Legal Compliance Audit is an appraisal of an organization’s operations to determine its compliance with the laws and regulations that apply to it. It is a systematic, objective and impartial examination of structures, strategies, policies, processes, operations, documents, records, practices or acts of an organization with a view to assessing compliance with the entire legal and regulatory framework to which the organization is subject.

A legal Compliance Audit allows a business to establish its level of compliance with legal m institutional and regulatory framework as well as establishing its level of compliance with its internal controls and polices. It helps the organization to identify risks and come up with a compliance work plan. Above all, it gives an organization the peace of mind needed in doing business in the industry and jurisdiction within which it’s established.

The exercise is conducted by specialist professionals who are certified legal auditors in Kenya like CR Advocates LLP.

Every organization whether public or private, for or not for profit operates in a certain legal and regulatory framework therefore it is recommended that every organization does conduct a Legal Audit Compliance every year. However, emphasis should be put to organizations operating in heavily regulated industries like the following industries:

1. Financial institutions both digital and offline lenders.
2. Savings and credit cooperatives
3. Micro finance institutions.
4. Transport and logistics companies (land, sea and air)
5. Telecommunication and media companies
6. Betting companies
7. Property and investment companies
8. Payment processing gateways
9. Foreign companies
10. Insurance and brokerage companies
11. Companies operating under capital markets authority.
12. Energy and mineral resources industry
13. Pension schemes
14. Non-governmental organizations

The list is not exhaustive

Information given to a legal auditor is subject to Advocate-Client confidentiality and therefore any information obtained during the legal audit cannot be shared with a third party without the express consent of the client

Absolutely not. Legal compliance audit is an objective appraisal of the company’s state of “legal health” with an objective of establishing corrective plan. It is non punitive and cannot be used in prosecution and or to punish the client.

Training allows the business to receive training which is uniquely tailored to the specific needs of the business while offering training on pertinent laws and regulations that can help prevent and detect legal problems and limit or mitigate the organization’s exposure if violations occur. The trainings give the client basic understanding and awareness of the legal framework within which the organization operates.

CR Advocates LLP conducts training needs assessment before recommending a specific training. The firm may also note training needs through observation and interactions with the client.

Not at all. The trainings are usually very simple and broken down to understanding of a non-lawyer.

CR Advocates trainers most train Head of departments, board of governors, managers, trustees, civil rights groups, employees and any other category identified during the training needs assessment.

Training topics usually range from understanding the client’s regulatory framework, basics of contracting and negotiations, conveyancing processes, perfection of securities process, good governance, leadership, labour laws, review of relevant case studies and new case laws affecting the client and much more. For legal departments, CR Advocates LLP has a proprietary program designed for the in-house counsel. We provide support in setting up, structuring, capacity building and regular trainings to understand the changing dynamics of the in-house counsel.

Depending on the topic being offered and client needs, the training can take from a few hours to a few days.

Every organization should place employee and departmental heads as a top priority because the future of your business depends on employee training. Continuous training increases agility, makes the employees happy, makes employees understand their organization better, increases production and acts as a risk control measure where every member of the organization understands the legal expectations of the organization thus reducing the risk of non-compliance.