Tool
The Compliance Maturity Spectrum
A tool to self-assess the maturity and health of your compliance program, plus guidance on how to evolve and mature your compliance program.
06: Tips for Evolving and Maturing Your Compliance Program
Tips and Guidance for Level 1 and 2 Organizations
Here are the five steps to take to set your compliance program on solid ground.
1. Work with your leadership team to create a shared vision for compliance. Help your leadership understand why compliance is in fact a powerful tool for improving your business and driving top line growth.
2. Determine a governance structure for your compliance program.
3. Determine your organization’s stance on risks and conduct an enterprise-wide risk assessment.
4. Develop basic policies and procedures (e.g. a cybersecurity incident response plan, an information security policy).
5. Research various compliance frameworks and standards; determine which one(s) make sense for your organization to implement within the next 6 to 18 months.
Tips and Guidance for Level 3 Organizations
If you have an existing compliance program in place and you’d like to elevate your compliance program, standardizing your processes and upgrading your technology stack will give you the greatest return for your investment.
To ease the burden of managing compliance projects day-to-day, you can start by centralizing and streamlining the management of evidence needed for external audits. You may consider using a compliance operations application that lets your team easily manage the evidence they have, collect additional proof, and link that evidence to the right controls and requirements.
Tips and Guidance for Level 4 Organizations
If you’re at a level 4, you and your team should be celebrating how far you’ve come. At this point, your compliance program is running smoothly and relatively efficiently. You’ve likely gained good insights and feedback into the status of your program. Everything that can be automated has been automated.
Thus, you can set your sights towards the future and start identifying how you can use regulatory changes to create a strategic advantage for your business. At this stage, you may consider adding additional staff to your organization — staff who can devote their time to analyzing what’s coming next so you can stay ahead of the regulatory curve.
