Policy Review

What is Policy Review?

Policy review is the process of periodically evaluating organizational policies to ensure they remain accurate, relevant, and effective in addressing compliance, regulatory, and operational needs. Regular reviews help organizations adapt policies to regulatory updates, business changes, and emerging risks.

Policy reviews are a critical part of the policy lifecycle, ensuring that employees always follow the most current standards.

Why Policy Review Matters

Conducting regular policy reviews is important because it:

  • Ensures compliance with evolving laws, regulations, and industry standards

  • Identifies gaps or outdated procedures that could create risks

  • Improves clarity so policies remain practical and easy to follow

  • Strengthens governance by aligning policies with organizational goals

  • Supports audit readiness with up-to-date documentation

  • Reduces liability by demonstrating proactive compliance management

How Often Should Policies Be Reviewed?

  • Annually or Biannually – For high-impact policies (e.g., data privacy, IT security)

  • When regulations change – To reflect new laws (e.g., GDPR updates, HIPAA rules)

  • After major organizational changes – Mergers, acquisitions, or restructuring

  • Following incidents or breaches – To address policy weaknesses revealed by events

Key Steps in a Policy Review

  1. Identify Relevant Policies – Prioritize critical compliance and operational areas

  2. Evaluate Effectiveness – Review current implementation and issues raised

  3. Update Content – Align with regulatory updates and organizational changes

  4. Seek Stakeholder Input – Include compliance, HR, legal, and IT teams

  5. Redistribute & Attest – Share updated policies with employees for acknowledgment

Example of Policy Review

A financial services firm updates its anti-money laundering (AML) policy after regulators release new guidelines. The updated policy is redistributed to employees, and staff must re-attest to compliance.

Policy Review vs. Policy Audit

  • Policy Review – Ongoing internal evaluation to keep policies updated and effective.

  • Policy Audit – A formal, often external, assessment of compliance with policy requirements.

How VComply Can Help

VComply streamlines policy reviews by:

  • Automating review schedules and reminders

  • Assigning accountability for policy owners and reviewers

  • Tracking version history and changes for audit purposes

  • Centralizing updated policies for easy access and redistribution

  • Linking reviews with attestation and training to ensure adoption

With VComply, organizations can ensure policies are always current, compliant, and effectively implemented