How Companies Follow the Law: 4 Industries
Laws govern the business world. No matter where a company is located or what it does, there are rules, guidelines, ethical standards, and other categories or regulations they must abide by. Every for-profit or not-for-profit entity is included, and no one gets off the hook.
Among the most well-known rules, at least to the general public, are those that govern the advertising and promotion sector. Additionally, the vast and rapidly growing transport industry operates under hundreds of strict laws, many of which pertain to driver and road safety. In the accounting and financial services industries, owners must follow detailed regulations about how to run a business day-to-day. Medical service providers and manufacturers also conduct their companies within a tightly constructed universe of legal, safety, regulatory, financial and confidentiality rules. The following four major industries each have their own unique parameters and guidelines.
Advertising
Perhaps no other office-based discipline is as closely regulated as marketing, promotion and advertising. How do ad agencies and firms stay within the law? Most large organisations have in-house legal teams of experts who pore over every written word that goes into print and online ads. There is a body of regulation known as truth in advertising that governs nearly everything that appears in advertisements, from images to written claims. There have been several noteworthy legal cases stemming from companies that let poorly written or misleading promotional materials get out before being vetted by their legal teams. In today’s litigious environment, even small marketing firms that can’t afford their own lawyers choose to outsource the job to specialty firms.
Transport Fleets
The transport and trucking industry are rife with rules and regulations, particularly those that pertain to the number of hours drivers can work and how they log their activity, rest times, and more. These strict hours of service rules are part of the daily landscape for operators who need to follow laws about dozens of different chores. To stay compliant, companies use ELDs (electronic logging devices) to oversee distance, speed, rest periods and many other parameters. If you feel the need to know more about the current rules and the ways that transport fleet managers adhere to them, spend time reviewing a comprehensive HOS (hours of service) guidebook that explains all the relevant points about this important subject.
Accounting Firms
For decades, accountants have been among the most frequently sued business professionals. One reason is related to the tax work that so many smaller firms specialise in. Disgruntled taxpayers who end up in trouble with the government typically sue their accountants as a way of deflecting blame. This is part of the reason why legal tech matters and one way accountants prevent this problem in modern times is to have clients sign detailed waivers. When customers enlist the services of specialist CPAs, the bulk of the contract paperwork is devoted to legal release statements.
Medical Services
Doctors pay the highest price for professional insurance. That’s probably because they are subject to a wide range of legal challenges, from malpractice to less serious negligence. In recent years, malpractice insurance rates have been rising, which has priced many potential physicians out of the field. More doctors are choosing to enter general practice instead of specialties in order to deter lawsuits.
