ASE Global, the automotive accountancy and business services company, has provided a strong and positive endorsement to The Lead Agency for its commitment to GDPR compliance.

The auditors described our approach as “remarkable” following a GDPR Readiness Assessment that reviewed our core compliance documents and relevant activity – including our data mapping, privacy statement and technology.

Kevin Symm, data protection and compliance officer for ASE, said: “We have been working with hundreds of businesses in the automotive space, ranging from household names with 10,000s of staff down to small companies.

“We’ve seen the full range of practices – good and bad – that those businesses have in place but in no one business have we seen as many good practices as at The Lead Agency,” he added.

ASE has been providing audit and accountancy services in the automotive industry for more than 40 years, working in more than 50 countries, with brands such as Audi, BMW, Volkswagen and Ford. Its GDPR team, which was established following the announcement of the new regulation, has provided GDPR assistance to in excess of 700 retailers and a number of national and international manufacturers in the last 12 months.

‘Impressive’

In its official assessment of The Lead Agency’s approach, ASE said: “There is a clear ‘top-down’ commitment to compliance which drives all associated activities. Internal focus has been on compliance. However, this has been conducted with an eye on the customer, to keep them informed and up to date in as transparent a manner as possible.”

We have gone to great lengths to prepare fully for the new legislation; from what ASE described as “comprehensively undertaken” data mapping to an “excellent” privacy statement. In addition, we have built our proprietary Client Portal, which provides a complete audit trail of every consumer’s journey from beginning to end.

Commenting on our preparation, Kevin said: “The levels The Lead Agency has gone to and the things it has implemented – such as the client portal, policies, procedures and documentation – go as far as anything we’ve seen for how companies can minimise the potential for something to go wrong and then maximise how quickly any potential issues can be discovered and acted upon. It really is impressive.”

‘Commitment’

“What’s particularly impressive,” said Kevin, “is that the work undertaken by The Lead Agency goes far beyond what the new legislation requires. The company is in a very good place.”

“The right attitude is evident from the top-down at The Lead Agency. It’s clear that there is a real and determined commitment to GDPR and how it can be used to make the business better.”

The report concludes: “Internally, The Lead Agency’s policies are sound, staff are appropriately trained and there is commitment to ensure compliance does not suffer over time. Externally, customers can provide their personal data to the business confident that the processing it is subject to will be compliant.”

For more information on The Lead Agency’s automotive lead generation services, contact the team today.