Adaptation is key to survival in business. Changing circumstances like new regulatory laws, or global uncertainties like cybersecurity issues force businesses to adapt to new predicaments. Faced with these unforeseen challenges, corporate entities must revisit their policies and workflows to appropriately adapt.

When unforeseen challenges threaten the legal security of your corporate entity, the most prudent adaptation lies within your governance, risk management, and compliance policies. Your GRC organizational strategy should include protocols for adapting to unforeseen changes that risk compromising the legal security and integrity of your business entity.

What is the purpose of having GRC policies?

The purpose of GRC policies is to manage data security risks, reduce underlying business costs, and maintain compliance with regulatory laws. Creating a strategy to manage GRC policies makes it easy to pivot processes and workflows when unforeseen challenges arise.

GRC policies also enable more transparent communication of vital business entity information. Data security and privacy protection laws make it vital to protect confidential legal entity data or risk the penalties of non-compliance. Ensure your GRC strategy includes data protection processes that remain up-to-date with the latest regulatory requirements.

Examples of unforeseen challenges that affect GRC policies

It’s natural to face a certain degree of uncertainty while conducting business. After all, there’s no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to business.

Uncertainties can arise both internally and externally that force you to adapt GRC policies and procedures. Here are some common examples of internal and external unforeseen challenges that will force your corporate entity to pivot established workflows.

Unforeseen internal challenges

Unforeseen internal challenges are unexpected events that impact the standing and operating workflows of your corporate entity. Common examples of internal challenges include:

• Lawsuits brought by employees, customers, suppliers, or third-party vendors

• Lower-than-forecast quarterly performances that cause financial issues for the business

• Changes in leadership or ownership that uproot established growth plans and workflows

• Integrations of different company cultures following mergers, takeovers, or acquisitions

Any or all of the preceding examples can throw off your business growth plans. That’s why having a documented GRC strategy is so important to maintain corporate security. Refer to your written policies, and then you can make appropriate changes to your procedures in response to unforeseen challenges.

Unforeseen external challenges

No company exists in a vacuum, and a combination of technological advancements and geopolitical alliances have opened the doors to a truly global economy. For those reasons, your business entity is susceptible to the whims of global turbulence. Examples include:

• Global conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and the worldwide fallout

• Supply chain issues that disrupt the distribution of vital goods and services

• Political extremism that cracks down on open market business operations

• New regulatory laws passed by national, international, or regional governments

When circumstances outside your entity’s control impact business operations, it’s important to remain calm and accept the events that are beyond your control. Instead of overreacting and risk undercutting your growth trajectory, simply refer to your GRC policies to determine the best adaptation method so you can move forward.

Risks of not adapting your corporate GRC policies

The biggest risk of failing to adapt GRC protocols is the risk of non-compliance. Failing to maintain compliance with the laws can result in multimillion dollar penalties issued against your corporate entity. These fines could be subjected to the organization itself, and members of your executive leadership team may also be the targets of non-compliance fines.

In some extreme cases of non-compliance, business leaders face criminal charges and potential jail time. The most recent example of these extreme non-compliance circumstances is the scandal surrounding FTX and the criminal charges lobbied against Sam Bankman-Fried.

Compliance is one of the three pillars of your GRC organizational strategy. Corporate compliance protocols help protect corporate assets, ensure financial transparency, and maintain compliance with the laws to prevent those costly penalties.

Entity management software is your secret weapon to combat unforeseen issues

When unforeseen challenges to GRC policies occur, your business leaders need the resources to make strategic decisions on how to adapt. Visibility into the root causes of those unforeseen challenges; visibility that’s granted through entity data and insights gleaned from that data enables leaders to make those strategic pivots.

Entity management software functions as a single source of truth to help leaders gain insight into the unforeseen challenges. Entity management systems retain all legal entity data in one centralized platform, providing a clear and transparent overview of the issues that affect GRC policies, including corporate compliance.

Detailed minute book records provide valuable legal insights

Records maintained within entity management software prepare your legal team for any unexpected lawsuits brought against the organization. The platform also maintains diligent shareholder records, providing a detailed audit on which investors own x percent of the business entity. You can also use the platform to issue or transfer shares amongst shareholders or to new investors in the business.

Compliance framework guides your team to maintain legal security

Most importantly, entity management software like MinuteBox has a built-in compliance framework. The platform monitors your organizational charts, calendars, workflows, and other templates for any errors, statutory non-compliance, and date-based compliance tasks that could penalize the business.

Efficient entity management workflows help you pivot when needed

Unforeseen circumstances are not predictable, and you need to have resource efficient workflows that allow your business to pivot when these circumstances occur. Entity management software makes it more efficient to document, manage, and report on legal entity data. This allows your team to proactively react (in a very oxymoron manner) when unforeseen challenges force you to change your GRC policies.