws, employee benefits, health and safety regulations, and anti-discrimination acts. This questionnaire is structured to help auditors systematically review company policies and procedures, ensuring they align with regulations like FMLA, ADA, ADEA, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, COBRA, HIPAA, and many others.

2. Export Compliance Audit Work Program

Achieve export management excellence and evaluate your internal controls with our Export Compliance Audit Work Program. The primary purpose of this document is to evaluate the effectiveness of your company's export controls and compliance process, identify opportunities for internal control and process improvements, and assess the internal control environment against the elements needed for an effective export management strategy. It provides an organized framework detailing various project work steps, including obtaining an understanding of the company's export compliance policies, evaluating key internal controls, and assessing compliance with corporate policies and procedures.

3. IT Compliance Review Report

IT compliance involves adhering to organizational policies and standards, applicable laws and regulations, and client contractual requirements regarding the operation and management of information technology resources and doing so in a way that supports the business strategy of the organization. The objective of this assessment was to focus our efforts on the second line of defense by identifying and taking inventory of various IT compliance teams and understanding their associated responsibilities and outputs. 

4. Regulatory Compliance Review Audit Report

This sample audit report can be used by auditors for assessing and improving an organization’s compliance risk management process. Testing involved activities such as interviewing members of the executive management team to identify expectations regarding the corporate focus of compliance program capabilities; examining new-hire compliance education and training methods; evaluating processes, procedures and avenues for organizational compliance violation escalations; and assessing processes and procedures indicating other compliance activities.

5. Compliance Risk Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

“Compliance” is defined as acting according to certain accepted standards. Compliance could be external, such as industry laws and regulations that bind our clients, or internal standards such as controls and procedures that we must comply with. Compliance risk can result in failure to conform with laws and regulations that apply to a business process at the international, country, state and local levels. Organizations must be aware of and take appropriate steps to protect their rights, and remain in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This tool features key performance indicators and questions organizations should consider when measuring compliance for business processes.

6. Import Compliance Audit Report

This sample report is based on a review from a company that imports goods from countries outside of the U.S., and thus must comply with the laws/regulations of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In this sample, the company's international transportation and compliance department developed standard import operating procedures to ensure compliance with customs. The objective of this report is to assess compliance with the company's import procedures. For each procedure, internal audit identified the controls in place to monitor compliance with the procedures and tested the operation of the monitoring controls.

7. Privacy Compliance Program Review Audit Report

This sample report focuses on the privacy compliance state at a financial institution. It addresses compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and uses a capability maturity continuum and gap analysis to illustrate the status of compliance. This tool provides direction for future privacy efforts, lists the steps taken to address identified risks, and compares them to best practices. Sections in this report include an overview of work performed, current state of privacy compliance, progress toward compliance risks, best-practice gap analysis, steps taken to address identified risks compared to best practices, next steps toward best practices, and conclusions.

8. Compliance and Regulation Management Review Memo

This tool outlines the steps for the review of policies, procedures and internal controls within a company’s compliance regulation management function. The primary objectives include: determine whether policies and procedures exist and are adequate in identifying and monitoring compliance with applicable laws and regulations; determine the laws and regulations in which lack of compliance most greatly affects the company; review the compliance processes and controls associated with the selected areas and review adherence to policies and procedures; and determine the status of internal audit’s recommendations delivered to the company.

9. 2023 Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Survey

Few board members and C-suite leaders view Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance as a hotbed of opportunity for process innovation or leading-edge technology. Companies are attacking climbing compliance costs by taming the complexity of their control environment and exploring and pursuing options to further tech-enable controls and testing activities. Protiviti’s annual Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Survey provides detailed benchmarks for compliance costs and hours, while quantifying the impact of technology, automation and changing business conditions on these measures and activities.  

10. 2022 Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Survey

Protiviti’s annual Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Survey benchmarks compliance costs, hours, processes and improvements, including how these areas are affected by current business conditions. This year’s results show that costs, along with the hours that internal audit teams devote to SOX compliance, continue to increase across most, if not all, company sizes, industries and reporting types. These increases are occurring as external auditors request higher volumes of more detailed SOX-related information from their clients. 

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