20 Regulatory Compliance Must-Know Terms

Welcome to our informative article on 20 regulatory compliance must-know terms! As a business owner, it’s important to understand the various rules and regulations that govern your industry.

1. Regulatory Compliance: Adherence to laws, regulations, guidelines, and specifications relevant to a business or operation.

    

2. Compliance Management System (CMS): A program that helps organizations manage their compliance with legal, industry, security, and other regulations.

    

3. Due Diligence: The investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract.

    

4. Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX): A U.S. law that sets enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management, and public accounting firms.

    

5. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): A regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy in the European Union and the European Economic Area.

    

6. Anti-Money Laundering (AML): A set of laws, regulations, and procedures designed to prevent criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds as legitimate income.

    

7. Know Your Customer (KYC): The process of a business verifying the identity of its clients to prevent identity theft, financial fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing.

    

8. Risk Assessment: The identification, evaluation, and estimation of the levels of risk involved in a situation, with the aim to manage and mitigate potential risks.

    

9. Data Privacy: The handling, processing, storage, and usage of personal information in compliance with data protection laws.

    

10. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): U.S. legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information.

     

11. Compliance Audit: A comprehensive review of an organization’s adherence to regulatory guidelines.

     

12. Internal Controls: Processes and procedures put in place to ensure the integrity of financial and accounting information and compliance with laws and regulations.

     

13. Sanctions: Penalties or other enforcement actions taken by one or more countries against an individual, country, or entity.

     

14. Code of Conduct: A set of rules outlining the social norms, rules, and responsibilities of, or proper practices for, an individual, party, or organization.

     

15. Whistleblower Policy: A policy that provides guidelines for handling internal reports or complaints about illegal or unethical practices.

     

16. Information Security (InfoSec): The practice of preventing unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, inspection, recording, or destruction of information.

     

17. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): A United States law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from bribing foreign government officials for business purposes.

     

18. Compliance Officer: An employee whose responsibilities include ensuring the company complies with its outside regulatory requirements and internal policies.

     

19. Corporate Governance: The system of rules, practices, and processes by which a firm is directed and controlled, focusing on the interests of stakeholders.

     

20. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG): The three central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a company or business.

These terms cover a broad spectrum of areas in regulatory compliance, from financial practices to data protection, and are essential for businesses to understand in order to maintain legal and ethical standards in their operations.