Why Compliance Matters for Your Business in 2023

With 2023 well underway, businesses around the globe are laying out and implementing their strategy for the year. Whilst focuses may be on implementing innovative new technologies and developing forward-thinking strategies to benefit clients, it’s equally essential for businesses to put a focus on regulatory compliance.

As we’ll explore today, there have been a number of recent news stories relating to regulatory non-compliance, with global corporations facing enormous fines in response to lax policy and procedures. If you want to understand the main regulatory compliance issues facing your business (such as GDPR), and why it’s essential to ensure you have the correct policies in place, continue reading.

Why is GDPR compliance essential?

Since being introduced in 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has necessitated that many enterprises must alter their data protection policies to ensure that regulatory compliance is achieved in the treatment of personal. For those who don’t fully know the ins and outs of GDPR, it simply covers the governing legislation that dictates how a business should use, protect, and dispose of personal information. GDPR can be broken down into 7 key principles that how a business must regulate its data management. These principles are; lawfulness, fairness and transparency; purpose limitation; data minimisation; accuracy; storage limitation; integrity and confidentiality; and accountability. All principles set out specific boundaries for business around necessary and legitimate data collection.

The implications of a GDPR breach can be devastating for businesses, with huge financial losses, fines, and reputational damage experienced. At a minimum, a business found in breach of GDPR will face official warnings, compliance orders, and bans on processing or data transfer. If you feel your business needs support with implementing GDPR protocols, then you can read our previous introduction to GDPR policy, and engage our services to implement GDPR tech solutions.

Compliance in the News

There have been a number of major compliance related stories hitting the headlines recently, with one of particular interest being the revelation that ‘Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS (will be) facing $1bn in fines over banned messaging app use by traders’. It was revealed that a number of Wall Street’s most powerful banks will be facing huge compliance related fines, having admitted that their employees’ use of apps such as WhatsApp to conduct business related affairs was in breach of regulatory codes. The banks are expected to be faced with fines exceeding $1 billion, demonstrating the huge risks associated with lax compliance adherence and the breaking regulatory rules.

With regards to GDPR breaches, Meta Ireland have recently been fined €390 million for failing to comply. A case was brought against Meta due to its processing of data for advertising purposes, across both its Facebook and Instagram platforms. It was alleged by two complainants that Meta Ireland was still relying on consent to provide a lawful basis for processing of users’ data. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) determined that ‘the legal basis relied on by Meta was not clearly outlined to users’, with “insufficient clarity” on the ways in which personal data was being processed - thus us contravention of GDPR. A huge fine is now faced by the corporation for its contravention of regulatory law.

Ensuring Compliance for Your Business

Whilst your enterprise may not be at the scale of global banks such as Goldman Sachs, or major international corporations such as Meta, ensuring regulatory compliance is still a pressing issue. With fines for non-compliance reaching vast sums, it’s important to know the risks to your business; for example, if an enterprise is to break GDPR regulations, they’ll be fined 4% of their worldwide annual revenue for the previous financial year. 

In order to ensure your business is complying with all pertinent regulations, it’s important to identify all regulatory laws your business must comply with, and ensure all necessary procedures are in place to ensure diligence across the board. Furthermore, it’s important to have a compliance risk management procedure is in place, in which you identify the potential losses any fines your business would face in the case of a breach.

If you engage the services of an MSP, your IT partner can help develop and implement policies and procedures surrounding your IT processes. At Fitzrovia IT, we help our clients get certified with government backed accreditations such as the IASME and NCSC Cyber Essentials Accreditation. Such accreditations demonstrate your business’ commitment to exemplary IT practices, also helping to demonstrate your business’ regulatory compliance in the case of a potential breach. 

If you want to discuss your business’ current IT policies and procedures, and identify how you can ensure total compliance, contact our expert team today.