In recent times there has been a paradigm shift in many economies in the way that corporate governance, business ethics and compliance are approached. It is a shift that continues to be driven by demanding performance expectations, increasing stakeholder demands and growing public scrutiny after some spectacular failures around the globe.
Potentially, this is a highly positive development. An investment environment places a premium on solid performing businesses that are well-managed, conferring a competitive advantage on businesses that create and maintain a culture of "integrity-driven performance".
However, it is also the case that managing the shift to this new level is not simple. It presents serious challenges not only for business, but for governments, regulators, investors and other stakeholders.
In this environment of rapid change and what can seem like ever increasing demands, management often finds it difficult to fully comprehend the total cost of compliance. It sees the potential for costs to escalate without the organisation realising the full benefit of such investment. Additionally, there is the need to provide more relevant and timely information in the public arena. This has heightened the focus on transparency, as well as an increased need to provide accurate and periodic reporting of issues/events and certifications.
How PwC can help you
Here are some examples of governance and compliance challenges we assist our clients with:
- Advising on board and management performance and accountability
- Embedding governance into the organisation
- Reducing the incidents of failure
- Identifying and address complaints and breaches of legislation and internal processes
- Achieving greater value for compliance spend
- Improving stakeholder and regulator relationships and communication.
