The program helps executives and company management reduce risks, financial losses or damage to reputation and image.

Compliance serves as a “guide” for companies. Its purpose is to protect a company and mitigate risks, financial losses or damage to its reputation and image.

Juliana Darini, global compliance director at the Natura &Co group, believes that more and more companies have been facing continuous crises, from natural and humanitarian disasters to “widespread political turmoil”. This creates an environment conducive to increased corruption, fraud and other types of ethical misconduct.

“Failing to uphold high ethical values can be especially devastating for companies and for society as a whole in today’s times. As such, companies must commit to following and complying with established rules, despite the various pressures to circumvent them, and adopt state-of-the-art compliance programs to keep them strong and resilient as a way of mitigating new and significant risks that arise for them and their stakeholders,” she explains.

Juliana therefore sees the program as necessary for a company to comply with all applicable laws, standards, regulations and good practices, both internally and externally.

According to Christian Gomes, professor of Compliance and Business Administration at Faculdade do Grupo Etapa ESEG, the Anti-Corruption Law provides, for example, that adopting an Integrity Program — anti-corruption compliance — reduces the fines imposed on a company involved in a case.

“This is because it shows that the company sought to avoid that harm to the Public Administration, within its limitations. Another new development is that the Public Procurement and Administrative Contracts Law, Law 14,133, makes it possible to require anti-corruption compliance from companies seeking larger contracts with the Public Administration,” he explains.

In other words, when properly implemented, compliance can bring benefits such as:

Reduction of potential financial losses: it lowers the chances of fines and labor lawsuits, thereby protecting the company;

Attracting and retaining talent: it creates a fairer and safer work environment, attracting employees;

Competitive advantages in negotiations and financial transactions: it demonstrates a commitment to ethics and social responsibility, which gives partners and shareholders confidence;

Strengthening the organizational culture: it promotes values such as transparency, integrity and respect.

How to structure compliance in a company?

There is no compliance program that works for every company. However, according to experts consulted by Valor, having a structured compliance program that reinforces the procedures to be followed by employees is essential. It can be built on 3 pillars:

Detection: identifying issues through clear communication channels and well-defined processes;

Prevention: implementing measures such as training, codes of conduct and whistleblowing channels;

Remediation: staying alert and being clear about what will be done, such as disciplinary sanctions, in the event of a violation.

In addition, the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU) has a Private Integrity Manual, which stresses that it is essential for a company to have:

Commitment from Senior Management: a statement by the company’s board prioritizing integrity in operations, also ensuring resources for risk monitoring and treatment in the compliance environment;

A body responsible for the Integrity Program: a person or team responsible, such as an Integrity Committee or a Compliance Officer, who establishes, trains and monitors the company’s compliance activities, with sufficient skills, resources and powers;

Profile and risk analysis: the system for controlling corruption risks or ensuring compliance with good practices must be implemented and reviewed under the actual conditions of the company’s operations, size, complexity and nature of its business model. In other words, compliance must necessarily be a customized effort.

Rules and Procedures: based on that assessment, the company must propose controls and procedures. To this end, it can establish internal routines, checks, and the search for and evaluation of information about its operations and those of third parties. All of this must be written into internal policies or codes of conduct and applied by everyone involved in the company’s processes.

According to Emerson Melo, the partner leading KPMG’s forensic and litigation practice in Brazil, the program must be tailor-made, always taking into account the size of the company, sector risks and the particularities of the corporation’s line of business, as well as the laws and regulations applicable to the business.

“Highly regulated sectors, for example, require

more robust compliance, regardless of revenue. Decree 11,129/22, regulating Law 12,846/13, emphasizes that micro and small businesses, for example, are not required to comply with all the parameters of an integrity program,” he says.

Who is responsible for compliance in a company?

It is essential that everyone be aligned with the compliance policy. However, its creation must come from managers, who need to express their priority commitment to compliance and responsibility for risk management, ensuring resources for its operation.

For Leticia Kina, Ambev’s vice-president of legal and compliance, it is essential that the function go beyond the legal and compliance department. Leticia believes it needs to be an integral part of the company’s culture and part of every employee’s routine.

“The role of the Ethics & Compliance department, in addition to reinforcing concepts and policies through training and awareness, is to be present, whether by offering a robust, agile and confidential structure for receiving reports, or by serving as an open channel for consultation to ensure fairness and ethics in all decision-making,” she explains.

Leticia sees the ombudsman channel, open to all employees and third parties to report any type of misconduct, as a fundamental part of this process.

“It is highly recommended to offer channels for information and for reporting any cases of non-compliance with these rules. It is also always advisable to seek out skilled, creative professionals who understand your company’s internal processes. Invest in an agile and collaborative structure,” she adds.

Originally published by Valor Globo (in Portuguese).