We have always heard the importance of implementing compliance in large organizations, due to their turnover, business volume and number of people on the staff. These are undoubtedly the first to be subject to possible crimes and infractions within the organization itself.
However, this reality does not escape SMEs and the self-employed since all business activity entails a series of risks that imply social, legal and/or criminal responsibilities and the Penal Code in its article 31 bis does not make distinctions between large and small companies. , but rather imposes the obligation to have a criminal risk prevention model regardless of the size of the organization.
However, precisely for the latter, it is easier to implement a compliance system and make it reach all components of the company.
In fact, there is a provision referring especially to SMEs and aimed at facilitating the implementation of the Compliance model. Specifically, in section 3 of article 31 bis, it is established: «In small legal entities, the supervisory functions referred to in condition 2 of section 2 may be assumed directly by the administrative body. For these purposes, small legal entities are those that, according to the applicable legislation, are authorized to present an abbreviated profit and loss account" – Article 258 Royal Legislative Decree 1/2010, of July 2, which approves the consolidated text of the Capital Companies Law”
That is, large companies are required to appoint a Compliance Officer, but in the case of self-employed workers and SMEs, they can carry out the tasks that the position entails.
We must keep in mind that having a prevention model is one of the conditions to be able to carry out commercial contracts with large national and international companies, so the usefulness of Compliance is not limited only to crime prevention.
In conclusion, what is not acceptable is for SMEs and the self-employed to adopt a passive attitude towards the implementation of a regulatory model for the prevention and detection of crimes or towards any suspicion of a criminal act within the company.
If you are interested in the topic and want to know more, in this link you can find an interesting Guide to implementing Compliance for SMEs.
