6 compliance

champions you
want on your side
6 compliance champions you want on your side

00 The nature of technology is changing, with more enterprise data moving to

the cloud and physical borders eroding as a limitation to doing business. As
a result, compliance with regulations about how data is used, stored, and
01 managed has become increasingly central.

With cloud-generated data proliferating across the enterprise, compliance

is no longer solely the concern of the compliance team. Nearly every
02 department now has an impact on—and a stake in—regulatory compliance,
from HR to finance to marketing, and they’re often involved in the purchase 01. 02. 03.
and use of compliance solutions. Finance Compliance HR Compliance Marketing
03 2
If you’re accountable for compliance in your enterprise, how do you help Champion Champion Compliance
your organization steer clear of reputational challenges and the potential Champion
for increasingly large fines? How do you make sure you’ve got the right
04
compliance champions on your side?

Here are a few key departments you should consider partnering with
05 as you’re developing your organization’s compliance strategy. By
strengthening relationships with stakeholders across these areas, you can
bridge traditional disconnects and reduce compliance risk.
06
04. 05. 06.
IT Compliance Legal Compliance Line-of-Business
Champion Champion Compliance
Champion
6 compliance champions you want on your side

01
00

Finance Compliance
01
Champion
02
Most finance departments are already very familiar with the
idea of compliance, thanks to the broad range of finance
regulations, from Know Your Customer to Sarbanes-Oxley. This
03 can make them a receptive partner for your compliance team. 3

04
We’re always looking at the big
picture. Compliance concerns
should be an integral part of that
05
long-range outlook.

06
6 compliance champions you want on your side

Why finance cares

00

Compliance advocacy. Increasing predictability.

01 Along with priorities such as mitigating risk Finance works constantly to make
and increasing transparency, enhancing and projections and forecasts, to increase
advocating for compliance is already a core stability and predictability for the company.
goal of the finance department. They share the compliance team’s interest
02
in preventing anything that could result in
large fines.

03 4

04
What finance can bring
05
Process discipline. Forecasting expertise.
The data-driven, numbers-based culture Finance has many sophisticated processes
present in the typical finance department and tools in place for planning years in
06
can be enormously helpful in dealing with advance. Compliance roadmaps share
compliance issues, even just in terms of many similarities, managing long-range
providing sound data and guidance. compliance footprints and profiles across
multiple geographies.
6 compliance champions you want on your side

00 02

HR Compliance
Champion
01

02
In many ways, compliance and HR are a perfect match.
Both teams work to promote an ethical culture, and they
share priorities around privacy, employee conduct, and
03 5
regulatory knowledge.

04
I cared about compliance way before
GDPR. I know how to ensure training
happens correctly—and I can help
05
instill a strong compliance culture.

06
6 compliance champions you want on your side

Why HR cares
00

Common values. Compliance and performance.

01 HR is on the front lines of establishing and Employee compliance should complement
communicating corporate culture, and job performance in terms of evaluating
it shares the compliance team’s interest promotions and advancement, and that
in instilling honesty, transparency, and helps send a strong, unified message about
02
compliant behavior. corporate values and culture.

03 6

04
What HR can bring
05
Data expertise. Training resources.
If you’re rolling out technology that uses The HR department typically has many
employee data (for example, to improve employee training experts, so they can help
06
efficiency or automation), HR can help you with suppliers, best practices, and efficient
understand local laws and HR policies around coordination of programs.
using that data.
6 compliance champions you want on your side

03
00

Marketing Compliance
01
Champion
02
In the past, the compliance function often ended up in the
marketing or legal department, especially among smaller
businesses. This historic exposure to compliance rules can make
03 marketing a natural ally. 7

04 I can help you articulate why

compliance matters—to both rank-
and-file workers and senior leadership.
05

06
6 compliance champions you want on your side

Why marketing cares

00

Compliance concern. Brand reputation.

01 Marketing may feel overwhelmed by recent As chief guardians of your brand, marketing has
regulatory changes (especially around how a vested interest in helping your organization
and when they can contact customers). Your steer clear of regulatory missteps that could
compliance team can become a close partner harm your reputation and customer trust.
02
and help them navigate those changes.

03 8

04
What marketing can bring
05
Marketing skills. Organization influence.
Compliance initiatives can come across as In many companies, dedicated compliance
dull, so it is sometimes a struggle to get teams are new and have just begun to vie for
06
internal constituents on board. Marketing budget and resources. Marketing usually has
has natural communication strengths that good advice on how to justify ROI and get
can help make compliance education buy-in from leadership.
informative and entertaining.
6 compliance champions you want on your side

04
00

IT Compliance
01
Champion
02 In a mature organization, the compliance function is usually
separate from the IT department, but the two need to work
together closely to ensure that new technology initiatives
03 don’t create undue risk. 9

04 I know the technology, you know the

regulatory priorities. We can help each
other meet our respective goals.
05

06
6 compliance champions you want on your side

Why IT cares
00

Shadow IT. Prioritizing security.

01 In many organizations, line-of-business Security is already one of IT’s top priorities,
managers sidestep IT to use unvetted, and that dovetails well with the compliance
unregulated apps and services to pursue function. IT can help deploy secure
initiatives. IT and compliance teams are technologies that improve compliance while
02
natural allies in monitoring and managing still achieving business goals.
this “shadow IT.”

03 10

04
What IT can bring
05
Onboarding expertise. Shared influence.
Compliance onboarding is a critical part IT and compliance have many overlapping
of employee orientation, and IT can help priorities, and the two teams can have a
06
ensure that training is practical and effective, positive impact on new technology adoption
with tools in place for follow-up and if they share a united front during technology
continuing education. research and evaluation.
6 compliance champions you want on your side

00
05

01 Legal Compliance
Champion
02

Compliance is often a legal matter, so it’s no surprise when the

compliance team and the broader legal department work closely
03 11
together. In most companies, the compliance team resides
within legal, and the general counsel can even serve as the Chief
Compliance Officer (CCO).
04

It’s my job to represent our company’s

05 interests and provide advice on compliance—
but I can also provide insights on how to
prepare for regulatory change.
06
6 compliance champions you want on your side

Why legal cares

00

Accountability. Influencing leadership.

01 While larger companies place managerial Compliance with regulations, policies, and
responsibility in the hands of the CCO, the practices are in the job description of the
legal team can also be held accountable if general counsel, which is why the GC is
they fail to help create effective ethics and typically the first point of contact for the
02
compliance programs. board and the C- suite in terms of forming
regulatory strategy.

03 12

04
What legal can bring
05 Geographic expertise. Nuanced guidance
Legal is already adept at meeting obligations As technology-specific regulation grows,
and dealing with issues based on rules that so too does the practice of interpreting
06
shift from region to region. They can provide regulations and assessing risk. Legal can
good advice on fine-tuning local and provide expert guidance on technology
regional compliance programs. adoption and regulatory meaning—not just
for existing regulations, but also for emerging
considerations such as AI ethics.
6 compliance champions you want on your side

06
00

Line-of-Business
01
Compliance Champion
02 Line-of-business (LOB) managers—the people who
implement the programs that generate revenue for your
organization—often have some of the best on-the-ground
03 insights into how data is actually used and protected. 13

04 I’ve seen the headlines about other

companies hit by data breaches
and compliance failures. I get the
05 business value of compliance.

06
6 compliance champions you want on your side

Why LOB cares

00

Compliance implementation. The business case for compliance.

01 In some sense, LOB managers are often the Companies can’t bring their products to
implementers of a compliance strategy within market if they’re not in compliance, so that
the organization, especially in companies that provides a very immediate interest to LOB
sell technology. They make natural partners managers. Widespread coverage of regulatory
02
for creating more effective strategies. misconduct has also raised awareness of how
compliance can affect company success and
stock price.
03 14

04
What LOB can bring
05
Evangelism. Practical feedback.
Getting LOB managers onboard with Partnerships between compliance and LOB
compliance education early—and managers can be hugely useful for compliance
06
being sensitive to their concerns around success, because they know exactly what’s
maintaining flexibility and productivity— being proposed and implemented in the
can go a long way in building a pro- product groups.
compliance culture.
6 compliance champions you want on your side

As regulations around data and privacy become

more numerous and complex, it’s never been
Find out how Microsoft 365 E5
clearer that effective compliance is now table Compliance Solutions can help
stakes for a successful business.
your organization work together
By building strong working partnerships with
compliance champions, you can create clear
to improve compliance.
15
accountability and ownership for different
aspects of compliance and help make Learn more
compliance success a priority for everyone.

Contact me

© 2019 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This document is provided “as-is.” Information and views expressed in this document, including URL and other Internet website references, may change
without notice. You bear the risk of using it. This document does not provide you with any legal rights to any intellectual property in any Microsoft product. You may copy and use this document for your
internal, reference purposes.