Today, laws govern a dizzying amount of life. Not only are there laws for most behaviors, there are laws for organizations of all types. Regulatory bodies oversee financial activities of virtually all companies. Complicated rules govern telecommunications, health care, and the exercise of legal, medical, and engineering professions. Nonprofits have varying requirements, depending on what they do. And you and your team need to understand any obligations you might have.

Range of Regulations

Public companies in the United States have been dealing with the legislation called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for a number of years now. This body of law, a reaction to the corruption and legal infractions of Enron, World-Com, and others, places exacting demands on companies in regard to how they report their financial results. But Sarbanes-Oxley is just the sizeable tip of an enormous iceberg. There are regulations covering how to handle accounting issues, for maintaining privacy of financial and health information, for disposing of hazardous waste. There are national and state regulations and international requirements.

Regulatory Obligations

Trying to understand the regulations can be a challenge. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued regulations on how public companies must provide plain English explanations of executive compensation. That set of regulations alone runs some 500 pages of fairly impenetrable text. In this area, don't rely on good intentions or the explanations of informed laypersons alone. Talk to the organization's lawyers. You want a definitive answer on where danger lies for your team and exactly what you must do and what you must refrain from doing.

Getting straight information is critical. Without it, you might find yourself, someone on your team, or another person in the organization facing investigation, questioning, fines, and even jail time.