by Chris Anderson
http://www.bizmanualz.com/?src=ART37
© 2005
Recent corporate financial scandals have
highlighted the importance of business ethics and legal compliance. Yet a recent
National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) survey of 280 corporate CEOs
and directors found that "only one of three directors felt that they were
highly effective in ensuring legal compliance".
Building
an Ethics and Compliance Program
Most companies realize
that they need to develop and implement a business ethics and compliance program.
An effective program can:
•
Establish a code of conduct that reduces risk of criminal behavior
•
Detect wrongdoing, foster quick investigations, minimize consequences
•
Demonstrate company's ethical/legal philosophy during an investigation
•
Reduce fines if company is found guilty of wrongdoing
• Enhance company
reputation and stature
Looking at the Options
But
how do you build an effective program? Companies find themselves with three options
to build the program:
• Develop in-house from scratch
• Hire an external consultant
• Use a pre-written manual
And
most of these companies learn a few lessons - sometimes the hard way.
Making
a Strong Decision
Developing a program from scratch can
be very time consuming and costly. Also, the company might not have the knowledge
or understanding of the complexity involved. But hiring an external consultant
is not always a cost effective option either. So what's left?
Developing
Your Ethics Program
By using a pre-written template or manual,
many companies have found it easier to develop their business ethics program.
And to do this, they look for what a strong program needs.
A
highly effective tool for creating, organizing and implementing a sound business
ethics and compliance program should provide:
• Sample
policies and procedures
• Step-by-step instructions for the development
of a program
• A business ethics training program outline with classroom
materials and a detailed session leader's guide
• Business ethics and
compliance officer position description
• Templates for employee involvement
• Sample code of conduct
Implementing Your Ethics
Program
If the company board has committed to a strong business
ethics and compliance program, the next step is to put the manual in the hands
of corporate executives responsible for implementation. Used properly under advice
of legal counsel, this efficient tool will yield a solid program that the board
can understand, endorse, and monitor for effectiveness.
With
step-by-step guidelines and accompanying examples of policies, procedures, training
program, and employee survey, an effective tool provides an excellent road map
for implementing an ethics and compliance initiative.
Maintaining
a Culture of Integrity
Companies should make certain that
their ethics compliance manual provides fully editable MS Word files with sample
policies, surveys, forms and training session outlines. Also, businesses should
ensure their ethics compliance system manual is fully endorsed by The National
Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) as a tool to maintain a culture of integrity.
