PraxisGRC Projects

The original Journal of Business Compliance Project

In 2011, Laurenz Baltzer, founder and owner of Baltzer Science Publishers and Anthony Smith-Meyer, a Group Compliance Officer of Fortis Bank and a Member of the Group Executive Board of Compliance and Oversight of Operational Control of BNP Paribas met to discuss a new publication. The result was the launch of the Journal of Business Compliance (the “Journal”) in 2012 with Anthony Smith-Meyer as its founding Editor-in-Chief. Sharon Ward, then Chief Examiner (GRC) at the International Compliance Association, joined the editorial team of the Journal in 2013.

The Journal was to focus on topics related to ethics, governance and compliance and articles drawn from academics, practitioners and other subject matter experts. The Journal was to bridge the academic to real world divide and render academic learnings practical, and practical experience subject to the discipline of academic rigour in its presentation and style. Articles were edited so as to satisfy three principal demands: 

·  To define the topic at hand in such a manner that the reader could ascertain its relevance to their situation; 

·  to describe the main levers and factors in need of management to address the topic; 

·  and finally, to provide the beginnings of tools and approaches for the reader to start to apply the learnings of the article to their organisation.

The Journal issued its first publication in 2012, with the intent to produce 6 issues per year, each issue comprising 7 or 8 articles each of approximately 3,000 words. Baltzer Science Publishers distributed the Journal mainly in digital format through digital libraries. Working as Associate Editor alongside Anthony Smith-Meyer as Editor-in-Chief, the Journal continued to publish regularly and together we edited and curated content until the Journal’s final issue in 2016, at which point the publisher ceased operations.

The current Journal of Business Compliance Project

Some time ago now Anthony and I invested time in reviewing the many contributions published in the Journal. We found many to be relevant still, and others that remained interesting but that might benefit from some updating or an addendum.  We compiled the articles into collections on themes such as Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Compliance as a Function, Cyber and Digital Compliance, Ethics, Governance, EU Policy, and many more. As part of this project we considered re-publication of the articles as a series of “booklets” on a non-profit basis. 

The Journal holds the copyright of the articles it published. Laurenz Baltzer (owner) kindly agreed that the compilations might be released under Creative Commons to ensure that the work may be freely used and shared.

During the past year we have reviewed all the archive articles with a view to re-publishing the contributions in a series of four themed booklets. We contacted authors of the articles, prioritising those of the articles intended for publication in the intended first two of the series, inviting them to comment on the project if they wished to do so and to thank them for their efforts, past, present and future. We advised that we would be delighted to incorporate any changes or addendums to their articles before publishing, but did not require them to take any action. Many contacted us to offer their support for the project, some providing updates to the existing articles or entirely new pieces to be included. 

We have now been able to contact our authors to provide them with an update on our progress, and to inform them that the first booklet “Ethics in Business - Translating Values to Results" is now available on Amazon – please click the link below to access:

This first book focusses on the role and importance of managing and ensuring that integrity - delivering what is promised in a resilient and sustainable fashion - is positioned as a cornerstone for long-term success. Grouped in four parts it is unified by a central exploration of what it means to act with integrity in a world where rules alone are insufficient. Across its sections, the reader is invited to examine the tensions that arise between individual conscience, organisational culture, and systemic structures. From deeply personal ethical dilemmas to reflections on sector-wide reform, each part unpacks the interplay between values and behaviour in environments defined by complexity, pressure, and ambiguity.

At its core, the collection argues that ethical decision-making is not a technical exercise. It is emotional, contextual, and often uncomfortable. Ethics is shown not as a static code, but as a dynamic process shaped by who we are, how we lead, and the systems we inhabit. Throughout, the contributing article authors challenge the assumption that compliance alone safeguards integrity, urging a shift toward deeper cultural engagement and human-centred leadership.

Our ongoing work

The curated compilation of articles from the Journal’s archives is intended to ensure that the quality contributions of article authors is held available to the public. It is the considered view of the editors and professional reviewers that the structure of the articles ensures that they remain relevant and valuable. Certain articles have been suppressed from the collections as they have been superseded by events, and others will be either updated with a new article from the original author or provided with an editorial update to inform of subsequent events. We have compiled the collections to ensure that the articles contributed may still add to the compliance and governance debate. 

We are now working on the second booklet (still to be titled) on the organisation of the compliance function itself. A third booklet will focus on AML/ABC and the final one on collective action, global standards and certification questions - all within 12 months if possible. We will provide updates on our progress directly to our authors, on our respective websites, our LinkedIn pages and on the Amazon page. 

The articles remain informative, educational and practical in their content, enabling practitioners and students to better understand the real-life practical applications of the principles of organisational behaviour and culture management in support of long-term success. We encourage you to read and reflect on the content and to contribute your thoughts to the ongoing debate. 

Sharon Ward

January 2026

XXXXXXX

XXXXXXX