Compliance management systems have established themselves as an integral part of corporate organizations in many medium-sized and large companies. A clear objective here is compliance with applicable laws and protection against fraud and reputational risks. Nevertheless, the question of the extent to which companies want to or should participate in socio-political developments when interpreting the terms “integrity” or “ethics” often remains unresolved. The expectations of the public, politicians, investors, management, employees and other stakeholders towards companies can also diverge significantly. In this context, creating and maintaining a value-based corporate culture is a challenging task for companies, management and compliance officers.

In addition to systems and processes, a company’s culture is therefore crucial to how employees and managers behave in difficult situations.