Non-compliance cost companies more than $14 million in 2017. That means a strong culture of compliance can build a better business and put money back in your organisation’s pocket. Yet, organization-wide compliance is challenging without utilising a conflict of interest software solution.
With countless solutions at your fingertips, finding the right solution for you can be challenging. But there are certain features a solution must have to be effective, regardless of your industry or company size.
Here, we discuss four characteristics and capabilities that all conflict-of-interest solutions should have.
1. Drive participation
Many conflict-of-interest software solutions come with a lot of bells and whistles. And while all those extra features might be excellent, they’re useless if they don’t satisfy the end goal of any conflict of interest program: participation. Ease of use and intelligent design, among other factors, drive a compliance culture.
Guided disclosure forms, automatic escalation of disclosure review, and easy access on any WiFi network are just some features that will elevate your conflict of interest solution. Have these exact expectations for your software provider. They should work with you to implement these compliance best practices as efficiently as possible.
2. Make it easy to share results
A strong culture of compliance doesn’t stop at the initial report. Instead, that report triggers a series of steps that escalate the report toward a solution and allow for gathering valuable data. Sharing and acting on that data should be a straightforward next step, and you should expect your software solution to do much of the heavy lifting.
Boards, shareholders, and the rest of the company want to see the compliance metrics that matter to them. Seek out a software solution that allows you to share campaign results and personalised data visualisations without losing sleep. Doing so will empower you to facilitate real change within your organisation.
3. Automatically log your conflict of interest campaigns
At its most basic level, a conflict of interest solution protects you and your company from unnecessary risk. Yet, you might unknowingly expose yourself to new risks without audit protection. Software with audit protection ensures that every step of your conflict of interest process automatically gets logged.
This feature will allow you to access every detail within your solution at a moment’s notice. Should auditors ask to see the information, you’ll be able to hand it over quickly, knowing that your data is accurate and organised.
4. Identify areas for improvement
Reasonable conflict-of-interest software solutions should help you build a better business. They do this by identifying areas of improvement you might’ve missed—even if you know your success metrics like the back of your hand.
Leave the data processing and visualisation to your software solution. Customisable visualisations give insight into your conflict of interest program’s success, allowing you to pinpoint strategic areas of improvement for your organisation. This is how you’ll genuinely mitigate risk and solidify your competitive advantage.
In conclusion
Not all conflict-of-interest solutions are created equal. Though several software solutions exist to help you manage conflicts of interest, don’t be distracted by bells and whistles that don’t add value. An effective software solution will drive participation at its most basic level by making it easy for your employees to file reports. From there, it’ll put in the work behind the scenes to deliver those reports, analyse data on the go and reveal your organisation’s most significant opportunities for improvement. Ensure the software you choose includes all of these features.