DICO - Deutsches Institut für Compliance e.V.

What DICO - Deutsches Institut für Compliance e.V. does

DICO – Deutsches Institut für Compliance e.V. is a registered non-profit association (gemeinnütziger Verein) founded in November 2012 in Berlin, Germany, that operates as the central independent, interdisciplinary forum for compliance practitioners in Germany. The organization serves more than 1,000 members drawn from DAX-listed enterprises, mid-market companies, Big Four and other auditing firms, management consultancies, law firms, NGOs (including Transparency International), and academia. Its mission is the practice-oriented promotion and further development of compliance in Germany, achieved through peer exchange, standards development, and policy input into regulatory reform.

DICO's product surface consists of member services rather than unified software products. Core offerings include a member SharePoint platform hosting working-group outputs, publications (guidelines, position papers, basic papers, working papers), digital tools developed by committees, the CODE OF C podcast, the DICOnnect digital magazine, a free Stellenbörse job market for company members, and the YOUNG DICO program for early-career professionals. The association convenes members through an annual flagship DICO FORUM in Berlin, smaller DICO TALKS held at member companies, 30-minute DICO KNOWLEDGE BITES webcasts, and a SME-focused DICO Mittelstandstag. Working groups (Arbeitskreise) cover Compliance-Risikoanalyse, Behavioral Compliance & Ethics, Richtlinienmanagement, Export Controls/Sanctions, Criminal Law, and Integrity, producing the bulk of DICO's intellectual output.

The revenue model is membership-dues-driven (recurring subscription) supplemented by affiliate-referral economics from nine educational/training partners that offer DICO members up to 10% discounts on seminars and continuing education. The organization is governed by a Management Board (Vorstand) led by full-time board member Dr. Anna-Maija Mertens (appointed April 2024), a Supervisory Board (Verwaltungsrat) chaired by Stefanie Reichel, a Scientific Advisory Board (Wissenschaftlicher Beirat), and a Geschäftsstelle under Managing Director Kai Fain. Geographic scope is Germany-only; operations, members, events, and partnerships are all domestic, with no disclosed international expansion.

Name

DICO - Deutsches Institut für Compliance e.V.

Legal name

DICO – Deutsches Institut für Compliance e.V.

Website

https://dico-ev.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DICO is a German non-profit professional association founded in 2012 in Berlin, serving over 1,000 compliance practitioners from DAX companies, mid-market firms, auditors, law firms, NGOs, and academia through working groups, publications, events, and policy advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: DICO operates as a non-profit association (gemeinnütziger Verein) with membership as its primary revenue stream. The organization has over 1,000 members from DAX companies, mid-market, auditing firms, consulting firms, NGOs, and academia who pay membership dues.
2. Training Partner Discounts: DICO offers members discounts of up to 10% with seminar and continuing education providers including Akademie Heidelberg, Beck-Seminare, Board Academy, Bucerius Law School, ComplianceAcademy, Euroforum, Management Circle, and School GRC.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

DICO is a registered non-profit association (gemeinnütziger Verein) that operates as Germany's central independent forum for compliance practitioners. It provides its 1,000+ members with access to a SharePoint knowledge platform hosting working group guidelines, position papers, and digital tools; runs interdisciplinary Arbeitskreise (working groups) covering Compliance-Risikoanalyse, Behavioral Compliance & Ethics, Export Controls/Sanctions, Criminal Law, Richtlinienmanagement, and Integrity; and delivers community programming through the annual DICO FORUM, DICO TALKS, DICO KNOWLEDGE BITES webcasts, the CODE OF COMPLIANCE podcast, the DICOnnect digital magazine, and the YOUNG DICO program for early-career professionals.

Product overview

DICO - Deutsches Institut für Compliance e.V. is a non-profit association (registered association) established in November 2012 that serves as Germany's central voice for compliance. Rather than offering a unified software product, DICO provides a portfolio of member services including access to a SharePoint platform for working group resources and downloads, publications and guidelines developed by expert committees, digital tools, a podcast series (CODE OF C), and a job market for members. The organization facilitates knowledge exchange and networking through various event formats including the annual DICO FORUM conference, DICO TALKS discussion events, DICO KNOWLEDGE BITES webcasts, and SME-specific events. DICO members can access working group outputs including compliance risk analysis, behavioral ethics, export controls, criminal law, and policy management topics through the DICO SharePoint platform. The association also runs YOUNG DICO for early-career compliance professionals and publishes the DICOnnect digital magazine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DICO SharePoint Member Platform Member-only SharePoint portal hosting all Arbeitskreis working group outputs, internal news, downloads, and networking features for the 1,000+ member community.
• DICO Publications (Publikationen) Published compliance guidelines, position papers, working papers, and fact sheets developed by DICO's expert committees and distributed to members.
• DICO Digitale Tools (Digital Tools) Digital tools and practical resources for compliance practitioners developed by DICO's Arbeitskreise (working groups).
• DICO FORUM (Annual Conference) Annual flagship conference in Berlin providing the central in-person forum for DICO members and the broader German compliance community for networking, working-group reporting, and knowledge exchange.
• CODE OF COMPLIANCE Podcast Podcast series featuring expert discussions on compliance topics for the German compliance community.
• YOUNG DICO Program Membership program for early-career compliance professionals from companies, authorities, universities, law firms, and auditing firms offering networking events and professional development.
• DICO Stellenbörse (Job Market) Free job advertisement board for DICO company members to post compliance-related positions and reach qualified compliance candidates.
• DICO Arbeitskreise (Working Groups) Eleven expert working groups (Arbeitskreise) producing compliance guidelines and position papers on topics including Compliance-Risikoanalyse, Behavioral Compliance & Ethics, Richtlinienmanagement, Export Controls/Sanctions, Criminal Law, and Integrity.
• DICO Mittelstandstag (SME Day) Annual event specifically designed for small and medium enterprises (Mittelstand) offering practical, compact, and solution-oriented compliance content.
• DICOnnect Magazine Digital magazine showcasing DICO's work, formats, member offerings, and annual DICO FORUM activities.

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DAI (DeutscheAnwaltsauskunft/Deutsche Anwaltschaft)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2025Cooperation event 'Compliance heute und morgen' held jointly with DAI on March 13, 2025 in Frankfurt am Main. The hybrid conference covered topics including EU supply chain regulation, AML requirements, internal investigations, and cybersecurity.
• Akademie HeidelbergminorOthersEducational partner offering DICO members up to 10% discount on seminars and continuing education programs.
• Beck-SeminareminorOthersEducational partner offering DICO members up to 10% discount on professional seminars.
• Board AcademyminorOthersEducational partner offering DICO members up to 10% discount on board-level training programs.
• Bucerius Law SchoolminorOthersEducational partner (law school) offering DICO members up to 10% discount on legal education programs.
• ComplianceAcademyminorOthersSpecialized compliance training partner offering DICO members up to 10% discount on programs.
• EuroforumminorOthersConference and seminar provider offering DICO members up to 10% discount on professional events.
• Management CircleminorOthersProfessional training provider offering DICO members up to 10% discount on management seminars.
• School GRCminorOthersGRC-focused training provider offering DICO members up to 10% discount on governance, risk, and compliance programs.
• WICA (Wirtschaftscampus)minorOthersBusiness campus partner offering DICO members up to 10% discount on professional education.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SCCE (Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics): The leading US-based professional membership association for compliance and ethics practitioners, offering certifications (CCEP), working groups, publications and an annual conference — directly comparable membership-association model to DICO but operating in North America.
• OCEG (Open Compliance and Ethics Group): Global, non-profit member community and think tank focused on governance, risk and compliance (GRC), producing standards and certifications — comparable community-led, standards-developing professional association model.
• ICA (International Compliance Association): UK-headquartered international membership body offering the ICA Diploma in Compliance and serving compliance officers globally with qualifications, training and a member community — a direct international functional peer to DICO.
• FERMA (Federation of European Risk Management Associations): European federation of national risk management associations, providing a pan-European forum for risk and compliance professionals. Comparable association structure with working committees and policy input, but at the European rather than German level.

Broad incumbents

• Bitkom: Germany's digital industry association with member companies, working groups, and policy positions including on data protection and digital compliance. Comparable German membership-association model but focused on the digital/tech sector.
• BDI (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie): Germany's main umbrella federation representing the interests of German industry, with member companies from DAX to Mittelstand. Compares to DICO as a broader industry-level association that also covers compliance policy positions but across all industry topics.
• ICC (International Chamber of Commerce): Global business organization with extensive anti-corruption, compliance and trade rules workstreams. Overlaps with DICO in compliance standards/anti-corruption advocacy but is much broader in mandate and global in scope.

Regional players

• Deutscher Anwaltverein (DAV): Germany's largest professional association for lawyers with a membership-fee model, working groups, publications, and an annual conference — same structural model as DICO but in the broader legal profession. DICO and DAI (linked to DAV) already run cooperation events.
• Wirtschaftsprüferkammer: German public-law chamber for auditors, a membership organization with professional standards, publications, and disciplinary function. Shares DICO's professional-association structure and standards-development role within the German audit/compliance ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Transparency International Deutschland: German chapter of the global anti-corruption NGO, also a membership-based non-profit in the compliance/governance space. Closely linked to DICO through former MD Dr. Anna-Maija Mertens and overlapping anti-corruption / integrity mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dico---deutsches-institut-f%C3%BCr-compliance-e-v-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DICO - Deutsches Institut für Compliance e.V.