Monitoring reporting constitute the nervous system of compliance programs. Implementation of an integrity management system requires continuous monitoring of activities and service delivery to make sure that there is compliance.
RASID is an integrity monitoring system designed to recognise and reinforce ethical practices and to identify and improve unsatisfactory performance.
Effective monitoring of the implementation of integrity plans is very important. The purpose of the integrity monitoring system is to evaluate and track the conduct and policies of employees to ensure compliance with laws, regulations and ethical standards; and to prevent, detect, and report any illegal acts, waste, fraud, abuse, or corruption.
Monitoring the implementation of an integrity program rests with the integrity and compliance function or departmental management.
There are many sources for monitoring integrity
Balancing monitoring and privacy is attainable when organisations communicate to their employees the purpose of monitoring activities, set privacy expectations and implement reasonable monitoring policies.
Mystery shopping is a vital part of integrity management program for any business. It is one of the most cost-effective and flexible management tools available. It can be deployed quickly and inexpensively.
Mystery shopping allows business managers to quickly gather reliable and quality feedback from a customer’s perspective. It is an invaluable tool for businesses seeking to evaluate a team’s performance levels.
Whistle blowing is a valuable detection, prevention and deterrent mechanism in as far as unethical conduct is concerned.
A whistleblowing system is as much a compliance tool as one of the most effective early detection tools on issues related to fraud, harassment, theft, corruption, collusion and nepotism.
The integrity management should promote whistleblowing and its whistleblowing policy and provide overall guidance for the reporting integrity violations and other concerns and enable employees to raise concerns.
The aim of the Whistle blowing Policy is to:
The organisation should periodically plan conduct internal audits to determine whether the integrity management system conforms to planned arrangements for integrity management; and whether it is effectively implemented and maintained. The selection of auditors and conduct of audits shall ensure objectivity, impartiality and confidentiality of the audit process.
Independent internal check of the effectiveness of the internal control systems and the spotting of voids along the processes
The responsibility for all compliance audits should be with the audit department as it is typically independent from the operational management.
The integrity and compliance department would be responsible for advising the audit function about potential risk factors that need to be considered.
The organisation should report integrity as a specific sections in the general annual report and as a specific annual integrity report.
The reporting provides reasonably transparent insights into the integrity management processes and into their objectives and results.
This reporting has the potential to create structural changes to entire organisation.
