Progress Regarding the Legal Audit in X Realty Corporation - Essay Example

The Legal Department was able to have favorable progress since the approval by the Management Committee of this project on Legal Audit. The Assistant Legal Counsels, with the assistance of the Legal Researcher, conducted thorough research on the list of relevant laws, rules, regulations, and guidelines concerning the real estate industry. Thereafter, these compilations of laws were classified according to the specific department handling their compliance.

For example, compliance with tax rules and regulations was listed under Accounting Department. On the other hand, compliances with requirements of environmental permits and licenses, approval of plans, etc. were listed under Engineering Department. The requirements as to the eligibility of real estate brokers and sales agents, as well as the securing of approval of marketing materials were assigned under the Sales and Marketing Department. Meetings were conducted with the Department Heads to verify the accuracy of the lists.

The lawyers then compared the different laws, rules, and regulations in the lists to determine if all still existed and were updated. Those which are considered outdated were deleted from the lists while the ones were integrated therein. To simplify the process, checklists were made according to the department and the target date of compliance for each. Each department was given a schedule on which the actual audit shall be made by the lawyers so that the Department Heads shall have sufficient time to prepare their records for examination.

Actual investigations were made on the records on file with each department. Close coordination with the assigned staff was made to ensure the accuracy of the audit, particularly to highly technical matters which may not be easily understood by lawyers. Emphasis was made that the objective of the audit was not to find fault or negligence on the part of each department but to ensure compliance of the company as a whole. This strategy resulted in a higher degree of cooperation among the department heads, staff, and the lawyers who conducted the audit.

As of this date, audits have been made in the following departments: Accounting and Finance Credit and Collection Sales and Marketing Estate Management Community Security and Protection Office The lawyers are presently conducting an audit with the I.T. Department. Examination of compliance in this department appears to be difficult since it involves highly technical matters and the I.T. people find it hard to explain the processes being made in their area/department. Further, the impression of this department shows that most of the agreements entered into by this department on behalf of the company were made without any formal contract which the lawyers were supposed to use as the starting point of the study.

Future Plans: Continuous conduct of audits in the remaining departments shall be made. Thereafter, the lawyers shall prepare a summary of the degree of compliance for each department per law/rule/regulation/guideline. Relevant findings shall be explained and recommendations shall be prepared vis-a-vis the findings for each department. The same shall be submitted to the Legal Manager for review.