What Your Business Needs to Know about Compliance Reporting

Some industries require more compliance than others, as they handle sensitive data on a regular basis. In efforts to protect this data, governments and agencies have implemented laws, regulations, and other requirements to ensure businesses remain compliant with this expectation.

Listed below is a discussion on how businesses prove their compliance through the process of compliance reporting.

Compliance Reporting

Imagine that your business is required to adhere to various standards and regulations. If you were to be audited, a compliance report would help establish that you are doing what you are supposed to. It’s an easy way to prove to governing authorities that you have done your due diligence and that your organization is taking its data seriously.

You can think of a compliance report as a progress report for your level of compliance. The report itself basically gives your business a frame of reference to ensure that its decision-making process is in line with what the auditor expects. As a managed service provider, we are mostly concerned with compliance standards that are directed toward your company’s IT and the data contained within.

Standards that Compliance Reporting Could Benefit

There are several industry-specific standards that your organization might need to report on, including the following:

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
HIPAA sets the standards for how a person’s health information must be protected and safeguarded.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework
The framework established by NIST provides businesses with established security best practices that can help them minimize risk.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
Businesses accepting card payments must ensure they are following the data security standards associated with this form of payment. These standards are also required for applications to accept transactions in this way.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Any business collecting data from citizens of the European Union must abide by the regulations set by the GDPR.

Naturally, there are other regulations as well, but these are some of the more critical ones to keep in mind. Each of these impose fines or other penalties on businesses that fail to comply, so it’s your duty as a responsible business owner to ensure you meet these standards and adhere to these regulations.

Are There Compliance Standards You Need to Meet? We Can Help!

Macro Systems can help your business with maintaining compliance with the various standards and regulations you might be expected to adhere to. To learn more, reach out to us at 703-359-9211.