Corporate Compliance Systems Could They Make Any Difference?

This article critically appraises the potential of corporate compliance systems to influence corporate behavior. The authors differentiate between the adoption of formal compliance management systems and the way compliance is managed in practice in business organizations by reference to scholarly literature and analysis of survey responses from 999 large Australian businesses about their implementation of competition and consumer protection law compliance systems. Their analysis shows that at least some elements of compliance systems can translate into good management of compliance in practice. But management commitment to compliance values, managerial oversight and planning, and organizational resources are just as important.