Since the August 2021 reform of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP), Ecuador has established the requirements that a compliance program must meet, which are detailed in Article 49 of the legal text. However, little has been said about the importance of socializing the compliance program.
To illustrate how fundamental this is, let’s imagine a major sporting event, in which the organizers have made a great effort to achieve a certain level of competition, a prominent prize, sponsorships, etc. What would happen if the event did not receive sufficient publicity? What would happen if the event were not broadcast by an appropriate media outlet and did not obtain the required ratings? Could it generate enough impact and generate the profits expected by the organizers? The answer is clear: obviously not.
The same applies to our case. In a scenario where the company, through its Compliance Body, does not communicate to its employees, suppliers, customers, and other interested third parties that the implementation of the compliance program has begun, how can we demand that our stakeholders act in accordance with the code of ethics, protocols, instruments, and other internal regulations developed?
For this reason, it is essential that at the beginning of the compliance program’s development, we formally communicate to our stakeholders that this process has begun. From this moment on, our company will be able to demand certain ethical behavior in accordance with the law. This will allow us to ensure that the eleven requirements demanded by the COIP are met and considered by everyone who makes up the company, as well as by the individuals and legal entities with whom it interacts.
