The Tribune

A Bahamian compliance professional was part of a panel that examined the growing risks created by operating and supply chain changes enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cheryl Bazard, pictured, featured in the discussion led by Risk Assisting Network + Exchange (RANE), which has offices in New York, Boston, and Washington. Its Insight Series seeks to provide business leaders across all industries with strategies and knowledge on emerging risk issues.

When COVID-19 first hit, most companies were focused on continuity. Cyber, data privacy and compliance issues were not necessarily given as much attention, as employees quickly scrambled to remote work.

They sometimes used personal computers, USBs and personal clouds to store company information. Now, companies are grappling with how to tighten controls again.

"We weren't relaxing during the pandemic, but the adherence to standard compliance practices were not as rigidly applied." said Mrs Bazard, one of three panelists. "Regulators across the globe were a bit flexible early on, given the circumstances, but as the return to some sense of normalcy resumes, they are now enforcing adherence in order to avoid a breakdown of local and international standards."

The principal of the law firm, Bazard & Company, said compliance must continue to be seen as a "know" department and not a "no" department. She advised professionals listening in on the webinar to use this time to their advantage, understand where their clients are headed and get to "know" them and their business better.

Mrs Bazard, the founding president of the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers (BACO), said that while many governments rushed to prop-up collapsing economies and provide cash-starved companies with financial assistance, the risk of corruption increased. As a result, there needed to be a closer look at the flow of funds from these programmes.

Craig Moss, executive vice-president of the Arizona-based Ethisphere, an institute which advances ethical business practices, echoed similar sentiments. "People under business pressure can lead to corruption issues," he said.

"An increase in fraud - bribery, corruption, theft, information loss - is more likely to happen in this present environment," said Stephen Martin, a partner in StoneTurn, a global advisory firm that assists companies and government agencies on regulatory, risk and compliance issues, together with investigations and business disputes.

Making the situation worse, said Mr Martin, compliance budgets are frequently cut during difficult financial periods with a negative impact for monitoring and oversight of a remote workforce.

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience, the attorney advised companies to pay attention to data and use this time to overhaul their risk assessment processes.

Since less oversight of third parties are common during economic crisis, Mr Martin recommended aggressive accounting to avoid employee fraud and workers' misuse of company assets.

"Customers are paying attention to how you dealt with your employees during this crisis. Those who react well get the gold star of approval from their clientele," said Mrs Bazard, who added that social media provides the platforms for praise and criticisms.