How should my compliance program prepare for the Trump administration?
This is a question I have been asked a lot over the past few weeks. And as we start a new year and a second Trump administration that promises to be a significant change of pace and priorities from the past four years, it’s one worth attempting to answer.
There is no denying that the discourse about the Trump administration’s priorities is a hot topic of conversation among compliance officers. What is the future of the Department of Justice and the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs guidance? Will the Securities and Exchange Commission drop its efforts to develop ESG disclosure requirements? What does the future hold for tariffs, sanctions, and regulatory enforcement in general?
While I don’t have a crystal ball to answer those questions, there are a few key reminders I would like to share with my fellow compliance leaders to help navigate the years ahead.
Regulations are the floor, not the ceiling
Stakeholders, shareholders, customers and employees will always expect ethics and transparency from the organizations they work for or do business with. So, while regulatory priorities and enforcement will change, other expectations and external forces won’t. And the regulatory priorities change with each new administration, regardless. This is a simple, but important, reminder that abiding by the laws your organization is subject to is the floor, not the ceiling.
Risk doesn’t care if it’s regulated or not
Regulatory enforcement or lack thereof won’t change the tangible risks your business faces. And compliance programs will remain integral to addressing risk.
That is, in part at least, because risk doesn’t care if it’s regulated or not.
There is also the reality to address that while U.S. federal priorities will likely shift, state level regulatory requirements and international compliance obligations will either remain on their current trajectory or increase to fill a perceived enforcement vacuum. Either way, the need for, and importance of, compliance is unlikely to be significantly upended, nor are the risks your business faces. In fact, I believe it will make our roles more important because the regulatory environment will become more complicated with mixed messages and enforcement priorities by state or global region.
Which brings me to one of my favorite compliance topics: risk assessment. Risk assessment should be the foundation of your compliance program, but for many this is underpowered and underutilized. As I wrote in the 2025 Top 10 Trends in Risk and Compliance, “Beyond the best practice expectations, there is also a very basic and common-sense reason to perform a risk assessment – it helps an organization determine how and where to focus limited resources.”
So, why are risk assessments largely not being conducted or used to the extent they should? There are quite a few challenges I address in the article (and will be discussing during the webinar on January 29th!), but the biggest obstacle is pretty simple. Risk assessment is likely pushed to a lower priority when daily activities and unplanned fire drills demand our time and attention.
In navigating the incoming administration’s changes and dealing with the noisy atmosphere of the news cycles, my best advice is to be sure to prioritize your efforts in understanding and addressing your risk to prepare for the long term and meet your bigger picture needs. You will never have the time to do risk assessments, but you can make the time.
The risks may change, but the foundational principles of ethics and compliance do not
While regulatory priorities have shifted and will continue to shift over the years and each new administration, the compliance function has not only endured but has expanded in scope and importance to the business. The core principles of what constitutes an effective compliance program don’t change because of who is in the Oval Office, and I don’t expect the incoming administration to change what has been true for decades.
Think about the original Defense Industry Initiatives, the first Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the various ISO standards, the Health and Human Services guidance, and each iteration of the DOJ guidelines – the foundational principles of an effective program have not changed in over four decades. The risk areas change, but the foundational principles do not.
So, what advice do we have to offer in the face of a future many feel is uncertain?
First, companies are well-advised to “play the long game” with risk, ethics and compliance. Deregulation and regulation reflect the swinging of the pendulum and won’t change the public expectations for your organization. Putting aside the implications of an administration change, having an unwavering commitment to ethics, integrity and compliance is unequivocally a good thing. Your customers, employees and shareholders will continue to pay attention to how your business is doing business. Your risks will remain as they are, or increase in some areas, making compliance and risk management essential to maintain.
Also important to remember is that the U.S. is but one market, and many organizations must meet compliance requirements from the EU, UK, Canada, Asia, and any other markets in which they do business. So, while the U.S. landscape will likely change, thinking globally will be especially important for long term success.
Keep Calm and Compliance On
That is probably the most distilled version of this message. Compliance has, and will endure through tumult, change, varied priorities and unexpected events. The future has felt uncertain before – we’ve survived multiple administration changes with vastly different priorities, recessions, trade wars, actual wars, the advent of social media and technology changes that reshaped our profession. So, Keep Calm and Compliance On – the years to come are but another evolution of our profession and we always rise to meet the challenge.
If you’re looking for more expert insights into how to navigate the road ahead, the 2025 Top 10 Trends in Risk and Compliance is a good place to start. Join me, Rebecca Walker, partner at Kaplan and Walker and Vera Cherepanova, executive director of Boards of the Future on January 29, 2025, as we discuss the Top 10 Trends and answer your most pressing questions.
