ComplianceBridge Introduces Managed Conflict of Interest

Cody: Welcome to the ComplianceBridge podcast, your source for the latest on risk management and policy and procedure management.

Today, we’re speaking with Dave Carroll, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing at ComplianceBridge. We will discuss the importance of effectively maintaining your conflict of interest policy and why performing regular COI analysis will help you negate risk. We are also introducing Managed Conflict of Interest, a new service that combines our expertise with our top performing risk management software. Dave was a great guest and you’re really going to enjoy this podcast.

Welcome to the podcast, Dave. How are you?

Dave: Very well, thank you, Cody. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to discuss ComplianceBridge Managed Conflict of Interest.

Cody: So, let’s dive right in. ComplianceBridge, for the last few years, has offered ComplianceBridge Risk, a complete, comprehensive risk management product. But today, it is introducing a new service called Managed Conflict of Interest. Before we get into what this service is and what all it entails, can you explain what a conflict of interest policy is and why organizations need to have one?

Dave: Sure. Conflict of interest refers to situations where the personal interest of the employee or board member or even contractors of an organization may create conflict that places an organization at a disadvantage.

Cody: So what kind of risk can exist if an organization lacks a well-defined conflict of interest policy?

Dave: Well, a lot of potential negative consequences can arise from a lack of conflict of interest policy. But underlying that, it’s anything that could potentially create a negative outcome for the organization.

Cody: So what kinds of risk can exist if an organization lacks a well-defined COI policy?

Dave: When a conflict of interest occurs, it can really erode public or internal trust. As an example, if you look at the financial and reputational damage that was done to Wells Fargo when they had the issues internally, that was a problem. And there should have been guidelines to govern that. And in the case of a company like the Pacific Gas and Electric, they sure do wish that they’d have had something in place that would have mitigated their risk with regard to the fires that occurred. Now, they’re living with the consequences of that.

Cody: So what can a regular COI analysis actually do to help an organization mitigate risk like you just mentioned?

Dave: First, it can help identify potential areas of risk. And second, help to proactively mitigate risk, which is what this is all about.

Cody: And today, on top of the ComplianceBridge Risk product, which is available today for anyone to purchase, you are introducing Managed Conflict of Interest, which is a new service where ComplianceBridge will actually manage the COI policy on behalf of a customer, is that true?

Dave: That is correct.

Cody: So how can these risk managers utilize ComplianceBridge Risk in the development of their COI policy?

Dave: That’s kind of a two-fold question. The tool is very powerful, and that can help streamline the COI process and make it more cost-effective and efficient for organizations to deploy at a very low cost. At the same time, we can help manage the COI process for organizations so that it takes the burden off the internal staff. It makes it to be a very cost-effective and efficient proposition.

Cody: So customers are already saving a lot of time, a lot of resources, and they’re gaining a lot of value from the ComplianceBridge Risk product. How does the ComplianceBridge team aid with Managed Conflict of Interest?

Dave: Well, we provide the mechanism so that the organizations can apply their needs based on the policies that we provide, download them, effectively address their requirements within their organization, as they don’t have to develop them themselves.

Cody: So what all goes into the MCOI service that ComplianceBridge and ComplianceBridge is offering?

Dave: The first thing is, the company will need to provide what their requirements are, what they want to achieve. The second thing is, we will supply questions that they need to ask and they will define which ones apply for their circumstances.

Cody: As I understand it, after you have helped customers create their COI policy and audits, the MCOI service will actually conduct these analyses on behalf of the company at a frequency defined by the company.

Dave: That’s correct.

Cody: So from the perspective of the company, they’re already gaining the benefit, all of the power that comes with ComplianceBridge Risk. What are the additional benefits of adding on the Managed Conflict of Interest from ComplianceBridge on top of this product?

Dave: Very simply put, they are able to maximize the results with a minimum of effort on their part. We’ve supplied all of the questions and provided an element of software that allows them to monitor the responses at a very low cost of manpower.

Cody: I can imagine that a lot of organizations will find so much benefit in this because they get the full transparency that you would have using ComplianceBridge Risk, but with the hands-off nature of having someone doing this on their behalf. It’s much less costly than using a third-party auditing firm, and at the same time, they’re gaining time they’re gaining more value.

Dave: That’s correct.

Cody: So how can someone get started with not only using ComplianceBridge Risk but also the MCOI service?

Dave: Well, it’s very simple. All you do is go to the ComplianceBridge link for a demo, then you watch a short video if you wish. Once we’ve completed the demonstration, we’ll be able to determine what your organizational needs are, and we can have you running within a very short period of time depending on what your requirements are.

Cody: Dave, I think risk managers will find so much value in this. A low-cost option to completely leverage their COI policy, ComplianceBridge is stepping in the gap that so many companies may need desperately. Really appreciate your time today. Thank you for speaking with me.

Dave: You’re welcome, Cody.

Cody: So, to learn more about MCOI as well as ComplianceBridge and ComplianceBridge Risk, request a demo with the ComplianceBridge team today.