Not every legal or business-management product is a compliance tool.

Compliance Stack focuses on products that help organizations meet, manage, monitor, document, or demonstrate compliance with corporate, legal, regulatory, governance, or internal-control requirements.

This can include software for:

• Corporate and entity compliance

• Corporate governance

• Legal and regulatory compliance

• Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)

• Corporate records and filings

• Policy management

• Ethics and compliance programs

• Codes of conduct

• Whistleblowing and speak-up programs

• Compliance training and attestations

• Internal controls

• Risk assessments

• Audit management

• Regulatory requirements

• Compliance reporting

• Investigations and case management

• Contractual obligations and contract compliance

• Third-party compliance risk

General legal software, contract software, business-management software, or board-management tools are not included simply because they are used by legal or corporate teams. To qualify for this category, a product should have a meaningful compliance, governance, risk, control, or regulatory function.

Corporate compliance is the system of policies, procedures, controls, and processes an organization uses to follow applicable laws, regulations, standards, and internal requirements.

Corporate compliance can cover areas such as:

• Corporate governance

• Ethics and business conduct

• Anti-bribery and anti-corruption

• Conflicts of interest

• Regulatory requirements

• Corporate records

• Internal policies

• Employee compliance

• Third-party risk

• Reporting and documentation

The exact requirements depend on the company's industry, size, locations, corporate structure, and activities.

Corporate governance is the framework through which an organization is directed, overseen, and held accountable.

It typically involves the roles and responsibilities of:

• Boards of directors

• Executives

• Shareholders

• Committees

• Employees

• Regulators

• Other relevant stakeholders

Good governance establishes how important decisions are made, who has authority, how risks are overseen, how decisions are documented, and how management is held accountable.

Entity compliance is the process of ensuring that each legal entity in a corporate structure maintains the registrations, filings, governance records, appointments, licenses, and other legal obligations required in the jurisdictions where it operates.

For organizations with multiple subsidiaries or entities, this can involve tracking:

• Annual filings and returns

• Corporate registrations

• Directors and officers

• Registered addresses

• Shareholders and ownership

• Corporate records

• Board resolutions

• Regulatory deadlines

• Licenses and permits

• Jurisdiction-specific obligations

Entity management software can help centralize this information and track recurring compliance requirements.

Legal compliance means following the laws and regulations that apply to an organization and its activities.

Depending on the business, this can include:

• Corporate law

• Employment law

• Consumer protection

• Competition law

• Environmental requirements

• Data protection

• Financial regulations

• Product regulations

• Industry-specific rules

• Contractual obligations

Legal compliance requirements vary significantly between businesses and jurisdictions.

GRC stands for Governance, Risk, and Compliance.

GRC describes the processes, controls, and systems organizations use to:

• Establish governance structures

• Identify and assess risks

• Manage compliance requirements

• Create and maintain controls

• Conduct audits and assessments

• Track issues and remediation

• Monitor regulatory obligations

• Report to management and boards

GRC software helps organizations bring these activities into structured workflows.

Entity management is the process of maintaining accurate information and documentation about a company's legal entities.

This can include:

• Incorporation information

• Directors and officers

• Shareholders

• Ownership structures

• Registered addresses

• Corporate documents

• Board resolutions

• Regulatory filings

• Compliance deadlines

• Organizational charts

Entity management software centralizes this information and can help legal and corporate teams track obligations across multiple entities and jurisdictions.

Corporate records are the documents and information that establish and document a company's legal structure, ownership, governance, and important corporate decisions.

Examples include:

• Articles of incorporation or association

• Bylaws

• Share registers

• Ownership records

• Board minutes

• Board resolutions

• Shareholder resolutions

• Director and officer appointments

• Regulatory filings

• Organizational charts

• Material corporate agreements

Maintaining accurate and accessible corporate records is an important part of corporate governance and entity compliance.

Policy management is the process of creating, approving, distributing, maintaining, and monitoring organizational policies.

Compliance-focused policy management can help organizations:

• Assign policy owners

• Manage approvals

• Distribute policies

• Track versions

• Collect employee acknowledgements

• Manage attestations

• Schedule policy reviews

• Maintain evidence of compliance

It is commonly used for codes of conduct, ethics policies, information-security policies, workplace policies, and other internal requirements.

A code of conduct sets out the standards of behavior an organization expects from employees and other relevant individuals.

It may address areas such as:

• Conflicts of interest

• Bribery and corruption

• Gifts and entertainment

• Confidentiality

• Workplace behavior

• Fair dealing

• Use of company resources

• Reporting misconduct

• Regulatory compliance

Organizations may use compliance software to distribute their code of conduct, provide related training, collect attestations, and manage reports or incidents.

Whistleblowing compliance involves providing appropriate channels and processes for people to report suspected misconduct, wrongdoing, or violations.

Depending on the jurisdiction and organization, requirements can involve:

• Confidential reporting

• Anonymous reporting

• Protection against retaliation

• Investigation procedures

• Case management

• Recordkeeping

• Follow-up

• Reporting and oversight

Whistleblowing software can provide reporting channels and help compliance teams manage investigations, documentation, and audit trails.

Contract compliance is the process of ensuring that an organization fulfills the obligations contained in its contracts.

These obligations can include:

• Payment requirements

• Renewal dates

• Reporting requirements

• Service levels

• Insurance requirements

• Data-processing obligations

• Regulatory clauses

• Deliverables

• Termination conditions

Contract management software can help organizations identify and monitor these obligations so important contractual requirements are not overlooked.

A compliance program is the collection of policies, procedures, controls, training, monitoring, reporting, and governance processes an organization uses to manage its compliance responsibilities.

A compliance program may involve:

1. Identifying applicable requirements

2. Assessing compliance risks

3. Creating policies and procedures

4. Assigning responsibilities

5. Training employees

6. Implementing controls

7. Monitoring compliance

8. Managing incidents and investigations

9. Correcting problems and tracking remediation

10. Maintaining evidence and reporting to management or the board

The appropriate structure depends on the organization's size, industry, jurisdictions, and risk profile.

The right features depend on the organization's compliance requirements. Relevant capabilities can include:

• Entity management

• Corporate records

• Governance workflows

• Board and decision documentation

• Compliance calendars

• Regulatory tracking

• Risk assessments

• Internal controls

• Audit management

• Policy management

• Compliance training

• Employee attestations

• Whistleblower reporting

• Incident management

• Investigations

• Contract obligation tracking

• Third-party risk management

• Audit trails

• Reporting and dashboards

• Document management

• Multi-entity support

• Multi-jurisdiction support

Businesses should evaluate software based on the specific legal, regulatory, governance, and internal-control requirements they need to manage.

More Corporate, Legal & Governance Compliance Tools

LogicGate

https://www.logicgate.com/

GRC & Compliance Workflows

LogicGate provides configurable GRC software for managing compliance workflows, risk programs, controls, assessments, and regulatory requirements.

Best for: Organizations looking for configurable enterprise GRC workflows.