Last year alone saw hundreds of new environmental regulations and nearly twenty five pieces of health and safety legislation published. With a seemingly endless list of ever changing rules to follow, it can be difficult for business owners to know that they’re compliant.
However, if you want to reap the benefits and avoid the consequences of non-compliance, it’s vital that businesses are able to keep up:
Benefits of Staying Up-to-Date.
If you’re a business owner, staying up-to-date on the latest legislation will be a major facet of your role. While you may initially see this is as an unimportant burden, you quickly realise that this enables you to make much better decisions when it comes to running your organisation. If an upcoming rule-change has the potential to make a significant impact on your business, you will only benefit from having more time to make alternate plans. As the old proverb goes, “He who is prepared has won half the battle.”
Consequences of Failing to Comply.
However, if the benefits of abiding by legislation aren’t enough to convince you, then the possible consequences certainly will. Failing to comply means that you risk leaving your business vulnerable to lawsuits from any wronged parties, audits from government agencies, or having to pay significant fines. All of this has the potential to bankrupt your company, especially among small business owners. In the worst possible scenario, you may lose your license to operate entirely. Likewise, if you run into any of these issues, you will have a more difficult time convincing retailers and customers to take your business seriously.
How to Keep up with any Changes.
With this in mind, you’re likely wondering what the best ways to keep up with changing legislation are. Websites like www.legislation.gov.uk provides full access to UK legislation online while the UK Parliament website includes information on all Bills and SIs going through Parliament. However, many business owners simply don’t have the time to keep up with the news and legislative text can be difficult to fully parse. To ensure that you have a full understanding of what’s happening in your industry, consider hiring a specialty accountant, whose fields can range from medical to construction.
Whatever your industry, though, there’s no doubt that you will benefit from this kind of service. Ultimately, it’s about attaining as much relevant knowledge about your industries.
