WhistleB is pleased to announce that it has been accepted as a member of the German compliance association DICO – Deutsches Institut für Compliance (German Institute for Compliance). DICO has more than 430 members, and describes that it:
"... pursues the goal of setting standards for compliance and qualifications and to further develop the profile of the compliance officer.

DICO sees itself as contact partner for all those interested in compliance in business, associations and legislation. The non-profit association aims to play a key role in shaping good corporate governance in Germany and provides a forum for national and international networking for compliance experts."

Why has WhistleB decided to join this compliance association? Broadly speaking, because we are receiving substantial interest for the WhistleB solution from German organisations that are looking for alternatives to the whistleblowing systems currently offered on the German market. Organisations in Germany are showing an increasing interest in learning about the best practices we have developed over the many years that our system has been used in more than 150 countries.

We are therefore keen on sharing our expertise on whistleblowing management with the members of DICO because the role of the compliance officer and the purpose of organisational whistleblowing go hand-in-hand. The key role of the compliance officer is to ensure good corporate governance through managing risks related to compliance, corporate security, data protection, fraud, corruption, money laundering, conflict of interest, breach of trust, discrimination and much more. All of these are risks that a whistleblowing solution can help to surface much earlier, enabling the compliance officer and other leaders to act and reduce damage sooner rather than later. As such, a whistleblowing solution is a key tool for the compliance officer.

Understandably then, the compliance officer is often part of the whistleblowing team. This is the team that is responsible for receiving reports through the whistleblowing channel, deciding when a report should lead to an investigation, and bringing the appropriate internal and external competences into the investigation process. In fact, according to WhistleB's fourth annual customer survey on whistleblowing, legal and compliance types of roles are by far the most common representatives on whistleblowing teams. This is because people in these roles are most likely to possess the right knowledge and training for dealing with whistleblowing cases which often contain sensitive information. This level of skills will become more important in the near future as the imminent EU Directive on Whistleblower Protection requires that "Impartial receiver(s) of reports must be appointed. The person(s) should have the competence to follow up reports and to communicate with the whistleblower."

Finally, WhistleB's whistleblowing solution helps compliance officers beyond surfacing risk matters. The solution itself is compliant with all relevant data protection legislation, including the national laws of EU member states and the EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Compliance with such laws is embedded into the system, thus reducing some of the work needed in managing the risk of non-compliance.

WhistleB's whistleblowing solution helps compliance officers to establish and improve an existing compliance organisation. Since it is a modern online system, it can also easily integrate with new compliance management systems. As members of Germany's DICO, a compliance association in one of the largest EU markets, we can ensure that we stay close to the needs of this critical customer group so that WhistleB's whistleblower solution continues to meet demand as the compliance role develops. We also look forward to providing insight and expertise on whistleblowing to the members of this compliance association as they endeavour to shape good corporate governance in Germany.