Ultimate CFO’s Guide to GDPR Compliance and Data Privacy 📗

Compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is crucial for companies operating within the European Union and beyond.

CFOs play a vital role in managing risk and ensuring compliance costs are effectively balanced against financial objectives — so staying informed about GDPR requirements is a must.

Since its implementation in 2018, GDPR has reshaped how businesses handle personal data worldwide. While many view it as a legal or IT concert, it’s especially important for CFOs to be involved.

For CFOs, GDPR isn’t just about compliance; it’s about protecting the company’s financial health (not to mention, the organization’s trust factor). With fines reaching up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover, non-compliance can significantly damage the bottom line.

CFOs mitigate risks and help future-proof the organization against evolving regulations.

Ultimately, GDPR offers CFOs an opportunity to safeguard both the financial stability and reputation of their business in a data-driven world.Vena’s CFO Melissa Howatson and VP of FP&A, Tom Seegmiller joined forces to give you exactly what you need to kick the year off right.

Why CFOs Must Take the Lead on GDPR Compliance to Protect Financial Health

Ready to safeguard your company’s financial health and reputation? Here are the top four GDPR-related items every finance professional should have on their list: 

Understand the financial impacts of GDPR. Being compliant with GDPR can involve significant costs, from initial investments like technology upgrades and training, to the risk of substantial fines for non-compliance. It’s critical to assess and prepare for both compliance costs and potential penalties.

Implement data management and security measures. Strong data management and cybersecurity practices are essential under GDPR. This includes minimizing data collection, ensuring data accuracy and investing in protection mechanisms like encryption and regular security audits to prevent data breaches.

Prioritize data subject rights. GDPR grants individuals control over their personal data, such as the right to access, rectify or erase data. Companies must establish processes to honor these rights and be prepared for complaints or legal actions from data subjects.

Collaborate with IT and legal teams. Close partnership between IT and legal departments is necessary to ensure that both the technology and legal aspects of GDPR compliance are addressed. This ensures that data processing and security measures align with regular requirements.

Ready for a roadmap to manage your entire GDPR compliance policy? Greet shares this on this week’s episode of The CFO Show, available wherever you typically listen.

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In case you missed it…

Last week’s episode of The CFO Show features a round-robin discussion with today’s leading CFOs about their top priorities and challenges for the year ahead. The finance executives delve into topics such as future AI investments, industry market trends, and other key areas often overlooked by non-finance leaders in business.

What’s next…

There are a lot of intricacies in the relationship between a CFO and a CEO. Their partnership plays a crucial role in driving organizational success, evolving from a traditional back-office function to a strategic collaboration. Hunter Madeley, CEO of Vena, joins The CFO Show to talk about our relationship and how we balance every part of our partnership.