What It Is

ISO 19600:2014 — Compliance management systems — Guidelines is an international standard providing non-certifiable guidance for organizations to establish, implement, evaluate, maintain, and improve a compliance management system (CMS). Its primary purpose is to help manage compliance obligations—legal requirements, voluntary commitments, and internal policies—using a scalable, principles-based, risk-based approach aligned with the PDCA cycle and high-level structure for management systems.

Key Components

• Core pillars: context, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, improvement.
• Built on principles of good governance (direct access, independence, resources), proportionality, transparency, sustainability.
• No fixed number of controls; emphasizes documented scope, obligations register, risk assessment, operational controls.
• Guidance model, not certifiable; withdrawn in 2021, succeeded by ISO 37301.

Why Organizations Use It

• Demonstrates governance commitment, reduces noncompliance risks, integrates with other systems.
• Builds stakeholder trust, supports regulatory defense, enhances culture.
• Strategic benefits: efficiency, market access, penalty mitigation.

Implementation Overview

• Phased: context analysis, policy/objectives, controls, monitoring.
• Applicable to all organization types/sizes; proportionate to complexity.
• Internal audits/management reviews; no mandatory external certification.

What It Is

U.S. SEC Cybersecurity Rules (Release No. 33-11216) is a federal regulation mandating standardized disclosures for public companies. It requires timely reporting of material cybersecurity incidents and annual updates on risk management, strategy, and governance, applying a materiality-based approach under securities law.

Key Components

• **Form 8-K Item 1.054-business-day disclosure of material incidents' nature, scope, timing, and impacts.
• **Regulation S-K Item 106Annual descriptions of risk processes, board oversight, and management roles.
• Inline XBRL tagging for comparability.
• No fixed controls; focuses on processes, with delays for national security.

Why Organizations Use It

Public companies comply to meet Exchange Act obligations, enhance investor transparency, reduce information asymmetry, and avoid enforcement like Yahoo or Ashford cases. It boosts capital efficiency, board accountability, and resilience against cyber threats.

Implementation Overview

Involves cross-functional playbooks, materiality frameworks, IRP updates, and XBRL readiness. Applies to all U.S. public filers; phased compliance (Dec 2023 onward). No certification, but SEC reviews and enforcement apply.