While up against ever-changing antitrust regulations, enterprises continue to struggle with implementing a formal and defensible compliance program. Detecting and mitigating risk, as well as avoiding criminal liability, are vital to solidifying ongoing compliance. Compliance programs that are constructed under aesthetic parameters to quickly fulfill an immediate need more often than not lack sustainability. Therefore, it’s important that companies invest and commit to building effective, well-adapted programs at the onset.
In partnering with compliance teams, we’ve noticed some reoccurring concerns when it comes to the initial build out of internal programs. Here are some high-level suggestions we propose companies implement to get started, dispel fears of the unknown, and manage costs.
Focus on Prevention and Onboard Experts
The best way to manage risks is to prevent them. Start by simulating an investigation with an internal audit. This will result in a better understanding of the possible risks without a regulator knocking at your door. Designing and implementing regular simulations can be done effectively by leveraging internal resources as well as outsourcing the right technology and expertise. Any upfront, fixed cost required to put a compliance program in place will be an extremely small fraction of the penalties you might otherwise face.
Given the spectrum of risks companies must combat, figuring out where to look can be daunting. Antitrust, corruption, blackmail, and harassment are not likely found in obvious places. We suggest onboarding a forensic expert to examine your organization’s digital footprint. Forensic experts will work with your IT department to better understand systems, analyze your data, and offer guidance on which servers, backups, computers, phones, etc. to investigate. They will also provide insight into where not to waste your time or resources investigating. Implementing this initial scoping narrows your focus and ensures time and costs are controlled.
Identify Risks – Even When You Don’t Know Exactly What to Look For
The right technology will efficiently audit your organization’s large digital footprint and bring problematic information to the surface. Technology creates transparency. By organizing your data and generating high-level reports of categorical data such as file types, frequency of emails, languages, and negative sentiment, your investigations will remain time and cost effective.
The use of search terms among your organized data will further narrow the scope of your investigations. Source data analysts to translate information into terms with the correct syntax and exclusions. Analytics, like threading, can significantly reduce unnecessary data while ensuring no information is missed.
Applying advanced analytics will improve the results of your searches, and artificial intelligence will aid in refining your data to uncover risks. After initial reports of risky data have been compiled, AI features can be applied to surface all similar data. This way, you will have generated a sample that prioritizes the most concerning data first, and enables you to uncover problems without spending time sifting through harmless information.
Maintain Your Budget and Avoid Disruption
Advanced technology and workflows that allow for attorneys to work directly into them make project timelines and costs more predictable. The right technology filters and prioritizes data, preventing wasted time and spend on review of irrelevant material. Attorneys are often subject to fixed fees, which makes them more open to implementing your customized workflows and time-saving technology. Depending on the provider, the short nature of audits can also allow for technology to be applied at a fixed fee, giving compliance teams the certainty they need without a costly commitment.
Contrary to common perception, you can access, copy, and harvest digital content discreetly, without affecting the employee's working day at all. Discretion and agility is key to performing your internal investigations.
