Communication with regulators
Planned, accurate and consistent dealings with the authorities that supervise a company, both in the normal course of business and in a crisis.
A regulator is a stakeholder of a special kind. It has supervisory powers, and its view can affect licences, penalties or the ability to operate. The relationship should rest on predictability: meeting obligations on time, giving accurate answers and maintaining a single, clearly designated point of contact.
In a crisis, sequence and consistency are key. A regulator should not learn of a significant event from the media if the company could have told it sooner. What the company tells the authority must match what it says in public. The scope and timing of notifications often follow from regulation, so decisions on them should be taken with a lawyer involved.
For the board, the relationship with the regulator should have an owner at the appropriate level and should not be built only once a problem has arisen. Trust established in the normal course of business makes the conversation easier when things become difficult.
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