Page 46 - CCCA Magazine Summer 2014

{ iNside edge } complIance Is eVeryone’s BusIness By David J. Shapiro How may a Canadian-based international company in a ranted, detailed guidelines to address specifc areas of concern, and occasion- complex industry approach compliance? the proliferation of ally, policies are adjusted. Through this, local regulation around the world in matters such as privacy, a compliance plan can be developed that competition, anti-corruption and bribery, along with stricter resonates with employees and meets their practical needs, whatever their role, wher- enforcement and ever-evolving laws that differ between ever they may be. jurisdictions, make compliance in the global arena challenging. don’t park compliance Recently, we engaged a chief compliance he approach I advocate is to distil the they need to be equipped to make deci- offcer to support a coherent compliance multiple laws into one coherent policy sions on matters they confront, wherever structure across the organization and en- tthat specifcally addresses the sorts of they are and whatever their position. sure sustained focus. However, we are in- activities in which employees are engaged, In other words, compliance policies tent on avoiding any tendency to “park” wherever they may be; and to constantly should refect the organization’s activities compliance somewhere, in effect isolating engage with and properly train them on and culture, based on the highest appli- it from day-to-day operations. the standard. While policies must indeed cable legal requirements, and they should In our organization, compliance is be created on the foundation of the rele- apply across the board: one standard to owned by each operating unit, wherever vant legal principles, they must take more weave into the company’s fabric, regard- it is around the world. While the compli- into account to be practical. less of jurisdiction of operation. Compli- ance offcer plays a vital role in facilitating ance should focus on policies, not laws. our policies and ensuring a robust struc- It’s not just the law ture around our initiatives, compliance is Some organizations mandate frms in skip audit, go straight to training everyone’s business. the principal jurisdictions in which they A common approach to compliance is to There are many key decisions that de- operate to train employees on compli- begin training only after having conduct- termine an organization’s approach to ance with the laws of those specifc places. ed an audit of practices and activities. I compliance. I promote those that support The frm may explain the legislation, give favour starting with the training. a bottom-up, organic yet structured cul- examples of its application and engage In my experience, there’s no audit as ture. This includes identifying the risks, in scenario discussions. It probably also good as the training itself. At introduc- obtaining external legal advice, creating provides “practical” advice on what to tory sessions, employees listen intently. the training that becomes the audit, and do when confronted by inconsistencies They want to know if what they are do- then refning that training to address spe- among jurisdictions. ing is “right.” They understand the rami- cifcs and provide tools. In this way, each This approach, which I liken to a mini- fcations and therefore care. A deluge of component of the compliance program is law course, is potentially confusing and requests seeking specifc guidance inevita- built to maximize success. ❚ may not be effective. After all, does a sales bly follows. Compliance culture gets a jolt. executive or operations manager really care Rather than performing an audit, which about a change in legislation, its interpreta- can cause alarm, training is collaborative David J. Shapiro is senior vice tion or the sections in which legal obliga- and responsive, providing employees with president and chief legal offcer of Air Canada. tions are expressed? Targeting training ex- the basic information they want. plicitly to legal standards risks disengaging Input from the training may lead to employees. Employees need to know the more targeted sessions. Often tools and company’s standard, its ethic, its policies— checklists are created with, where war- 46 CCCa Magazine | suMMer 2014 été