3
Lines of defence
Boards, management, and frontline teams each own part of compliance oversight.
Compliancemanagementfundamentals
Plain-language compliance and risk management guidance.
Understand what compliance management covers, how a compliance management system works, and how to stay ahead of corporate compliance obligations with confidence.
What is compliance management?
Compliance management is the system of policies, obligations, controls, and reporting that keeps an organisation onside with regulators, customers, and community expectations. It connects corporate compliance tasks with enterprise risk management so teams understand duties, evidence, and escalation paths.
360°
View
Link obligations, policies, controls, issues, and approvals to see compliance risk clearly.
24/7
Cadence
Compliance management is continuous—not an annual audit exercise.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why compliance and risk management belong together
Protect trust. Employees and customers expect corporate compliance guardrails before they will share data, transact, or partner. A clear compliance management system shows how obligations are met and how issues are treated.
Prevent fines and disruptions. When business compliance routines are documented, teams spot gaps before regulators, lenders, or insurers do. That keeps investigations short and de-risks funding rounds, tenders, or expansion plans.
Decide faster. Linking compliance and risk management ensures every strategy review includes legal, privacy, safety, and conduct considerations alongside financial metrics.
SYSTEM DESIGN
How to build a compliance management system
- Governance + tone Define the policy hierarchy, escalation paths, and committee oversight that keep compliance visible from board to frontline.
- Policies + controls Document how obligations translate into policies, procedures, and control activities with clear owners and evidence expectations.
- Monitoring + reporting Automate attestations, track incidents, and prepare dashboards so business compliance data flows into risk and board packs.
CADENCE
How to monitor compliance risk and reporting
- Map obligations List regulations, standards, licences, and voluntary codes. Note due dates, thresholds, and regulators for each.
- Assign owners + controls Document who runs each control, what evidence they must capture, and which systems store the trail.
- Track attestations + issues Schedule sign-offs, automate reminders, and log incidents so trends are visible across functions.
- Link to enterprise risk Escalate breaches quickly, capture remediation tasks, and update the risk register when limits are breached.
Keep compliance management moving
Refresh the obligations register
Audit existing commitments, consolidate duplicates, and remove expired clauses so teams work from a single source.
Clarify policy ownership
Document accountable executives, day-to-day coordinators, and review cadences for every compliance policy.
Connect incidents to reviews
When issues arise, capture them in the same workspace used for board and executive reporting to avoid surprises.
COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT GLOSSARY SNAPSHOT
Compliance management glossary snapshot
Compliance management system. The combination of governance, policies, processes, controls, monitoring, and reporting that keeps obligations visible.
Obligations register. A living list of laws, regulations, licences, and commitments plus the owners, controls, and due dates tied to each.
Compliance risk appetite. The board-approved tolerance for compliance breaches, used to trigger escalation when limits are exceeded.
FAQS
Compliance management FAQs
How is compliance management different from risk management?
Compliance management focuses on meeting external and internal obligations, while risk management weighs uncertainties across the business. They work together so every risk decision considers legal and conduct impacts.
Do smaller organisations need a compliance management system?
Yes. The system can be lightweight, but documenting roles, controls, and reporting keeps growth plans safe and prepares the team for future regulations.
When should we consider compliance software or RegTech?
Adopt technology once spreadsheets slow you down, evidence lives in many tools, or regulators expect near real-time reporting.
How often should policies and controls be reviewed?
Plan at least annual reviews for key policies, with additional checks when regulations change or incidents highlight a gap.
Drova's RunGood platform helps compliance and risk teams document obligations, track issues, and report with confidence.
Ready to keep compliance work and approvals in one place?
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