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The result of non-compliance or inadvertently mishandling a personnel matter is that an increasing number of employers are finding themselves in labor board hearings or on the receiving end of an employee lawsuit. Non-compliance with the myriad of other laws requiring your compliance can result in more trouble. This week's articles can help familiarize you with compliance in these areas and possibly help you prevent non-compliance problems.

In the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, many state legislators and attorneys general have been considering various proposals to increase nonprofit accountability at the state level. See what you can be doing now. (Item #1) What is the relationship between business continuity and Sarbanes-Oxley? (Item #2) Successful, long-term compliance and related productivity gains depend on clearing up misconceptions about business continuity a nd weaving it into the strategic fabric. (Item #3)

The IRS lists the newest and worst compliance problems and abuses among nonprofits. (Item #4) Are you familiar with all the employment laws that require compliance of just about all types of organizations? Here's a good source of information. (Item #5) Here's a simple 5-step guide to email compliance, specifically geared to the non-technical amongst us. (Item #6)

As always, we look forward to hearing about your concerns with regards to business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like to see covered, please email me at bmellinger@attainium.net

Best Regards,

Bob Mellinger
President
Attainium Corp

Quote of the Week

"Full compliance will never eliminate the unexpected."
- Yves L. Maquet -

Articles

1. Financial Accountability and Audit Committees
When the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed on July 30, 2002, significant changes to financial practices and governance regulations were introduced. Although not directly applicable to the nonprofit sector, these are some common sense applications that can be adopted by nonprofits.
http://www.ncna.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=429

2. The Relationship between Business Continuity and Sarbanes-Oxley
What is the relationship between Sections 302, 404, and 409 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and business continuity? In many situations, external auditors are providing inconsistent guidance regarding the issue. In addition, the terms 'data backup', 'contingency planning', 'disaster recovery', and 'business continuity' are being used: sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly, and sometimes interchangeably. Clearly, this issue is popular, but clarification is needed.
http://www.knowledgeleader.com/iafreewebsite.nsf/content/BusinessContinuityManagementTheRelationshipBetweenBCMandSarbanes-Oxley!OpenDocument

3. What Business Continuity Means For Compliance
Companies that elevate business continuity and disaster recovery to a strategic level in their business and compliance activities do more than avoid risk.
http://www.informationweek.com/management/compliance/22102157

4. IRS Identifies Nonprofit Compliance Problems
The Internal Revenue Service's list of the newest and worst compliance problems and abuses among nonprofits has come rolling in, pursuant to a March request by Senators Grassley and Baucus of the Senate Finance Committee.
http://www.nysun.com/article/59129
Read the IRS letter:
http://www.finance.senate.gov/press/Gpress/2007/prg072307a.pdf

5. Employment Law Compliance
Employment law consists of thousands of Federal and state statutes, administrative regulations, and judicial decisions. Many employment laws (e.g., minimum wage regulations) were enacted as protective labor legislation. Other employment laws take the form of public insurance, such as unemployment compensation.
http://www.nonprofitexpert.com/employment.htm

6. Email Compliance - A Simple 5 Step Guide
With 26 billion e-mails whizzing round the world in any one day, and the numbers going up, email compliance is a matter that many companies often put on the 'back burner'. The consequences of this approach can result in litigation, financial penalties, HR problems as well as damage to company reputation.
http://www.itsecurity.com/features/feature-email-security-non-technical-101606/