Compliance Becoming Part Of The Corporate Safety Kit

Ingrid Matos, Global Chief Compliance Officer and Internal Controls, QGMI

When in the 90s the compulsory use of safety belts was imposed in many countries, some unbelievers said that it was just a passing fad, others that the costs were not justified and many others, that it was very uncom­fortable and would soon be forgotten.

Although it now seems easy to understand that the seat belt was a new security item, the process to incorporate it was not a simple one. Only many years and many fines later, this new trend became a routine.

"Accustomed to changes in culture and environment, and pressured to find sustainability for its businesses, the construction sector has boosted the growth of compliance on every continent"

In the 2000s, new reviews of the ISO 9000 series (which became popular in the 90s) gave rise to the term “process management” for the first time. At that time, the change required by the ISO standard meant a great adaptation by companies, industries and the service sector, it implied a high investment and at the beginning there was a lot of rejection and resistance, despite its benefits (for example, reduction of compensation costs, reduction of product/process remaking and continuous improvement). Nowadays, ISO 9000 standards are present in the vast majority of companies and are an eligibility criterion for public and private procurement processes.

From 2010 onwards it has been the laws combating corruption that have once again astonished private initiative and large business groups. After major corruption scandals around the world, many countries have reacted by creating and putting in place strict rules, including the legal responsibility of the company regarding cases of bribery and corruption, which has given prominence to compliance programmes. Again, the market has reacted negatively: “it is a cost”, “it will become outdated”, “it will not catch on in our society”, among others.

The construction sector, and especially the infrastructure one, were directly affected by it and had to react quickly. Since this industry usually has the public administration as end customer and is also highly dependent on the financial sector, compliance programmes were created and implemented at the speed of light, thus demanding a cultural change and the financial availability of many players in the sector.

In spite of all this, it seems that construction and compliance make a good team.

It is worth pointing out that both are characterised by being dynamic, by having to face new challenges, get to know and change cultures, improve the supply chain and, without a doubt, contribute to the development of countries and society.

Year after year the programmes have multiplied and, together with the construction sector, have reached every corner of the world. It ceased to be a subject in large offices and companies to also have a voice in camps and canteens far from the big cities.

This whole process, which at first was considered as a cost, has now turned into a competitive advantage.

Compliance programmes, that first came as a float to hold on to so as not to sink, have now become a strategic differential element, as well as a social responsibility.

Stakeholders-particularly those from the financial sector and Shareholders-, no longer want a quality project delivered on time, but the guarantee that the company’s profitability and soundness will be sustainable.

And how to implement effective compliance programmes in areas where it is not easy to have a “structure” as we know it in the more developed countries? How to bring these issues to regions where there is no base?

Accustomed to changes in culture and environment, and pressured to find sustainability for its businesses, the construction sector has boosted the growth of compliance on every continent.

However, managing a compliance programme in these places remains a real challenge. On the one hand, the lack of means makes it difficult to carry out formalities that in other areas could be considered simple. For example, if we want to ensure that the Ethical Channel of our website is accessible in a remote area with little or no coverage of the Internet, it will have to be in the form of a physical mailbox so that everyone can have access to it.

Another major difficulty occurs when carrying out the due diligence of local suppliers, due to the lack of electronic record sand, ultimately, the lack of transparency. This is a problem that even them most advanced tools on the market-based on the tracking of thousands of sources - fail to address, because without said digitalisation they will look for alerts in complete obscurity. These problems will be faced by the Compliance Officer, who must fill these gaps with intelligence: well-trained employees, always attentive to detect reputational alerts in third parties that may create a risk for the company.

We could highlight another element, which is perhaps the most important and the most ignored of all: the cultural factor. Often the pet phrase “here we always do it this way” seems to be able to exonerate from a procedure or justify unauthorised practices.

However, if the organisation has a solid system, well-adjusted to its needs, the true ethical and compliance culture stands out. Anyhow, in compliance as in life, when cultural clashes occur not everything is black or white, there are always grey areas, ethical dilemmas to solve. And this is where the art of having a good system at hand and professionals who can find the best solution without compromising the success of the project comes into play.

Like safety belts and ISO standards, compliance has come to stay and to ensure companies’ sustainability; no longer as a float, but as part of their business strategy, as an ally, not an enemy, a factor that turns the company into a more attractive player for the market. Ultimately, who is willing to assume the risks involved in hiring a company without concern for ethics and compliance? No seat belt?