Ultimate Guide to Developing Compliance Policies & Procedures 

In today’s constantly evolving and highly regulated business environment, companies must work within a complex web of laws, regulations, and industry standards to protect their interests and maintain a positive reputation. Developing effective compliance policies and procedures is crucial to ensuring that organizations meet their legal obligations and minimize the risk of costly fines, sanctions, or reputational damage.  

This article delves into the world of compliance policies and procedures, exploring their significance, the relationship between them, various types, key components, and best practices for creating, implementing, and ensuring compliance. Join us as we demystify the essential elements of compliance management and provide valuable insights to help your organization stay ahead of the curve in today’s competitive landscape. 

Compliance Policy vs Compliance Procedure 

Compliance policies provide guidelines and define expectations, while procedures outline the specific steps to achieve compliance. Compliance policies are guidelines that help prevent compliance issues. It’s important for every organization to have compliance policies in place so that every employee knows what is expected of them and what the consequences are if they don’t comply. Procedures work hand-in-hand with policies to create a solid foundation for compliance programs. 

Compliance procedures are a series of activities designed to achieve a specific goal. The main goal of compliance procedures is to ensure that the organization adheres to relevant laws, regulations, and standards. Procedures enable policies by providing a clearer and more structured approach to implementation. In short, a policy defines what needs to be done, who is responsible for doing it, and why it needs to be done, while a procedure sets out how it will be done. 

For example, a data protection policy may describe why data protection is essential and which users are responsible for protecting data. The associated procedure could describe how these users would handle sensitive data within the organization. Similarly, an anti-money laundering policy would address the need to prevent money laundering activities, while its procedure will define reporting requirements, risk assessment, and employee training. 

Related article: How to Keep Employees and Your Organization PCI Compliant. 

What are the key parts of a policy & procedure? 

Key components of compliance policies include purpose, scope, roles and responsibilities, and compliance monitoring. Compliance procedures are comprised of sequences of activities and protocols that align with policies. 

Types and Components of Compliance Policies 

Compliance policies can be categorized into different types based on their purpose and scope. Some common types of compliance policies include regulatory compliance policies, ethical and corporate social responsibility policies.  

Regulatory Compliance Policies 

These compliance policies are integral to any organization – they help ensure that the company adheres to relevant laws, regulations, and standards. Data protection, anti-money laundering, as well as health and safety are just some of the areas typically covered by these policies. 

Key Components of a Regulatory Compliance Policy 

A regulatory compliance policy typically consists of these components: 

• Purpose and goals: Examples of goals include ensuring data privacy, preventing financial fraud, and maintaining a safe working environment. 
• Scope: It describes which areas of the organization the policy applies to and the specific regulations or standards it addresses. 
• Roles and responsibilities: The responsibilities of compliance officers, managers, and employees are specified. 
• Compliance monitoring: This section specifies what is needed to monitor compliance with the policy and describes the measures to address violations. 

Ethical and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policies 

These policies define the organization’s ethical values and social and environmental responsibility commitments. They typically cover areas such as business ethics, fair labor practices, and environmental sustainability. 

Key Components of Ethical and CSR Policies 

For maximum effectiveness and actionable value, ethical and CSR policies consist of these components: 

• Statement of values and principles: This section defines the organization’s core values and guiding principles related to ethical behavior and social responsibility. 
• Applicability (scope): Applicability statements clearly state how and to whom the policy applies, and under what conditions. 
• Roles and responsibilities: This component describes the responsibilities of all organization members involved, including top management, department heads, and employees. 
• Compliance and monitoring: This part lays out the activities needed to ensure compliance (e.g., internal audits) and the consequences of non-compliance. 

Industry-specific Compliance Policies 

Each industry has its specific compliance requirements, covering regulations, professional standards, and best practices. Procedures for compliance usually involve key components that help ensure that a company or individual follows the rules. 

Types of Compliance Procedures

Here are some categories and examples of different types of compliance procedures that may be associated with them:

1. Regulatory Compliance Procedures:
   • Procedures for ensuring data privacy and protection
   • Procedures for preventing financial fraud
   • Procedures for maintaining a safe working environment
   • Procedures for reporting and addressing regulatory violations
2. Ethical and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Procedures:
   • Procedures for ethical decision-making and conduct
   • Procedures for fair labor practices
   • Procedures for environmental sustainability and waste management
3. Industry-specific Compliance Procedures:
   • Procedures for adhering to industry regulations and standards
   • Procedures for following best practices specific to the industry
   • Procedures for professional certification and licensing
   • Procedures for quality control and assurance in the industry
4. Data Protection and Information Security Procedures:
   • Procedures for handling sensitive data and confidential information
   • Procedures for managing access controls and user permissions
   • Procedures for conducting regular security audits and assessments
   • Procedures for responding to data breaches and security incidents

It’s important to note that the specific compliance procedures required for an organization will depend on its industry, size, location, and applicable laws and regulations. Additionally, compliance procedures should be clearly documented, regularly reviewed, and updated as needed to ensure ongoing compliance with evolving legal and regulatory requirements.

Key Components of Industry-Specific Compliance Policies 

An industry-specific compliance policy usually includes components such as: 

• Purpose and goals: The objectives of the policy, which could include adherence to industry regulations, following best practices, or meeting professional standards. 
• Scope: It describes the specific industry requirements the policy aims to address and the areas of the organization it applies to. 
• Roles and responsibilities: This section outlines the duties of various stakeholders, such as compliance officers, managers, and employees, in ensuring compliance with industry-specific requirements. 
• Compliance monitoring and reporting: It specifies the methods for monitoring compliance, the reporting requirements, and the consequences for non-compliance. 

Related article: the 4 Most Common Types of Compliance Risk and How to Avoid Them. 

Key Components of Compliance Procedures 

There are a few key components that make up effective compliance procedures. These include specifying the various activities or steps needed to perform a task, detailing the sequence in which a user is required to follow these steps, and outlining the specific policy that this task adheres to. By having all of this information readily available, it helps to ensure that everyone stays compliant with company procedures. 

Tips to Develop and Implement Effective Compliance Policies and Procedures 

One of the best ways to craft and implement effective compliance policies and procedures is to follow a systematic step-by-step process: 

1. Define its purpose, objectives/goals, and scope (applicability). 

2. Use a template to save time, and tailor it based on the policy type, purpose, and scope. 

3. Get buy-in from all relevant stakeholders, including top management, department heads, and the compliance team. 

4. Publish the policy and share training material with the intended audience (e.g., employees). 

5. Regularly review the policy and update it as required. 

These standard best practices can also help organizations to develop effective policies and procedures: 

• Every policy should specify the enforcement mechanism and penalties for non-compliance. 
• It should have a clear purpose, objectives/goals, and scope. 
• It should clearly define all important terms and abbreviations. 
• The language should be as jargon-free as possible. 

Additionally, policies and procedures should be clear and specific to ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them. For example, the data protection policy should say how employees should handle sensitive data, while the anti-money laundering policy should explain reporting requirements and risk assessment procedures. 

Why Compliance Policies & Procedures Are Important 

Policies and procedures are like the guidelines for how an organization protects its assets and makes sure it is following the law. They help create a framework that reduces risk and keeps everyone compliant. 

Here are some of the key reasons why policies and procedures are important in security compliance: 

• Consistency: Having policies and procedures in place provides employees with a clear set of guidelines to follow. This way, everyone in the company knows their roles and responsibilities when it comes to handling sensitive information. Not to mention, many standards and regulations require organizations to have certain policies in place before they can even begin handling data. having these policies helps show compliance GDPR and other data protection regulations. 
• Risk management: Having policies and procedures in place can help organizations manage risk by identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities and outlining the steps that should be taken to mitigate them. This can help prevent security breaches and minimize the impact of any incidents that do occur. 
• Accountability: Policies and procedures help to set up expectations for security within an organization. By having a clear plan of who is responsible for what, it becomes simpler to hold people and groups accountable for their choices and make sure that everyone is playing their part in safeguarding important data. 
• Continuous improvement: Over time, things like technology and regulations change, which means that the policies and procedures used by organizations need to change too. To do this, organizations should review and update their policy and procedure documents on a regular basis. This way, their security measures will still be effective and the overall security posture will produce continual improvement. 

Policies and procedures are critical for ensuring security compliance. They help protect sensitive information, reduce risk, and establish accountability within an organization. Without these documents in place, organizations may not meet regulations and standards, and fail to protect their information assets. 

Tips to Ensure Compliance with Security Policies and Procedures 

If there are no real consequences for ignoring company policies and procedures, then people will probably do just that. This creates compliance issues and makes the organization more likely to get into trouble with regulators, which could result in fines or reputational damage. 

Following these best practices can help ensure compliance with compliance policies and procedures: 

• Leverage enforcement mechanisms that humans cannot easily bypass or ignore, such as separation of duties or principle of least privilege. 
• Ensure the policies are realistic and not burdensome to comply with. 
• Integrate the policies and procedures into existing business processes and workflows. This will make it easier for employees to comply and reduce the risk of non-compliance
• Determine the best format for the intended audience so it is easy to understand. 
• Clearly communicate policies and procedures with all employees. 
• Clearly define and communicate the consequences of non-compliance with policies and procedures. 
• Share training material so that each employee understands what they need to do to comply. 
• Assign responsibility for implementing and enforcing policies and procedures to specific individuals or teams within the organization. 
• Regularly monitor compliance with policies and procedures to identify any areas of non-compliance or potential weaknesses. 
• Leverage technology by using tools, such as compliance management software, to automate and streamline compliance monitoring, reporting, and record-keeping.
• Periodically assess employees’ understanding of policies and procedures and update the training material accordingly. 
• Review policies and procedures regularly to ensure that they remain up-to-date and effective in protecting the organization from emerging threats. 
• Regularly review and update training materials and awareness programs to ensure that employees are informed of any changes. 

By taking these steps, an organization can ensure that their policies and procedures are not just documents sitting on a shelf, but are actively enforced and help maintain compliance with applicable regulations and standards. 

It takes years for a company to build its product portfolio, customer base, and reputation, but a lot less time to lose it all due to non-compliance. Clearly defined and consistently implemented compliance policies and procedures can help to avoid such catastrophes and maintain a strong compliance posture.  

By following the tips and best practices outlined in this article, organizations can develop and implement effective compliance policies and procedures that minimize risk and ensure ongoing compliance with relevant regulations and standards. 

Find out more about I.S. Partners’ Policy & Procedure Development Services. 

FAQs about Developing Policies & Procedures

About The Author

Ian Terry

Ian Terry, PCI-DSS QSA, CISSP, CCSP, HCISPP, ISO/IEC 27001 LA, CSM, SSCP, and HE:PSHO, is a highly respected thought leader and subject matter expert in the field of cybersecurity.

As the Director of Cybersecurity Services for AWA, Ian leverages his extensive knowledge and experience to provide valuable insights and guidance to clients across various industries.

Ian has performed numerous risk assessments and audits related to NIST, HIPAA, HITRUST, FISMA, PCI, and CMSR. He is also an expert in third-party risk management having built a SaaS security platform for streamlining third-party risk assessments. Ian's cybersecurity writings have been published in Hackernoon, Security Boulevard and CISO Mag.

He holds a B.S. in Cybersecurity from a national center of academic excellence in cybersecurity as recognized by the NSA and DHS and has CSM, HCISPP, and SSCP certifications.