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ADVANT is an association for law firms across the European Union, with offices in major cities including Milan, Rome, Genoa, London and Shanghai. It offers its clients a platform that works across the union and the chance to access other international markets such as the USA and China. As part of ADVANT, Nctm is a law and tax company, comprising hundreds of professionals and covering all aspects of business and corporate law.
Ahead of the implementation of the EU Whistleblowing Directive across Europe, many of the firm’s clients had approached ADVANT’s Corporate and Commercial department asking for advice on whistleblower reporting platforms. Working with issuers in Euronext’s growth markets, the company found that a number of its clients were already interested in IntegrityLog and this led to the department exploring the possibility of a partnership with ComplyLog.
This article documents the working relationship between ADVANT and ComplyLog, demonstrating why IntegrityLog was the right solution for the group to recommend to clients.
1. Partnering with a Euronext company
There are numerous reasons why many of ADVANT’s clients were looking to onboard IntegrityLog. ADVANT partner Paolo Gallarati, who coordinates the Corporate and Commercial department, highlighted some of these reasons from his conversations with stakeholders:
“The reason for this was the user-friendly approach and the flexibility that the platform allows clients to adapt it to their own format and standards,” states Paolo, “It was also cost-effective so there was no discussion around higher cost versus higher quality. And one other important aspect was that ComplyLog was backed by Euronext, which associates the product with the reliability of that brand.”
When considering which solution to use for whistleblowing, the connection with Euronext made the group confident that it is what they need to meet market challenges. IntegrityLog's design was also an important factor in the decision-making process, owing to the fact that the platform is optimised to meet the required standards for use by listed companies.
In addition, the ability to use IntegrityLog in multiple languages makes it invaluable for organisations with a presence that spans more than one country.
2. Benefits of IntegrityLog for ADVANT Nctm
IntegrityLog is a tool that works for small companies as well as large corporations, which makes it suitable for a business like ADVANT, whose clients range significantly in size. The simple and effective in-built customisation tools ensure it works for all users, meaning that those organisations with less technical expertise on-site can still use the platform to meet all their obligations.
This is particularly beneficial for a group like ADVANT, making it easier for the company if all its clients use the same tool. As a result, employees working on-site for customers understand how their whistleblowing channels work without getting confused over different platforms with varied user experiences.
The Corporate and Commercial department of the company found that IntegrityLog was the solution with the best balance of user-friendliness and comprehensive tools to maintain compliance. This was one factor behind ADVANT Nctm’s decision to seek a partnership with ComplyLog. Any tool that the group recommends to clients must achieve a certain level of quality to ensure that those clients benefit from using it.
Giulio Uras, a Counsel in the Corporate and Commercial department at ADVANT Nctm, stated that “another consideration was that the solution is fully compliant with the provisions of the law.”
3. How the partnership works
Paolo Gallarati joked that the less ADVANT and ComplyLog hear from each other, the better, as it means that everything is working as it should from a technical point of view. He confirms that this has been the case for the companies during the partnership.
In reality, the two companies enjoy a close relationship when it comes to client selection, onboarding and training.
Giulio Uras describes the relationship as “always very efficient,” and says that “all our clients have expressed satisfaction at the manner in which ComplyLog provides its services to them.” In his view, the speed with which ComplyLog attends to clients’ requirements is a positive element of the partnership, especially when it is necessary to work quickly to meet deadlines for the implementation of their whistleblowing solutions.
4. The future of whistleblowing compliance
Although the majority of large businesses have implemented whistleblowing channels, there are still significant companies, particularly small and medium enterprises, yet to comply with the new laws. This is particularly evident in ADVANT Nctm’s home country of Italy, where the scope of the Whistleblowing Decree is wider than other nations’ implementations of the EU Whistleblowing Directive. The firms adopting the 231 operational model must adhere to the law, regardless of the number of employees.
This, as well as the emergence of new businesses that will grow to meet the threshold for the decree, is why ADVANT Nctm sees its partnership with ComplyLog as being an ongoing venture into the future.
5. Conclusion
The partnership between the two companies is one built on trust, efficiency and confidence. ADVANT Ntcm’s clients gain access to a fully compliant whistleblowing solution in the form of IntegrityLog, with hands-on help from ComplyLog to get up and running. They can customise the tool to remain on-brand, and the user-friendly nature of IntegrityLog means there are no roadblocks to reporting or to investigations.
You can learn more about IntegrityLog’s whistleblower software here and visit the Partner Programme page to find out how to strengthen your position as a trusted provider of compliance solutions.
