January 16, 2008
These NewsBriefs are produced and delivered weekly by
Attainium to keep our friends and clients
current on topics relating to Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery and Crisis Management.
By now, unless they've been in another galaxy for years, everyone is familiar with Enron debacle
and the resulting slew of new compliance laws. Many don't realize, however, that complying with the
provisions of these and other compliance laws can benefit their organizations both financially and in
terms of reputation and image (which often translate to the bottom line). We hope the following articles
will help familiarize you with some of these laws and how they can positively impact your continuity of
operations.
Do you have any idea how many compliance issues are governed by law? (Item #1)
Compliance officers know that a manual check by auditors could reveal a breach or compliance problem that requires further,
highly expensive, investigation. (Item #2)
You need policies for managing, retaining, retrieving and
destroying records. (Item #3)
Managers need to carefully consider potential liabilities and legal risks associated with the operation
of their email systems. (Item #4)
Email retention policies are an absolute necessity. (Item #5)
Nonprofits can benefit from complying with provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, even though they are not required
to do so. (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
[email protected]
Best Regards,
Bob Mellinger
President
Attainium Corp
Quote of the Week
"At its best, a strong compliance culture can serve to foster and enhance compliant practices, and,
at its worst, it can result in violations of law by firm employees and
render efforts by compliance staff meaningless."
- Lori A. Richards -
- Director, Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, SEC -
Articles
1. Compliance issues list
If you're an SHRM member, you can access information on each law; if not, this list is still
an eye opener! You also can use a search engine to obtain information on each law.
http://www.shrm.org/hrresources/basic_published/Compliance%20Issues%20TOC.asp
2. Waiting for the auditor
Continuous compliance is the only way to mitigate the huge business risk and escalating costs
associated with multiple compliance audits, argues Paul Gostick.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0513.htm
3. Records management is a weak area in many US organizations
Sixty-five percent of US public and private organizations do not have an enterprise-wide
records management policy and program, putting them at risk to face the heavy fines and loss
of brand equity associated with non-compliance with state and federal regulations.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/news03519.htm
4. Email Compliance Quick Reference Guide
This guide provides an understanding of individual email compliance laws and advice
on how to develop an effective email policy and compliance solution.
http://www.ironport.com/pdf/ironport_email_compliance_guide.pdf
5. The majority of US businesses lack a clear email retention policy
The revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) set aggressive timelines for the discovery
of electronic information, such as email, and strict penalties for the destruction of evidence.
Many US businesses remain unprepared to meet strict court requirements for the discovery and handling
of electronic evidence.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/news03686.htm
6. Nonprofits: 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
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