2007年5月中作
本文多採 compliance＝法令遵守
與一般市民遵守法律作區別，企業活動方面的「法令遵守」或稱為Business Compliance（「ビジネスコンプライアンス」）。
compliance：依照、一致；符合；守規性（或 compliancy）；日文有時音譯為：コンプライアンス
reliability compliance test可靠度適合試驗（統計學、生產自動化名詞）或可靠性符合測試（電子計算機）；
電子計算機：regulatory compliance法規符合性；regulator compliance法令遵循主管；chief compliance officer首席承諾官員；ansi C compliance符合ANSI C規範
海事：compliance with a warranty履行保證規定 /non-compliance with a warranty未履行保證
document of compliance符合證書
核能(原子能)：certificate compliance合格證明
現在，防止洗錢（antimoney-laundering）或防止內線交易的法令日多，即「遵循（法令）成本」（compliance cost）日高。（regulator compliance 法令遵循主管；chief compliance officer首席法令尊守/承諾官員）
據WSJ 的報導：銀行防洗錢的成本越來越高
Demand Rises for Bank Compliance Officials
Demand for compliance executives is soaring, and banks are paying top dollar to recruit experienced talent in an effort to keep up with numerous antimoney-laundering requirements imposed on financial institutions.
經濟學：Tax compliance 守法納稅
compliance /法令遵守
企業が経営・活動を行う上で、法令や各種規則などのルール、さらには社会的規範などを守ること。一般市民が法律を遵守することと区別するために、企業活動をいう場合は、「ビジネスコンプライアンス」ともいう。
もともとは1960年代に米国で独禁法違反、株式のインサイダー取り引き事件などが発生した際に用いられた法務関連の用語であるため、「法令遵守」と訳されることが多いが、英語のcomplianceは「（命令や要求に）応じること」「願いを受けいれること」を意味し、近年では守るべき規範は法律に限らず、社会通念、倫理や道徳を含むと解釈される。
企業を取り巻く法律や規則は、民法や商法をはじめ独占禁止法、不 正競争防止法、労働法、消費者保護法など多数あり、監督官庁の命令・指導などもある。さらに、営業活動や市場競争の公正さ、消費者などへの情報公開、職場 環境（過労死、セクシュアル・ハラスメントなど）、公務員や政治家との関係、証券市場における取り引きなど、多くの面で高い倫理（企業倫理）が求められる ようになっている。
企業は、こうした多岐にわたる規則・規範を全役員・従業員が遵守 し、もし違反行為があった場合には、早期に発見して是正できるマネジメント体制を作ることが求められる。また、業界慣行、社内ルールがより広い視点で法律 や社会通念と相反していないかといった第三者的チェックも必要になるだろう。
コンプライアンスの重要性が叫ばれるようになった背景には、違法 行為や反社会的行為を行って、消費者や取引先の信頼を失い、事業継続が不可能になる企業が頻発するようになったことがある。企業にとってコンプライアンス は、リスクマネジメント活動としてとらえられている場合が多いようだ。しかし、complianceの原義に戻って、社会からの信頼を高めるための戦略的活動として取り組んでいる企業もある。
さらに広い概念として、CSR が知られる。
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S.E.C. Revises Its Standards for Corporate Audits ByERIC DASH
The Securities and Exchange Commission approved new guidelines yesterday that try to balance the need for tighter financial controls with the cost of complying with them. It said the new procedures will make it less costly for smaller companies to assess the state of their internal financial controls.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, led by Christopher Cox, is extending the new auditing guidelines to cover smaller companies.
The new standards call for public companies to focus on the areas most prone to potential fraud, streamlining an auditing process that many have called excessive and burdensome.
While big public companies had previously adhered to more rigorous standards, the unanimous vote by the commissions five members paves the way for this more relaxed set of guidelines to be imposed on the smaller companies that make up the vast majority of American businesses, those with a market value of less than $75 million.
Small companies will have to adhere to the new guidelines starting on Dec. 15 for the 2007 calendar year. The commission had previously delayed the effective date amid complaints that complying with the rules would be too costly for small companies.
The S.E.C. also introduced six rule proposals yesterday aimed at making it easier for small businesses to raise capital.
Federal regulators have been under pressure from business groups and lawmakers to ease the requirements of the internal controls provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was introduced after the Enron and WorldCom scandals.
Section 404, which requires public companies to assess the controls they have put in place in order to certify that their reports are reliable, was intended to discourage fraud and financial manipulation. Its critics, however, say its stringent requirements impose unnecessary costs on small companies and have caused United States financial markets to lose ground.
Congress left it up to regulators to determine how thoroughly auditors had to conduct their exams.
The commissions action yesterday was the culmination of a fierce lobbying battle between accounting firms, which have reaped huge profits from the tighter standards, and an influential coalition of small public companies, which has called for relief for years.
The regulator of auditors, thePublic Company Accounting Oversight Board, is expected to vote today on new rules for auditors, which reflect a similar emphasis on end results over process.
The S.E.C.s new guidelines largely resemble those it proposed late last year, accounting experts say. They call on corporate managers to use a top down approach to identify the areas where fraud or errors are most likely and a risk based approach that allows room to avoid unnecessary testing. This contrasts with a more prescriptive approach that auditors had employed.
Among the most concrete changes is that the S.E.C. will now require a company to get an outside auditors formal opinion on whether its financial controls are working. Previously, companies were required to have outside auditors evaluate the quality of the assessment process as well. Accounting experts said this could lower a typical audits cost by 10 to 20 percent.
Among the rule proposals on the raising of capital, the S.E.C. has recommended changing its Rule 144 in a move that would allow investors in PIPEs private investments in public equity and other restricted securities to sell their positions six months earlier.
Currently, those investors must hold the securities for at least a year. Those who are shorting the stock betting its price will fall will still have to hold it for a year.
The S.E.C. also proposed expanding the number of small companies that would qualify for less stringent disclosure requirements and be able to take advantage of so-called shelf registration. While both areas are prone to abuse, regulators are seeking a balance between making it easier for small companies to raise capital and ensuring investor protection.
The commission will solicit comments on the proposals over the next 60 days.
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