Setting The 2026 Theme

Rob 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Van Rien Compliance Podcast. I'm Rob.

Dawn 0:04

And I'm Dawn. If you're a client partner or someone who's been walking this compliance journey with us, this episode is just for you.

Rob 0:10

Oh, exactly, Dawn. And today we're not only talking about regulations, we're not only talking about audits, but we're talking about you, our great clients, and what you can expect from Van Ryan Compliance in 2026.

Dawn 0:23

That is right, Rob, because 2026 is a big year for us. And more importantly, it's a year where our clients benefit the most from the work we've been doing behind the scenes.

Rob 0:33

Exactly. And so what we're going to do this year, we're going to pull back the curtain a little bit, or peel back the onion, as I like to say. Oh, yeah. And really talk about what our internal focus is, what our 2026 theme is here at Van

What Focus Forward Means

Rob 0:47

Ryan. And that theme is focus forward. So what does that mean to our great clients? So what that means is Van Ryan focuses forward. That means there's less noise and more signal. That means there's more, there's less reaction and less scrambling. That means there's more clarity, there's more precision, structure, confidence, details in our auditing, policies, procedures, and our training.

Dawn 1:13

Correct. And compliance shouldn't feel chaotic, anyways. Anyway, anyway. Anyway.

Rob 1:18

Anyways.

Dawn 1:20

It shouldn't feel like guesswork. And it definitely shouldn't feel like you're always behind. In 2026, our goal is simple. You always know where you stand.

Rob 1:29

Exactly. So we know where our clients are standing in 2026 because of VRC1, because of all the hard work our team put together and everything that we're working through. So in 2026, our biggest shift from our clients will notice in 2026 is proactively, proactively auditing, proactively scheduling touch point calls, proactively staying in front of policy changes, and also proactively staying staying in front of legal changes or law changes, because in 26 there are midterm elections. And also there's supposed to be a hefty

Proactive Audits And Touchpoints

Rob 2:03

overview and update of the HIPAA regulations, uh, privacy and security laws this year. So we're moving from let's fix this before the audit to let's build this so when audits come around, they become more routine, become more comfortable, and we just add them in our daily life.

Dawn 2:21

Yes. This means clear roadmaps, better visibility, and fewer surprises. You'll see us leaning in earlier, flagging risks sooner, tightening controls faster, and helping leadership teams make smarter decisions before they become problems. So basically proactivity and accountability. That's the nut that's the other one. Accountability. Yep.

Rob 2:43

You're holding, you'd be holding us accountable through VRC One, through all of our platforms and our notifications and our scripts and our comments. But also we're gonna hold you, our great clients, accountable to make sure you're on track with your compliance goals and your needs and make sure that everything is dialed in perfectly because your clients are asking you for that. Uh and we really want to make sure compliance becomes part of how you operate. It needs to become part of the business, not something that interrupts your business because it's not an interruption. It's what you need to be doing. This is what you need to do and how you need to weave into uh your we need to weave compliance into your organization and into your business.

Dawn 3:22

Right. So you're gonna see the big thing is VRC1 is getting smarter and simpler.

VRC1 Becomes The Single Source

Dawn 3:29

Um in 2026, our platform has become more central to your experience. We've aligned our controls a little bit more streamlined and simpler, cleaner dashboards, better evidence organization, stronger audit readiness views, and more guided workflows, which is very, very exciting.

Rob 3:48

Yep, and part of that guided workflows is yes, we are going to incorporate AI into our workflows. That will be coming later this quarter. Well, we're very particular on how that gets how that looks, very particular on the end user experience and and what does it look like to our great clients. So we're being very particular and making sure it's dialed in perfect perfectly. Um, so it makes sense and it's easier for you to navigate as our great clients. Um, the other thing, too, is VRC1 isn't just a document portal, right? It's not just a place to go dump docs in evidence. It's your single source of compliance truth. So think of it this way: you have your evidence up there, you have your reports up there, you have your summary notifications up there, you have everything you need to complete any type of compliance uh checklist or request from your clients, and everything in the auditing that we request as evidence from from um Van Ryan compliance as well. So an auditor asks a question, you already know the answer. You're already ready to go. And you already know where the evidence lies.

Dawn 4:52

That's right. That's right.

From Experimental To Operational AI

Rob 4:55

So as we go forward and we take a look at the AI audits and the future of ready compliance. So this is gonna be a big change for not only Van Ryan, but for our clients over the next, I'm gonna say 60 days, is what is AI going to look like? So in 26, um, AI is no longer gonna be experimental. We've been playing with it in our beta environments and we and offline, right? We're not just gonna throw it in production, but we're gonna turn it from experimental into operational, uh, into regulators, uh uh the customers and auditors are paying close attention to all of this, and they're looking at how AI is being used in the environment. So we're gonna flip the switch, if you will, and make it clean and tidy for our clients.

Dawn 5:39

Absolutely. We're also gonna be rolling out AI audit and AI governance services. Um, and this is designed to meet where you are, where where you currently are using AI, um, internally, externally, uh, however you're using it. Um, so AI-enabled products um, or just trying to understand what your exposure is. So we'll help you understand the hard questions before you get asked by your customer or potential client, that type of thing.

Rob 6:08

Yeah, and this isn't about slowing down innovation. It's about making sure innovation doesn't become a liability. Um, because your clients are asking you about how you're using AI, where are you sending the data? Uh, is

AI Governance And Risk Questions

Rob 6:20

it onshore, is it offshore? How is it being leveraged? What agencies are using the data, even government agencies, uh, and and understanding if there is any fraud uh that's been going on with the data or theft of the data. So you have to be able to stand up against that because your clients will ask you and you'll be audited not only for the government, but from a legal standpoint as well. So it's gonna get bigger and more important in 26.

Dawn 6:45

Absolutely. Also, we are bringing um more higher touch, more support to you, our customers. Um, we we uh our commitment to our White Glove service so remains the same, but we're gonna have it's gonna be enhanced. Um, we are going to have touch point calls, and this is based on when you want to meet, how often you want to meet, um, clearer communication, stronger delivery, uh, faster responses, um, more structured check-ins, um, and just a deeper partnership mindset um for you. Um, we don't want to be your vendor, we want to be part of your compliance team. That is our goal.

unknown 7:22

Yep.

Rob 7:23

Yeah, but I always

White Glove Support And Check‑Ins

Rob 7:24

say vendors are the ones you buy peanuts from at the ballgame, right? Or a beer, right? Um we're gonna we're gonna take you for the beer and have fun, but we're an extension of your team. So we are your compliance partners and compliance teams going forward. And more value for our subscription clients. So a lot of our clients are in a subscription model where they leverage our services monthly or quarterly, some do it annually. It's however they fit. Um, we're that white glove concierge in um plat, not a platform. I said platform. VRC One is our platform, but we are a white glove concierge service for you so that we can can tailor exactly to your needs. So this includes expanded guidance within you know everything from AI to state regulations to change to changes in the federal regulations to all of that, better frameworks of documentation. They are not just templates, they're actually frameworks of how you need to write a privacy policy or an audit policy or an AI policy, because you need to have that now presented to your clients and in your master service agreements and all that. Stronger training

Maturity Models And Outcomes

Rob 8:28

support. Now that's a big thing that Juni and our team have been working very hard on. And Emma, as well as our client project coordinator, is making sure that training is taken care of, making sure it delivers as it needs to you, either in your LMS or using our LMS. Either way works very well. And then a clear executive level high insights. I like to see dashboards, maybe because I'm still 12 mentally, right, Dawn? Um, but we need to be able to report quickly, efficiently, and honestly to our executive level, to our ownership level, to our investors, and to our regulatories, uh regulators, regulators, regulatories, there we go. To the law, you'll say it that way. To the law, and and then to um to the man, to the woman, and to the lawyers, because you're gonna ask about you're gonna be asked about your audits, you're gonna be asked about your policies and all your training and all of that.

Dawn 9:26

Yep, yep. And our goal is really for clients to look back um at the end of 2026 and say, we are more mature than we were a year ago. Um now, maturity level is I'm talking differently. I'm talking maturity and compliance. Um typically, maturity level is literal is typically a scale of one to five. Five is you're very mature. Uh, you've been in the space, you you really understand compliance, you've implemented compliance in your organization, you have it really well maintained and you maintain it every year. It's like clockwork for you. You've integrated it very seamlessly um

Leadership Visibility And Growth Pathways

Dawn 10:06

um alongside Van Rijn uh in your in your organization. Um, whereas maybe you are were a one at the beginning of 26 and now you're maybe a three, where you're kind of like, well, I've got my program set. Now I just need to work on the following year's implementation and more integration. So that's really what we're we're excited to to take you along the journey and really grow your maturity in compliance and be compliant. Be compliant, be be compliant, not yes, be compliant, but be confident. Confident and compliant at the same time.

Rob 10:40

How about confidently compliant?

Dawn 10:43

Oh, yeah, there we go. There we go.

Rob 10:45

There you go. That's it.

Dawn 10:47

I think we relaxed too much over the holidays.

Rob 10:49

Anyway, I think so. I think so. We're all back, right? Well, and so then as a client, it's like, okay, what does that mean for me as a client of Van Rye? So as a client of Van Rye, that means obviously being very focused on the work, right? Um, being very focused on how we deliver the work, making sure it's timely, making sure your satisfaction is at the utmost highest, making sure that everything is detailed correctly, making sure that the training is delivered correctly, making sure we have very strong audit outcomes. That is one thing we're working hard with Benny and and Dawn and I Z auditors, is we're gonna be very stringent on the audit reports and exact tell you exactly what you need to do and give you some frameworks of how you can implement it. Because we're we're here to, you know, you've hired us to find those security gaps and risk to your business and

Gratitude And 2026 Commitments

Rob 11:40

risk to your clients. Also gonna get you better leadership visibility. So we're gonna reintroduce and re-enhance our summary, uh, our management summary dashboard, which we give to all our clients, which is a three to four page document that shows and details exactly everything we went through as far as auditing and putting all those details together. So you're gonna have that. And then compliance that actually supports growth. So we have a lot of clients. That's a thing that they'll start off with HIPAA. They may go six months a year. Oh, we better now we need a SOC, SOC two. Oh, wow, now we need an ISO, or maybe they even go to Hitrust. So we can handle all of those, even in a FedRAMP and CMMC and all that. We're gonna grow alongside you and with you. So as you grow as clients, which we're excited, we want to pour into you and support your growth, and we're here to go every step of the way.

Dawn 12:31

Yep. Absolutely. And it means not you're you're not navigating complex frameworks alone. You have a partner. That's us, that's Van Rijn. Uh, you have a partner, and we will help you um navigate these waters and get to the HIPAA plus whatever the next the next compliance program is for you. Absolutely.

Rob 12:51

Yeah. So first of all, I think from Dawn and I um is a big thank you. A big thank you to everybody in 2025 that has trusted us. Thank you for all of your your dedication to compliance to ensuring that everything is dialed in. And thank you for being a great partner and business uh associate of ours in 25. And as we continue into 26, we're just going to continue to elevate that and keep things going.

Dawn 13:17

Yep. And to those continuing with us in 2026, um, we're excited, very excited about these changes. And to those just joining us in 2026, we are ready for you. So come on board.

Rob 13:31

Yep.

Dawn 13:31

Partner with us.

Rob 13:32

Yep. This year it's all about focus, it's all about maturity and how we audit, it's about focus and direction and how we take care of uh you as our clients and making sure we're building compliance programs that actually work and provide value.

Dawn 13:45

Absolutely. Um, and thank you so much for being part of the Van Ryan family. We very much appreciate it.

Rob 13:51

Yep, 100%. All right, that is how we're gonna we're gonna Van Ryan in 2026. We're excited that you're here. Thank you for a great year in 25 and get ready to work hard and have a lot of great value. All right. Till next time. Bye bye. Bye bye.