Regulatory
Compliance and Small Business
Learn about the new regulatory environment and what you should do to
ensure that your small business is compliant.
A new regulatory
environment is affecting the business landscape, and compliance
standards such as Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) and HIPAA require businesses
to adhere to enforceable standards set by the government. Many
compliance standards require accountability on the part of
businesses, especially in the areas of data integrity, security, and
privacy. Small businesses, especially in the financial and
healthcare sectors or those that handle contracts from businesses in
these sectors or from government agencies, are more likely to be
affected by a more stringent regulatory environment.
According to a study
sponsored by the Office of Advocacy in 2005 titled "The Impact of
Regulatory Costs on Small Firms," small businesses with fewer than
20 employees spent $7,647 per employee to adhere to federal
regulations. In comparison to businesses with over 500 employees
that spent $5,282 per employee to comply with the same regulations,
small businesses spent approximately 45% more than their larger
business counterparts. However, compliance is not only a necessary
part of doing business in today's world, it also ensures a more
secure business practice and can help enhance customer confidence
and attract new contracts and business.
Initially however,
policy compliance may appear to be a daunting task. Yet, it is
possible to deal with government regulations in a timely and
effective way once you understand that the aspect of compliance that
is often most relevant to small businesses is protecting the
information of your customers, employees, clients, and others whom
you conduct business with. Once you understand how to create a
secure infrastructure to protect how you collect, store, and use
data, you can meet the required standards with greater ease.
Recommendations
Here are some steps you can take to keep your business compliant:
Learn about
regulations: Staying informed about the regulatory climate is
the first step in the process. New regulations are created every
year, and understanding which ones affect your business will help
you create a strategy, a timeline for meeting the regulations, as
well what resources you already have so that you will not replicate
controls already in place.
Assess your security
controls: You probably have many security controls in place for
the sake of creating a secure business environment. This will help
you a great deal, since you may only need to add a few extra
measures to stay compliant with a new law or regulation. Taking
stock of the hardware, software, and other IT devices you currently
use will help you understand what areas you need to add extra
protection to.
Install security
measures: You should always have a minimum set of security
measures installed to protect your business' network and resources,
such as customer contact lists. You should invest in a backup
solution to serve as a security measure – especially a disk-based
backup system that allows you to backup your files to an offsite
location and retrieve them easily and quickly. You will then have
access to important data if you experience data theft or loss and
need to contact customers or vendors. You should also install and
use antivirus software and firewall technologies. These security
solutions are necessary for a variety of regulations, especially to
comply with laws regarding customer data privacy.
Upgrade and update:
Though you may have antivirus protection, backup solutions, and
other IT security safeguards, outdated versions put your business at
risk from the very threats you are trying to avoid. Additionally,
proving to government agencies and other authorities that you have
taken adequate measures to protect confidential data may require you
to disclose the security measures you have taken. Keeping current is
not only one of the most important ways you can demonstrate
regulatory compliance, it is also a way to be sure that the measures
you have in place are effective. Check regularly for patches and
updates on antivirus and other software, and consider upgrading to
newer versions periodically to take advantage of technology
advances.
Install compliance
technology: There are different ways you can deal with issues of
compliance, depending on the nature of your business. Some
businesses, especially those in the healthcare and financial sectors
may need to take more precautionary measures than others. If your
business is in one of these sectors, you may consider compliance
software technology that can be used to meet IT compliance and
record and report what controls your business uses. This can be
especially useful for businesses in industries that have periodic
audits of business security controls and processes.
Conclusion
Regulatory compliance is an important aspect of doing business in
today's world. By taking steps to meet government regulations, you
will also gain your clients' and customers' trust. It will also help
you maintain a secure computing environment, saving time and
resources in the future by protecting your business from various
threats. The security measures you implement now will help keep your
business compliant and make it easier to meet new regulations that
arise.
from Symantec |
