For the effective safeguarding of compliance-relevant processes, a balanced mix of different control types is essential. The selection of appropriate controls should be guided by the nature of the compliance risk, the process characteristics, and the regulatory requirements.
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Fundamental control categories for compliance processes:
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Preventive controls: Prevent compliance violations before they occur (e.g., approval workflows, system validations)
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Detective controls: Identify compliance violations that have occurred (e.g., monitoring, reconciliations, reviews)
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Directive controls: Guide towards compliant behavior (e.g., policies, training, standard operating procedures)
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Corrective controls: Remediate identified compliance violations and their effects (e.g., correction processes)
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️ Specific control mechanisms for compliance safeguarding:
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Process-integrated system controls (e.g., automatic validations, authorization concepts)
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Four-eyes principle for critical compliance decisions and activities
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Regular compliance reviews and self-assessments
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Automated data analyses to identify compliance-critical patterns
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Compliance-specific Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and thresholds
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Criteria for selecting appropriate compliance controls:
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Regulatory requirements and expectations of supervisory authorities
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Nature and criticality of the compliance risk to be mitigated
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Characteristics and complexity of the underlying process
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Available resources and technological capabilities
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Cost-benefit ratio and implementability of controls