How can we help your organization with compliance?
Our advice is always based on your business and we strive to deliver practical solutions and legally qualified advice that matches your individual needs and maturity.
The requirements that apply to different industries and types of organizations vary greatly, and the compliance work is therefore correspondingly diverse. Some industries, such as the financial sector or the energy industry, have been used to working with compliance to a greater or lesser extent for many years, which often means that the organization is more mature to implement new areas of law. However, there are also a large number of industries that have not previously been significantly regulated, and where compliance will be a relatively new concept and a different way of working for many in the organization.
Regardless of industry and type of organization, CLEMENS helps you identify and gain an overview of relevant legal and societal risks for your organization, as well as plan and assist with your organization's compliance development and operations. Our assistance is thus always tailored to your organization.
We offer the following services, among others:
- Compliance analysis / gap analysis
- Risk assessments and risk management
- Compliance strategies
- Compliance programs and annual cycle
- Implementation tools, including procedures, policies, guidelines and training
- Preparation and structuring of compliance documentation
- Control processes and internal compliance audits
- Supplier assessment and checks
- Employee training and education
With the complexity and scope of obligations that organizations must comply with steadily increasing, corporate compliance is an area that is only becoming more relevant and extensive. Compliance work often requires a lot of resources and specialized skills, which can quickly become a daunting task - no matter the size of your organization. At the same time, many companies find that customers, suppliers and other stakeholders are increasingly demanding more and more from their business partners in terms of compliance and responsible business conduct.
CLEMENS assists with everything from ad hoc sparring to the implementation of full compliance programs and upgrades in organizations. Whether your organization is not yet focused on the area, needs help and resources for specific initiatives and challenges, needs sparring or advice on your compliance work or how to comply with specific legislation, CLEMENS is always ready to contribute to your organization's compliance development.
Compliance areas at CLEMENS
Corporate compliance covers a wide range of legal areas, each with their own set of rules and regulations and placing different demands on the organizations covered by the legislation. What most jurisdictions have in common, however, is that the work requires continuous risk management, updating, control and a focus on guidelines and procedure descriptions for all employees. You can read more about the main areas of law we advise on here:
Situations can arise for all companies and authorities that cannot be resolved immediately. This may be in relation to complicated facts related to a longer course of action, or in relation to a specific incident that the parties involved have a divergent view of. As lawyers, we are specially trained to identify the facts and assess the legal consequences. Often, a competent decision-making process will require an evidentiary and legal assessment of the course of events. In such cases, the legal investigation is justified.
Read moreThe data protection rules apply to all companies and authorities regardless of size and type. The data protection rules that apply in Denmark primarily originate from the EU, but a number of special rules have also been adopted in Denmark.
Read moreToday, the regulation of consumer protection in Denmark and the EU is both extensive and complex. In practice, many companies find it difficult to navigate the legal framework for online sales and marketing because both the market and legal regulation are evolving rapidly, and new sales and marketing methods emerge on a daily basis, introducing new opportunities but also compliance challenges and risks for companies.
Read moreESG is a rapidly evolving area that is relevant to every company, regardless of size and industry. ESG stands for "environmental", "social" and "governance", and refers to the environmental, social and governance issues that must be taken into account when working with everything from business strategy to daily operations.
Read moreCompetition law affects most businesses, regardless of industry and size. The rules are complex and there is often a fine line between a legal agreement and a criminal offense. Furthermore, the rules are enforced at both Danish and European level, and breaking the rules can lead to significant fines, bad publicity and commercial damage.
Read moreMarketing law provides the framework for how companies can market themselves and their products. The primary purpose of the rules is to ensure that companies demonstrate good marketing practices that take into account consumers, competitors and the general public interest.
Read moreThe Whistleblower Act regulates the protection of natural persons (whistleblowers) who make a report or publication of information that falls within the scope of the whistleblower legislation and to which the whistleblower has gained access in the course of his or her work-related activities.
Read moreNot sure which compliance areas your company is subject to?
FAQ
Simply put, compliance is the process of ensuring that your organization and your employees adhere to the laws, standards and ethical practices that apply to your organization.
In general, an organization's compliance work primarily consists of identifying and assessing relevant risks of non-compliance associated with the organization's activities and operations, and the subsequent development, implementation and auditing of compliance measures appropriate to the identified risks, including policies, procedures and security measures.
In addition, compliance work will often also consist of reporting, preparing and updating compliance documentation or submitting reports to relevant authorities.
Compliance is therefore a dynamic process and is very much about risk management and how the organization continuously plans, organizes and reassesses the work of complying with the applicable rules in the operation of the organization.
It is therefore also an area that is (or should be) an essential part of every organization's operations, regardless of industry and business type, as compliance requirements will always apply to a greater or lesser extent.
Your organization must ensure compliance with applicable rules, standards and requirements, while the vast majority of compliance requirements have an additional documentation requirement to support your compliance.
Although compliance requires constant adaptation and it can seem cumbersome and overwhelming to spend (often many) man-hours on preventive measures, most organizations also experience positive effects from working with compliance in a structured way, including process optimization, branding and overall company reputation.
As a starting point, it is the company and its management who are responsible for ensuring that the company complies with the legislation to which it is subject.
In special cases, certain employees may have special legal responsibilities as a result of their position. This may be the case, for example, if an employee is appointed as a DPO, which means that the employee has a special responsibility under the GDPR, or if an employee is appointed as part of the company's whistleblower unit, which means that the employee is subject to a special punishable duty of confidentiality under the Whistleblower Act.
In practice, the day-to-day work of implementing and operating the company's compliance programs will be anchored in the company's legal, HR or IT department, depending on the area of law in question. Larger companies typically have allocated resources to one or more compliance officers, whereas smaller companies often assign one or more administrative employees to ensure compliance with relevant legislation without actually allocating resources.
The most important thing, however, is that you decide who is responsible for handling the implementation and operation of the measures necessary to comply with the legislation that applies to your company.
In general, it is always important to comply with applicable laws and regulations, as non-compliance can result in varying degrees of fines, penalties or legal action.
In addition, non-compliance also often leads to negative publicity and, in the worst case scenario, commercial damage. Preventive measures and efforts can therefore save your organization countless costs in the long run.
Compliance is also about minimizing risks that could otherwise affect your business, customers, partners and society in general.
In addition, non-compliance often disrupts your organization's operations, and the right compliance measures can therefore increase the efficiency of your organization through increased structure and understanding of internal processes and risks.
With our help for your organization's compliance and with an effective program, you'll not only keep your organization from learning the hard way. You'll also ensure that your efforts are turned into a valuable business benefit for you. Compliance can be an important selling point for your business, while supporting your organization's trust and credibility.
If the accident has already happened and your organization needs help dealing with the consequences of noncompliance, we can help you minimize the damage as much as possible. With our help, you'll also move forward with stronger competencies to avoid similar situations in the future.
It's all about compliance. The first step is therefore often to identify the scope of general and sector-specific legislation that your organization is subject to and what requirements the legislation places on the organization.
Some companies will primarily be subject to general legislation that applies to all companies regardless of industry, such as GDPR or the Danish Marketing Practices Act. In addition, other companies will be subject to sector-specific legislation such as NIS2 or the P2B regulation.
You should also review your organization's procedures, work processes, policies, etc. to identify any "gaps" where the organization is not compliant.
Only after this mapping, you can identify what actions are necessary for the organization to become compliant and comply with legislation.
The process often requires you to make a number of risk assessments, including how to minimize relevant risks, but also how to prioritize your compliance efforts.
The start of a compliance process affects all or large parts of the organization and often results in changes to a number of policies, workflows and document management, and the process often also involves a number of new tasks that need to be implemented in the relevant parts of the organization.
Finally, it is important to be aware that an effective compliance program requires constant adaptation, and it is therefore important to allocate the right people to continuously operate the organization's program so that the initial - often very resource-intensive - efforts are not in vain because the implemented measures are not maintained and updated on an ongoing basis.
