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Complying with Competition Law
19
At least once a year the business should review the programme
to establish whether the compliance procedures and
monitoring mechanisms are working well. The review should
look at whether the programme is properly resourced and
supported by senior management, if it is operating properly,
whether compliance measures are appropriate and if the desired
results are being achieved.
The review should also assess whether the risks identified in the
initial risk assessment are still valid and if the programme still
addresses those risks. The review should also look at the level
of training and whether it is effective.
It may be useful to have the review carried out by an
independent person, who was not involved in the design and
implementation of the compliance programme. This could be
someone other than the compliance officer, perhaps another
senior manager or possibly even someone independent of the
business. This person should have access to all of the relevant
information and records of the business and should be in a
position to actively investigate the business' compliance
processes.
The monitoring and review stage typically
involves:
·
monitoring business activities and proper use of
the compliance programme on an ongoing basis
as a management activity
·
checking whether the compliance measures are
effectively preventing infringements
·
making management and staff aware of the fact
that they are being monitored for compliance
·
auditing to detect possible breaches of
competition law
·
annual review of compliance programme to
establish whether:
-
the procedures and monitoring mechanisms
are working
-
the programme is properly resourced and
supported by senior management
-
the programme is operating well and the
compliance measures are appropriate, with
the required results
-
the risks identified in the initial risk
assessment are still valid
-
whether those risks are addressed properly
-
review by person outside the compliance
function
-
access to all relevant information and records
to actively investigate the business' compliance
processes