The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) finally took effect at the end of May across the EU. Many organisations are still struggling with the amount of changes and work required. A recent survey carried out by the UK branch of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) revealed that only half of those interviewed were ‘fully compliant’ on the enforcement date of 25 May, with roughly a quarter (27%) not fully compliant and the rest (23%) unsure.
One suspects that a similar response would be found in Ireland if such a survey were conducted here.
Some of the views reflected in the survey were:
• Compliance is continuous, firms find it challenging to be 100% compliant at all times;
• Basics are easier to put in place, but additional processing is essential;
• Lack of clarity on some of the rules and requirements was a problem as some guidance was only finalised in the weeks
leading up to the GDPR enforcement date on 25 May, which caused plans to be delayed or changed for many organisations; and
• A lot of training and awareness was needed to decrease anxiety among staff who feared doing something wrong.
GDPR is undoubtedly a major challenge for most organisations. We are providing readers of this blog with a free checklist of questions which are intended to help you assess how well your data security and usage controls compare to the GDPR requirements and help identify areas for improvement. Checklist available here
To hear more about the ongoing requirements of the GDPR, come to our next CPD course, GDPR for Accountants on Tuesday 25 September 2018 in the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan, Dublin, at 9:30am.
All delegates will receive a GDPR get started checklist, the GDPR law itself, along with other support materials.
More information and booking details: here
Watch for our forthcoming GDPR Data Protection Procedures Manual coming soon.
