Good Auditing Practice Converts A Supply Chain Into A Value Chain

There is often some confusion about the difference between the traditional supply chain and what has come to be known as a “value chain”. In reality, the two usually overlap and can even be the same “chain”. The difference lies in the high-level view of the process, but it can be argued in most cases – if not all – that a supply chain that isn’t also a value chain is a sign of poor business practices.

Today we look at creating a value chain for business, and how effective auditing is just as important as ownership for each link in the chain.

How To Move From Reactive To Predictive Compliance

Compliance in many organisations is reactive rather than proactive, and perceived as a necessary evil to stay in business. More sophisticated organisations who place a higher value on compliance, however, are using the data from compliance audits to gain competitive advantage and mitigate risk exposure.
Compliance data, when collected correctly, is rich business intelligence and offers invaluable insight into internal and external business process, performance and control metrics. Digitised compliance monitoring systems are a necessity to gather this information in real-time, which is the only way this application of the data is effectively possible. The result of this forward thinking application of data is a state of “predictive compliance”.
Today we consider how real-time audit data can allow businesses to predict and prevent future compliance risks.

The New Global Economy Lowers Trade Barriers, But Not The Necessity Of Compliance

The internet has created unprecedented global business opportunities over the last decade or so, giving small companies the ability to compete with big players in countries all over the world. While this revolution is historic on every level, the world is now looking at possibly an even greater development: the breaking down of trade barriers between countries, even those that may have been inaccessible before.

The Future Of Compliance In The World Of Disruption

The key buzzword for business over the last decade has, without question, been “disruption”. A disruptive company, product, or service is one that brings an entirely new angle and vision to an existing industry, and when they do they make waves amongst both the current industry players and the governments that regulate them and their industry.
In this article, examine how new and disruptive industries and services are challenging regulation and compliance bodies.

Too Big to be Non-Compliant, Why Take the Risk

As we’ve preached for years now, regulatory compliance is more than just important in business, it’s an absolute necessity. And the larger the business caught in non-compliance, particularly in cases that affect public health and safety, the deeper and wider the implications and consequences of that non-compliance becomes. This has become very evident in the current scandal involving Volkswagen, the third largest automobile manufacturer in the world.
In this article, we look at the potential large-scale consequences of non-compliance, as demonstrated by the Volkswagen scandal.

Risk Management Doesn’t Mean Risk Aversion

There is a disconnect in today’s businesses that is causing significant losses in market value. That disconnect is shown in two ways. First, many companies equate risk management with risk aversion. That is, instead of actively monitoring and measuring the risk controls they put in place, they are simply setting the controls in place for maximum risk avoidance and then letting them ride.

Saying Goodbye to SSL and TSL

Winston Churchill once said “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often”. Some might argue that we’ve taken that idea to the extreme and decided to be a society under constant change, in which case we should listen to Mr. Churchill’s further thought, that “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction”.
In the case of security and compliance, that constant progress is definitely a good thing. The more secure customer and company data can be kept, the better. Keeping products safe and in good shape along supply lines is also good.

The Value of Checklists in Compliance Processes

Checklists. We mostly use them to compile our grocery needs and make sure that we don’t arrive back at home having forgotten the milk or eggs. But checklists, as simple as they are, are some of the most powerful tools available to us, in business and in life.
Here we give the history, psychology, and practical reasons for using checklists in organisations.

Good Sports Governance Requires Established Standards and Standard Audits

There seems to be no common international understanding of what comprises “sport governance”, and that’s a big problem.
An issue can’t be dealt with unless it’s defined and understood. This is painfully obvious in the current discussion about governance in sport, highlighted by the ASADA investigation into the Essendon Football Club debacle concerning sport doping. But the problem certainly isn’t confined to football, and it may be more complex than just blaming players for wanting to “juice up” their performance, as we will see.