Ethicast Episodes

Overreliance on Manual Processes for Risk Assessment, Disclosures, and Third-Party Management 

Spreadsheets and other manual tools are in heavy use, particular for risk assessments (35%), tracking disclosures (Conflicts of Interest at 24% and Gifts & Entertainment at 28%) and even third-party risk management (18%). This was a surprise to us, as there has been significant growth in the tools offered for these workflows and manual tracking is very labor-intensive. 

Speaking of third parties, a sizeable percentage of respondents are not engaged enough with the third-party management platform their organization uses to have an opinion on it. The tools are commonly the purview of procurement or supply chain management instead of compliance. 

More than a third (34%) of respondents listed Other as their TPM vendor, the vast majority of whom have no opinion or a neutral one, which suggests a disconnect in this sector between E&C and the use of vendors in this space. Another 18% listed their vendor as In-House, but with a similar overall impression.  

The three most common named vendors each only accounted for a single digit share of this space. Beyond those vendors were another 11 named vendors, each of which held very small portion of respondents, but many of which returned 100% favorable ratings, which is to say that there is a broad field of vendors that have earned small, but happy audiences within the BELA community. 

Hotlines and Case Management Systems 

Two vendors dominate both spaces among BELA member companies. The top mentioned vendor for case management is the clear solution of choice in this area accounting for nearly half (49%) of all responses in this section, and it also enjoys an overall 53% positive rating. The second most mentioned vendor has a little less than half of the top vendor’s share in this area (21%) and enjoys the same positive rating (52%). 

Beyond these two kingpins of the space, responses cover another 10 named vendors within the Other category, and another 6 named vendors with single-digit shares in this space. Across this breadth of responses, users report generally favorable impressions of their vendor, though many of them are sample sizes of only one or two responses. 

For hotlines, we see the same top vendor as for case management, with 59% of respondents naming them as their hotline vendor. This provider also receives generally high marks (60% positive, 27% neutral). The next-largest vendor comes in at 21% for usage, also receiving generally favorable reviews (55% positive, 36% neutral. 

Notably, while few users reported using an In-House system, those that did gave it a negative review two thirds (67%) of the time. 

How satisfied (or not) are companies with their compliance workflow tools and technology solutions? 

Curious about the names of vendors and their satisfaction rating? BELA members receive access to the complete report with additional data points on usage and satisfaction of specific vendors. To request guest access visit: https://ethisphere.com/request-bela-guest-access/