Updated: May 27, 2025
When businesses are thinking about building their compliance programs, they need to consider various components including corporate, commercial, intellectual property, employment, anti-bribery & corruption, anti-slavery & human trafficking and data protection matters. In this short blog, we’ve outlined certain key considerations to take into account and listed them under the relevant component.
Corporate
- Review Board of Directors and committee minutes.
- Review Board of Directors committee structure and committee charters.
- Review corporate structure, including affiliates and joint ventures.
- Review governance-related policies, including conflicts and ethics.
- Review insurance coverage.
- Consider excess benefit transactions.
- Review political campaign activities.
- Determine related organisations and their activities.
- Access to loans and equity investments, including program-related investments.
- Consider government grants and contracts.
- Lobbying registration and disclosure.
- Assess employment taxes and workers compensation.
- Consider export controls.
- Review whether corporate registration and/or filings should be undertaken in other jurisdictions.
- Verify that all corporate filings, including annual reports, have been made.
- Document communications with the HMRC.
- Review tax-exempt status, including HMRC determination letter.
- Record and consider foreign bank accounts and legal implications.
- Determine sales, excise and franchise taxes.
Commercial
- Determine a policy for internal contract review, external review by counsel and execution of contracts.
- Determine whether there are business relationships not covered by a written agreement.
- Determine whether there are contracts with related parties and whether there was compliance with procedures for disclosing conflicts of interest.
- Verify compliance with representations and warranties.
Intellectual property
- Review policy for links to/from other sites.
- Determine whether consents have been obtained for the use of content and website links.
- Determine whether domain names infringe on another organisation’s trademarks or service marks.
- Review website and review procedures for content monitoring.
- Determine whether other proprietary information should be protected.
- Grants likely to have intellectual property provisions that would include provisions re allocation of rights and requirements for protection of rights.
- Review licenses, contracts and other agreements relating to IP and computer software to which the organisation is a party or a third-party beneficiary.
- Review policies and third-party agreements relating to non-disclosure of confidential information and ownership of intellectual property created by employees and contractors.
- Review procedures for maintaining confidentiality of trade secrets.
- Verify status of trademarks, trade names, domain names, and copyrights.
Employment
- Review job application form, standard job posting and recruiting materials.
- Review procedures and practices for use of temporary workers.
- Review whether individuals are properly classified as employees and independent contractors.
- Review employment contracts and letter agreements.
- Consider option provisions and dates for exercise.
- Review compliance with requirements for documentation of citizenship of employees.
- Review compliance with laws prohibiting various forms of discrimination.
- Review employee manuals, handbooks and policies.
- Review policies re public statements and speaking to the media.
- Review existing tax qualified benefit plans.
- Review fringe benefits.
- Review non-qualified deferred compensation plans.
- Review procedures and practices for terminating employees.
- Review severance plans or policies.
- Review record keeping for compliance purposes.
Anti-bribery & corruption
- Put in place a governance charter and committee.
- Complete a risk assessment.
- Put in place policies and procedures on anti-bribery and corruption, gifts and entertainment, corporate hospitality and charitable giving.
- Draft a supplier code of conduct/attestation for all third parties (including partners).
- Complete ongoing monitoring and due diligence on all third parties.
- Conduct training for all staff.
- Conduct a review of compliance with economic sanctions.
Anti-slavery & human trafficking
- Put in place a governance charter and committee.
- Complete a risk assessment.
- Put in place policies and procedures on anti-slavery and human trafficking in the supply chain.
- Create a website transparency statement on anti-slavery and human trafficking compliance.
- Supplier code of conduct/attestation for all third parties (including partners).
- Complete ongoing monitoring and due diligence on all third parties.
- Conduct training for all staff.
Data protection
- Identify whether to appoint a Data Protection Officer.
- Compile and update a data register regularly (including all types of personal data and lawful bases).
Need help in building or further developing your compliance programs? Get in touch with our team at compliance@aria-grace.com
