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Both the volume and complexity of legislation are increasing dramatically in recent years, and this affects your business. It represents extensive legal work that you must constantly overview and implement. Therefore, this article provides you with a walkthrough of the process from chaos to compliance – plus practical tools and strategic questions that ensure an effective approach to the task.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
If you are reading these words as a lawyer, you will probably say, "of course I know that!". If you are a CFO, however, you might need a translation.
In everyday terms, it means that you are not exempt from having to comply with a rule simply because you do not know it – something that creates challenges for many businesses.
Each year brings new and often highly complicated legislation from the EU on a comprehensive scale. At the same time, new Danish laws, statutory orders, guidance and case law from the courts emerge.
During the period 2024-2025, businesses have been affected by, amongst other things:
- Changes to working time regulations (effective from 1st July 2024)
- DORA (the Digital Operational Resilience Act for the financial sector, which came into force on 17th January 2025)
- New guidelines for influencer marketing from the Consumer Ombudsman
- NIS2 (cybersecurity in 16 critical sectors, which came into force on 1st July 2025).
For each new or updated piece of legislation, a series of processes follow that do not just affect the legal department, but can impact the entire value chain within the organisation.
Five questions for a strategic approach to compliance
For each new or updated piece of legislation, you must first understand and interpret the rules. Is your business covered at all? And are there any terms that require special attention? One example might be unpacking what terms such as ‘self‑scheduling employees’ mean in relation to your employees in the context of the Working Time Registration Act.
Next, you should translate the rules into your company’s specific business context, including how they interact with your strategy and operations.
Finally, you need to implement the relevant measures. Which agreements need to be adjusted? Which processes will be affected? Who will be responsible for what? And not least: how will you ensure ongoing compliance without paralysing the business?
In many organisations, the reality is that there are numerous agendas beyond compliance, and priorities compete.
That is why we have compiled five questions to facilitate a strategic approach to the compliance task, so that you gain the necessary overview of the legislation and prioritise your compliance initiatives as effectively as possible.
1. Do you have a comprehensive overview of the relevant regulations?
Consider how you can ensure a complete overview of the applicable legislation. Of course, you should focus on the best-known requirements, but what about the less obvious rules that can still have a significant impact?
2. Do you understand the purpose behind the rules?
Knowing the rules is one thing, but understanding their rationale in relation to your organisation’s activities provides deeper insight. How can you use that understanding to develop compliance solutions that fit your business context?
3. Do you know the real consequences of non-compliance?
The consequences of non-compliance range from formal sanctions to indirect losses:
- Fines and damage claims
- Higher insurance premiums and financing costs
- Negative impact on your company’s reputation
- Loss of competitive edge to more compliant competitors
- Demotivated employees who lose trust in management
- Time spent on crisis management rather than growth.
4. Are you prioritising based on the right risk profile?
Are you focusing on the most critical areas for your business, or are you being led by the noisiest issues? Consider how you can develop a more nuanced picture of your organisation’s risks – it may influence which areas you prioritise.
5. Are you taking a smart approach to compliance?
Are you spending unnecessary time and resources on compliance tasks? Consider how to get the most from your efforts.
This might include assessing whether ...
- ... you have processes that can be automated
- ... you have processes that are unnecessarily complex, so employees do not follow them
- ... your compliance measures support the overall business strategy.
By applying these five questions to your organisation’s compliance work, you will gain the necessary overview of the task. You will also be able to design your compliance efforts so they do not become a hindrance to the business but instead a genuinely value-adding asset that both protects and strengthens the organisation.
Let us help you from chaos to compliance
We are happy to help elevate your company's data compliance, making it easy to adhere to and supporting an operationally efficient day-to-day business. Contact us for an informal chat about how we can assist your company in strengthening your data protection and utilising data as a strategic asset.
