(Information sent by the signatory company)
Law 2/2023 regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption, also called the Whistleblowing Channel Law or Whistleblower Protection Law, has established the requirement to create a mandatory reporting channel for all companies with 50 or more employees.
For obligated companies, this new Law represents one more headache to face. However, for consulting firms specializing in Compliance such as Grupo Atico34, it has represented an important business opportunity. The results are obvious: in just the last quarter, more than 600 companies have registered as clients of the company.
Miguel Quintanilla, Compliance Area Director at Grupo Atico34, tells us how the company has faced this avalanche of clients and the reasons why it has achieved such resounding success.
The deadline for companies with more than 50 employees to launch their complaints channel ended on December 1, 2023, so all those that do not yet have it face sanctions ranging from 100,000 euros for minor infractions. , up to one million euros for the very serious ones.
As Quintanilla points out, the urgency to adapt to the regulations is one of the reasons that explain this increase in customer requests and registrations. “Many businessmen and entrepreneurs come to us because they see that, for one reason or another, time has run out on them and now they do not have the time or knowledge necessary to create the reporting channel for themselves.”
A situation that the consulting firm was already aware of, since according to its studies, of the 30,000 obligated companies in Spain, there are still around 5,000 without a reporting channel. For this reason, in recent months Grupo Atico34 has carried out a series of actions aimed at raising awareness among business owners of the need to comply with the regulations.
Among these initiatives, the events held in Madrid and Seville stand out, where the consultancy has organized two events aimed at companies, in which presentations, round tables and question rounds have been held, all aimed at resolving doubts about Law 2 /2023.
In addition to these in-person events, Atico34 has developed another series of initiatives aimed at increasing the visibility and brand image of the company, increasing its presence in online media and reinforcing its internal structure. “Due to the increase in the influx of clients, we have been forced to increase the staff in our legal department, obtaining the services of renowned professionals in the sector,” says Quintanilla.
However, this type of promotion is useless if it is not backed up with results. When asking Miguel Quintanilla about the reasons for Grupo Atico34’s success, the company’s compliance manager is clear: “We believe that our main asset is the human team we have. Anyone who contacts Atico34 will receive an immediate response and will know, from the first moment, that they have professional support behind them.”
Quintanilla adds that “all our agents are lawyers who are experts in compliance and have specific training and experience in creating complaint channels for companies of any size and sector of activity. They listen to the client and offer a service completely adapted to their needs. For us, humane treatment is fundamental and we believe that for our clients as well.”
On the other hand, and to facilitate adaptation to regulations, Atico34 also relies on new technologies and offers its clients software for the complaints channel that simplifies and speeds up all the procedures and procedures related to the channel.
“Our whistleblower channel software is a tool that has been designed with the user in mind. We wanted it to be a simple solution to use but at the same time have all the necessary options so that any company can create its reporting channel. We have recently translated it into different languages (…) we are very satisfied with the results obtained, and we believe that our clients are too, given the results.”
Quintanilla also wants to make it clear that at Atico34 they do not limit themselves to offering the software and leaving the user to their own devices, as they do in other consultancies. On the contrary, the company’s lawyers train clients in the use and mastery of the software, and offer continuous support to resolve any questions or problems that may arise. “For us, combining the advantages of technology with the work of our team of professionals has been the recipe for success.”
Companies that do not yet have the complaints channel and want to contact Atico34 lawyers can do so at the company’s headquarters at Paseo de la Castellana, 95, 15, Madrid, by calling 91 489 64 19 or at through emailgrupo@atico34.com.
