Some disasters you can see coming for miles, if you’re watching for them. Hurricanes. Wildfires. Compliance chaos. As a consultant, I’ve witnessed my fair share of compliance disasters. I’ve seen client teams that were driven not by a desire to improve their security through compliance, but merely to satisfy a checkbox for their customers. The […]
Online Business Systems (Online) was wasting hundreds of man-hours each year on compliance engagements, and they struggled to find a smooth workflow for their assessments. Every engagement was too complicated, and they labored to coordinate efforts internally and with clients. Until they found TCT Portal. Our latest case study reveals the frustrating challenges of a […]
As mountaineering tourism becomes more popular, novice climbers are setting out to conquer the world’s highest summits. Unfortunately, they are often ill-prepared and ill-equipped for the challenge, and the results can be tragic. The compliance realm may not be as physically risky as climbing Mount Everest is, but there are real risks to your assessment […]
It’s easy to forget how little a new compliance client knows. Not because they’re willfully ignorant or flaky, but simply because they don’t know what they’re venturing into. They vastly underestimate the complexity of what they’re walking into. You’ve been around the block more times than you can count—but for your client, compliance is a […]
As a compliance assessor, you’re like a trail guide for your clients. You know the terrain. You know the pitfalls and storms that are bound to come. But you can’t lead your clients safely through the treacherous terrain of compliance if you’re dealing with chaos on your end of the assessment. Smaller engagements give you […]
You’re about to start an engagement with a client who has never been through a compliance assessment before. Or maybe they have, but they’re still figuring out how the compliance process works. You’ve been there before. You know the lay of the land and the pitfalls in the compliance journey. You know the chaos coming […]
Over the years, your assessment firm has devised a method of tracking your clients’ activities and submissions throughout your engagements. If you’re like most firms, you provide a templated spreadsheet for them to fill out. You’re also tracking your activities in the same sheet. And if you’re like most firms, your tracking sheets are creating […]
For most organizations, the annual compliance audit is like a root canal. But your compliance audits can be straightforward—and even be pleasant—if you’ve got a good relationship with your assessor and have your act together. The easier it is for your compliance assessor to do their work, the more your audit will be no big […]
Ever think about the first guy to buy a nail gun? Maybe he was happily pounding on the frame of a house with his trusty hammer. Some salesman walks up to him and offers to sell him a nail gun. It’s a big, ten-pound monster that has to be plugged into an outlet. The carpenter’s […]