UNIT – I

COMPLIANCES/ LEGAL COMPLIANCES

Vis - a – Vis
FILM INDUSTRY
A: CONCEPT OF COMPLIANCES:
Compliance means acting in accordance with a request or a command, rule or instruction. Compliance is
either a state of being in accordance with established guidelines or specifications, or the process of becoming
so. Software, for example, may be developed in compliance with specifications created by a standards body,
and then deployed by user organizations in compliance with a vendor's licensing agreement. The definition
of compliance can also encompass efforts to ensure that organizations are abiding by both industry
regulations and government legislation.

When it comes to a business and corporate management, compliance refers to the company obeying all of
the legal laws and regulations in regards to how they manage the business, their staff, and their treatment
towards their consumers. The concept of compliance is to make sure that corporations act responsibly. No
business wants to face criminal charges for not adhering to the law. There are so many different regulations
and laws in regards to how a business should manage its staff, how stock is handles, how advertising is
handles, the rules of engagement when buying and selling, rules on negotiating with customers, on employee
salary, safety rules, and so many others. With a proper compliance kit and proper compliance management a
company can stay on the light side of the law.

Every business house must have a compliance department headed by a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and
this department will monitor all of the compliance guidelines, issues, cases, and projects. Every business
house must also have a compliance kit. These kits are extensive software and databases that will
automatically keep track of all the information and will help audit court cases, compliance risk management
factors, performance management, and others.

The success of any business pretty much depends on its public image. When a company starts facing several
court cases, the general public will lose their trust in the company and sales in products and services will
eventually drop. Compliance will ensure that a company can uphold a positive image and build consumer
trust. This also helps build consumer loyalty, since customers are more likely going to return to a service or
product from a company they identify as trustworthy. This also helps a business with sponsors, advertisers,
and government requirements.

Internal compliance to safety, wages, employee benefits, compensations, and employee protection will create a
positive environment in the work area. Employees are more fervent to work when they feel that that they are
well compensated for their efforts and that they are safe within the business’ reach. It is important that
internal compliance is adhered to, since it will ensure that employees are satisfied and that all complains or
issues are monitored and addressed properly before they grow and affect the entire corporation. There will
always be set rules to make sure everything is fair and safe for the company, its staff, its consumers, and
even its competitors.

Internal compliance to safety, wages, employee benefits, compensations, and employee protection will create a
positive environment in the work area. Employees are more fervent to work when they feel that that they are
well compensated for their efforts and that they are safe within the business’ reach. It is important that
internal compliance is adhered to, since it will ensure that employees are satisfied and that all complains or
issues are monitored and addressed properly before they grow and affect the entire corporation.

B: INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL COMPLIANCES:

Legal compliance is the process or procedure to ensure that an organization follows relevant laws,
regulations and business rules. The definition of legal compliance, especially in the context of corporate legal
departments, has recently been expanded to include understanding and adhering to ethical codes within
entire professions, as well. There are two requirements for an enterprise to be compliant with the law, first its
policies need to be consistent with the law. Second, its policies need to be complete with respect to the law.
The role of legal compliance has also been expanded to include self-monitoring the non-governed behavior
with industries and corporations that could lead to workplace indiscretions.
Legal Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance or "LGRC", refers to the complex set of processes,
rules, tools and systems used by corporate legal departments to adopt, implement and monitor an integrated
approach to business problems. While Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance refers to a generalized
set of tools for managing a corporation or company, Legal GRC, or LGRC, refers to a specialized – but similar –
set of tools utilized by attorneys, corporate legal departments, general counsel and law firms to govern
themselves and their corporations, especially but not exclusively in relation to the law. Other specializations
within the realm of governance, risk management and compliance include IT GRC and financial GRC. Within
these three realms, there is a great deal of overlap, particularly in large corporations that have legal and IT
departments, as well as financial departments.

C: SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL COMPLIANCES:

The scope of Legal Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance or "LGRC" doesn’t end with just
governance, risk, and compliance management, but also includes assurance and performance
management. In practice, however, the scope of a LGRC framework is further getting extended to
information security management, quality management, ethics and values management, and business
continuity management. Regulatory compliance describes the goal that organizations aspire to achieve in
their efforts to ensure that they are aware of and take steps to comply with relevant laws, policies,
and regulations. LGRC refers to a capability that helps an organization achieve its objectives, with
responsibility running right across the organization. LGRC is a set of processes and practices that runs
across departments and functions. LGRC might be enabled by a dedicated platform and other tools,
although this is not mandatory. While organizations generally don’t need to maintain a separate GRC
department, most organizations have a team in place to manage the LGRC platform and tools.

Within the Legal Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance or "LGRC" realm, it is important to keep
in mind that if a strong legal governance component is in place, risk can be accurately assessed and the
monitoring of legal compliance be carried out efficiently. It is also important to realize that within the LGRC
framework, legal teams work closely with executive teams and other business departments to align their goals
and ensure proper communication.
The importance of compliance is more evident as issues become more complex when your business grows.
You will have expanded responsibilities regarding your workers, covering hiring, firing, discrimination,
harassment, safety, wages, payroll and benefits. Simple examples of compliance include obtaining a business
license in your town and paying your taxes. The way you make and sell your product and service might fall
under the auspices of a government agency, such as a restaurant needing to meet health department
guidelines.

The most obvious consequence of compliance is that it decreases your risk of fines, penalties, work stoppages,
lawsuits or a shutdown of your business. When you don’t meet some compliance requirements, such as
posting an employment poster in the wrong area of your office, you might get a warning and a chance to
correct the problem. In other situations, you might face costly sanctions. Failing to meet your legal
obligations, such as in your manufacturing procedures or advertising methods, can also help someone suing
you strengthen his case. Hire a compliance expert to make sure you understand all of your legal obligations
and how to comply with them.

Many business rules and regulations can help you more than harm you. For example, rules regarding
discrimination and harassment help you create a better working environment for your employees, which can
lead to more worker productivity. Following safety and security rules helps prevent injuries, fires or building
evacuations that hurt your profitability.

When you meet your legal obligations, one of the benefits of compliance is the ability to tout these on your
website and in your marketing materials. For example, when you place job advertisements, include the fact
that you are an equal opportunity employer. If you post your mission statement on your website, state that
you do not discriminate based on race, sex, religion or caste. When you recruit new workers, highlight your
company's commitment to both physical safety and mental health by referencing key policies and benefits
dedicated to proactive healthcare and wellbeing, such as extended maternity and paternity leave or free gym
memberships.

Many business compliance issues deal with protecting employees. The more employees feel they work in a
fair, professional and safe environment, the more likely they will be to stay with you. Even if you don’t harass
or discriminate against any employees, if you don’t take steps to ensure none of your employees do, you can
lose valuable workers. Include policies and procedures in your employee handbook that mirror your legal
compliance obligations. Remember, a policy is only strong if it is enforced. Your policy should not only present
the rules but also specify the procedure for dealing with infractions, such as a reprimand and additional
training on a first infraction and suspension or termination for a second. Check in with middle managers or
supervisors regularly to ensure complaints are handled properly.

D: INTER RELATION BETWEEN LEGAL COMPLIANCES AND FILM INDUSTRY:

The work of making compliance to industry specific laws is essential for each and every industry. The film
industry is no exception to this. The compliance to industry specific laws is always essential for smoothing
functioning of the industry. The compliance to industry specific laws is also needed for getting benefits of
such industry specific laws. A particular industry or an industrialist receives certain type of benefits from
industry specific laws and such benefits can actually be availed on making compliances specified under
relevant industry specific laws. The same theory applies to the film industry as well.