The growing demand for ethics and compliance software

GRC solutions and compliance software comes in many different guises. Some GRC tools are better suited to mid-sized firms for example, while others may be better deployed by specific vertical markets, such as Financial Services. Overall the use of compliance software has become much more widespread over the last decade, as organisations look to stay on top of the ever growing and increasingly complex regulatory compliance requirements.

But there is an emerging type of compliance software that is really starting to gain market traction. What exactly is ethics and compliance software and why has it grown so sharply in popularity?

The connection between ethics and compliance

While ‘ethics’ and ‘compliance’ are two terms that are used interchangeably, particularly in business, they do mean very different things. Compliance is probably the easiest word to define in a business context.

Compliance refers to the laws, rules and regulations that must be followed precisely if an organisation is to achieve compliance. There are many tools that can help support this, a range of GRC software solutions and GRC software vendors that provide technology to cover a range of compliance requirements.

There is even specific compliance software for specific regulation, such as GDPR compliance software, meaning that whatever the compliance requirements there will almost certainly be a solution to support them.Most businesses have an idea of what they need to do to achieve compliance and many may well have a Chief Compliance Officer, or compliance team, to ensure that the organisation is compliant.

Ethics is harder to define exactly, but essentially means doing what is right irrespective of what the law may state. It’s also much more of a personal choice – what one individual within an organisation may regard as ethical behaviour, someone else may think the opposite.

But ethics in business has come to be seen as very important, as it guides the values, behaviours and even direction of a business. An ethically run business can improve staff retention and also have an impact on new business pipelines and profit margins. It is increasingly desirable to be perceived as an ethical company, and most customers would choose what they perceive to be an ethical organisation over one that isn’t.

Ethics and compliance software on the board agenda

This has meant that organisations are putting much more focus on being ethical than they have done previously. A recent report by NAVEX Global, the 2019 Definitive Corporate Compliance Benchmark Report, revealed that ethics and compliance programs are scaling up, growth driven in large part by strong support from senior management.

The research also showed that when leadership buys in to the strategic value of ethics and compliance programmes, it means a greater likelihood of success and increased perception of organisational ethics. Furthermore, it enables adoption of ethics and compliance technologies that improve programme performance.

These technologies are a key part of ethics and compliance programmes, and when CEOs make such an investment it makes clear their commitment to ethical business to employees, potential employees, customer, investors and more. But what options should organisations pursue when it comes to ethics and compliance software?

Oxial – an ethics and compliance software option for the mid-market

We have discussed previously how suitable Oxial’s IT GRC tool is for mid-market organisation. It’s affordable, flexible, packed with features to aid governance and compliance and is recognised by analysts and customers as one of the best GRC solutions in the market.

The same applies when deploying Oxial as ethics and compliance software. While there are a number of other options for ethics and compliance software in the market, these are mostly targeted at much bigger firms, with larger budgets and bigger teams with which to manage ethics and compliance. But smaller firms care about being ethical too, and by working with Oxial’s sGRC solution they can do so.

Oxial’s experts integrate technology and innovation, knowledge, governance and processes, culture and capabilities to mitigate risk.Because it helps organisations stay on top of all compliance requirements, leaders can be certain nothing will be missed and can allocate time and resource to looking at the ethics that go alongside compliance requirements.

Ethics and compliance software is a growing market but is dominated by vendors that are costly and lack flexibility. Oxial’s solution is the perfect option for mid-sized market firms that are keen to embark on ethics and compliance programmes, and if you think your company could benefit from that, please get in touch with us here.