Member’s Dashboard My Account Documentation and Legal Risk Completed by: * First Name Text * Last Name Email * 1. Have you assessed the level of contractual risk in your business - particularly if you get involved in once-off large contracts, on-going contractual exposure to one specific party on a regular basis or are unable to perform as contracted to or are likely to get involved in lengthy litigation or arbitration? * Yes, absolutely. We ensure that all our contracts are scrutinised and vetted by our attorneys before we enter into them, we monitor our contracts pro-actively and deal with any disputes as soon as they arise. Yes, we monitor our level of contractual exposure, but we try to limit the level of litigation around our contracts and settle disputes out of court and by arbitration wherever possible. Yes, to a degree. We try to get out of those contracts that are likely to become detrimental to our business as soon as possible, even if it involves paying reasonable penalties. No, not really. We have not taken any extra steps or measures to mitigate our legal risk and hope our contracts will hold up. No, we have a number of contractual disputes that could have a major impact on the financial position of the business. No, not at all. We have no idea what our potential risk associated with our contracts or terms and conditions of our agreements is or could potentially be. 2. Are your documents, contracts and agreements standardised, consistent, fair, easy to understand and do they comply with consumer, labour, employment, health, safety and credit regulatory requirements? * Yes, absolutely. Our documents and contracts are standardised and fair, and all meet with consumer legislation and other regulatory requirements. Yes, but notwithstanding some of the terms in our contracts and agreements, we choose to be fair in our treatment and enforcement of our terms and conditions. Yes, to a degree. We have tried to standardise our documentation and contractual terms, but the changing environment does not always make this practical or possible. No, our documents, contracts and terms and conditions are very limited and inadequate given the reality of our business environment. No, not at all. Our documents and contracts are very one-sided, outdated and we find ourselves in breach of regulatory requirements when these are challenged. 3. Is your documentation and contracts regularly reviewed to ensure that the terms and conditions are still applicable, that they do not conflict with regulatory requirements and that the business is not exposed to additional or new risks or aspects which are not contained in the existing agreements? * Yes, absolutely. We regularly review our contracts and documentation in consultation with our attorneys to ensure that the terms and conditions are still applicable, that they do not conflict with regulatory requirements and that the business is not exposed to additional or new risks or aspects which are not contained in the existing agreements. Yes, although we review and update our contracts and terms and conditions wherever possible, we remain vulnerable to legal risk in a few of our older contracts and documentation. No, to a degree. Despite our efforts, we have not been able to get deficient and risky documentation and contracts resigned and remain highly vulnerable as a result. No, there is not much we can do given the high number of older agreements and contracts we have in place, and as a result we have a high exposure to additional risks, particularly as a result of revised consumer regulations. No, never. We have never reviewed any of our contracts, contractual terms or terms and condition in our documentation, and remain highly vulnerable as a result. 4. Have all the contracts, service level and non-disclosure/confidentiality agreements and key arrangements in place for your business been formalised in signed contracts? * Yes, absolutely. We ensure that contracts are in place for all critical areas of our business, including employment contracts, and do not undertake or commence any work until the required contracts, agreements or terms and conditions have been accepted and signed. Yes, we try and ensure that all key aspects of our business are covered by solid contracts and agreements. Yes, to a degree. Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in formalising a number of arrangements into written agreements or contracts. No, not really. While we have contracts in place, we are also heavily reliant on verbal agreements and undertakings which could have a major impact on the business if they were disputed or not honoured. No, we have many unsigned contracts or agreements, including employment contracts, which have not been concluded with counterparties, where work or the provision of goods and/or services has commenced. 5. Are you aware of the terms and conditions of all contracts and agreements signed on behalf of your business/organisation or by your customers, and are you aware of any contracts, undertakings, agreements or guarantees in place which could have a detrimental or material impact on the business? * Yes, absolutely. Approved and vetted versions of all our legal agreements and documentation, both paper-based and electronic, are centrally controlled. All contracts, agreements and key documents have been scrutinised by our attorneys prior to signing, and we are fully aware of the terms and conditions contained therein and the potential impact on our business. Yes, we take a lot of care before entering into any contracts or agreements on behalf of the business and try to limit these to key suppliers and service providers only. Yes, to a degree. We have a large number of contracts and agreements and versions of them in place and will get our attorneys to deal with any disputes or issues as and when the circumstances arise. No, not really - but we are aware of a number of contracts and agreements that have potentially adverse implications for our business. No, not at all. We have no idea of the terms and conditions of all the contracts and agreements signed by us or our customers and how these may or may not impact our business in the future. 6. Are all your original contracts and agreements properly indexed, stored in fireproof cabinets, protected store rooms or off-site formalised storage, are soft copies of documents backed-up and stored off-site and are you keeping documents and contracts for the required periods in terms of regulatory requirements? * Yes, absolutely. From a business continuity, disaster recovery and regulatory perspective, all our documents and agreements are securely stored in fireproof cabinets under dual control or are archived in controlled off-site storage, with scanned or soft copies backed-up and stored off-site or in the cloud. Yes, we have indexed and backed-up all soft copies of documents and have archived all our key physical copies of documents and business records off-site for easy retrieval if and when required in terms of regulatory requirements. No, while we have tried to archive and keep all our historic records and documents, these are stored in various places as we ran out of space making it very difficult to retrieve and our indexing system has proved to be defective. No, we have no formalised archiving and storage system. We have lost or been unable to find a number of boxes in which key documents were stored. Score Score 0 to 29 Your score indicates that there is a lack of Documentation and Legal Risk controls and/or discipline that exposes your business/organisation to massive risk. We suggest that you URGENTLY address the issue of risk management generally, and also identify the biggest risks individually and put the necessary policies and programmes together without delay to minimise these risks. Score between 30 and 44 Your score reveals that your Documentation and Legal Risk controls and or discipline are weak and expose your business/organisation to significant risk. We suggest you address the area of control risk as a priority and look to make improvements in this area as soon as possible. Score between 45 and 54 Your score suggests there are significant potential weaknesses in your Documentation and Legal Risk controls and that this should receive attention as a matter of priority. While an overall improvement may be required, it is also possible that your vulnerability is limited to one or two areas. Score between 55 and 64 Your score suggests you could and should improve your Documentation and Legal Risk controls, but that this area probably doesn't represent a massive risk (generally). There may however be some vulnerability in a couple of areas that should be addressed in the reasonably near future. Score between 65 and 79 Your score suggests that you probably have strong Documentation and Legal Risk controls and are therefore probably not hugely at risk. We would however recommend that you identify possible areas of weakness and address these in due course. Score 80 and above Your score suggests that you have strong Documentation and Legal Risk controls and have therefore greatly reduced your risk in this area. We would however still advise you to identify possible areas of weakness and address these in due course. reCAPTCHA Submit
