Public funding supports small and medium-sized enterprises in their development. But which funding programmes are suitable for your own company? And how can the right funding be identified, or several funding programmes be combined? Entrepreneurs who deal with this topic quickly realise that getting an overview and making the right choice for their own company is a task that cannot be accomplished in passing. Finding one’s way through the funding jungle is not always easy.
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Comply with regulations, implement ethical standards: Compliance is crucial for SMEs in the highly competitive business environment. Medium-sized companies that decide to professionalise their compliance can make their compliance management processes lean, efficient and transparent on the basis of certification standards. Once a solid compliance basis has been developed according to certification standards, the company is optimally equipped for active compliance management.
Acting ethically and responsibly is a matter of course for most entrepreneurs. The concept of the “honourable merchant” goes back to the Middle Ages and still has an important meaning for German companies. However, Germany is very much involved in global divisions of labour and along the supply chains there are always grievances in the economic, ecological, and humanitarian spheres. This should change. With the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, or Supply Chain Act for short, a law was passed that obliges companies based in Germany to implement defined due diligence obligations. It came into force on 1 January 2023 and aims to protect human rights along supply chains, improve working conditions and protect nature from harmful impacts. In concrete terms, companies should ensure that human rights and minimum standards such as the prohibition of child and forced labour are observed through responsible management of supply chains.
On 16 December 2022, the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) was passed in the Federal Parliament. Based on the Whistleblower Directive, it guarantees whistleblowers better protection in their professional environment against reprisals such as dismissal or defamation. The next plenary session of the Bundesrat is on 10 February 2023. If it approves the HinSchG, the law can be promulgated in February. Since a law comes into force three months after promulgation, in this case it would probably be the end of May. In the first stage, the law will apply to all companies with 250 or more employees and, from 17 December 2023 to all companies with at least 50 employees.
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The whistleblower directive is coming. But very few companies have taken care of it yet. This is shown by a recent PWC study. And it also confirms our impression in practice. But time is pressing: if the law is finally passed by parliament, all companies with 50 or more employees will be obliged to install a corresponding system. And the number of employees here is based on the European concept of employees – and this differs from the usual way of counting. Employees include everyone employed by the company without exception, including interns, mini-jobbers, and the management itself. This is important for determining whether thresholds are reached or not.
Since August 1, 2022, the new regulation in the Verification Act obliges German employers to record and archive further contractual terms in writing in addition to the information regulated in Section 2 (1) of the NachwG. And this in paper form. The new regulation leads to considerable additional bureaucratic work, and many companies have hardly been able to prepare for the new Verification Act due to the short transition period. Therefore, the question arises: How can medium-sized companies implement the requirements resulting from the Verification Act in a compliance-compliant and yet company-specific manner?
It is increasingly important for medium-sized companies to meet sustainability criteria and to make this visible. In the overall economic structure, they are always part of a larger supply chain and thus bound by the sustainability requirements of other stakeholders. Demands on SMEs also come from banks and insurance companies. This is because the ESG criteria that a company implements are playing an increasingly important role in the financial sector against the backdrop of sustainable finance and are important when lending to an SME. In addition, the expectations of customers and employees are becoming increasingly concrete. But how specifically does an SME go about thinking, acting, and deciding in terms of sustainability? The topic of sustainability is complex. There are 20 important sustainability criteria, which include, for example, “innovation and product management”, “resource management” or “employee rights”. Therefore, the key question is: Where is the topic of sustainability relevant in the company at all?
People and nature are among the most sensitive areas in a company’s sphere of influence. After all, life and health are at stake here. Violations can have serious consequences. The liability risks arising from occupational health and safety and environmental protection law are correspondingly high. Of course, the basic obligations towards employees or other persons and the environment are known to every entrepreneur and compliance is not a new topic in these areas. Every company will consciously or unconsciously implement compliance measures in this area. However, the topic has become very much the focus of the authorities – and the focus of the public.
No question about it! In economically uncertain times, many companies are susceptible to crises. Now is the time to take special care in risk management. In times of energy crisis, Ukraine conflict and supply bottlenecks, very few companies know what tomorrow will bring and drive on sight. However, anticipating the development of one’s company is crucial, especially in volatile times, in order to recognize crisis indicators in good time and largely avoid a crisis that could threaten the company’s existence. The StaRUG has made this a corporate duty. The Stabilization and Restructuring Framework Act, which came into force on January 1, 2021, aims to protect companies from insolvency and support them in a restructuring process through various instruments. Permanent planning and transparent risk management are mandatory components in the entrepreneurial toolbox. This enables management to assess how the company is developing at any time and to identify crisis indicators before the crisis makes big waves.
ESG is not a trend, but the way to responsibly shape the future. But what about ESG compliance in your own company? ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance and medium-sized companies are confronted with this in many areas. A sustainable ESG concept helps a company to define and achieve its sustainability goals, to be attractive to banks and to increase the value of the company. When developing and implementing such an individual concept, many questions arise that need to be clarified. A systematic and structured approach ensures the necessary transparency here.
