What Does It Take To Be A Good Compliance Officer?
What makes a good Compliance Officer? It’s a question every hiring
manager, General Counsel and Board must consider when faced with the
need or opportunity to bring that critical person into the business.
The compliance profession is still in its infancy. A couple of
decades ago it started in the United States in the financial services
and health care sectors, growing out of legal and audit and into its own
role. As the UK Bribery Act came into force and more multi-national
organizations were stung with fines for failing to comply with all sorts
of laws, companies began to hire compliance officers in order address
the ever-increasing legal and regulatory expectations placed on them
from all angles. As compliance departments grow throughout Europe, Asia
and South America, businesses must evaluate who to hire and how to
determine what makes a good compliance officer.
What are the primary roles a compliance officer must undertake?
In many businesses, compliance is in charge of both compliance and
ethics. Compliance tends to deal with the policies and procedures that
are put in place in order for the business to ensure compliance with the
law. Ethics revolves around doing the right thing, corporate values
and training people to behave in a way that creates a culture of
compliance. While some organizations, particularly in financial
services, separate the ethics and compliance elements, for most
businesses compliance and ethics go hand-in-hand in one role.
Compliance Officers are generally charged with three tasks:
awareness, advice and reporting. The Compliance Officer creates the
compliance program and ensures that people throughout the organization
are aware of it, which includes ensuring understanding of the law, rules
and procedures enforced by the company. Compliance Officers must also
be able to advise on legal and compliant ways of conducting business,
and then report to the business about program implementation and
specific issues requiring resources or response.
What skills does a Compliance Officer need to have?
The most important thing a Compliance Officer needs is a deep
understanding of the business. Without a desire to know the business,
the Compliance Officer will not be able to give helpful solutions to
problems.
Communication skills are also vital for a Compliance Officer. Most
Compliance Officers perform training or give updates to the employee
population, managers or Board, so clear, compelling communication is
essential. Compliance Officers also need to be terrific listeners so
that they can hear and understand the pressure points between the
business and the law. Compliance Officers must be persuasive and able
to influence the business, especially when the procedures or policies
may be unpopular or difficult but necessary.
Lastly, Compliance Officers need to be skilled at designing simple
and understandable procedures in order to mitigate the risks identified
by the business.
How important is independence for a Compliance Officer?
Capacity for independent thought is crucial, as is a strong moral
compass. Although it is very important that the Compliance Officer be
able to get along well with others in the business, there will
invariably be times when the Compliance Officer must stand up for what
is right, and not what is popular. Ideally the Compliance Officer will
have a direct reporting line to the Board and C-suite, so that any
highly-contentious issue is dealt with at the highest levels of the
business without the dilution of another function speaking for
Compliance. There is a strong trend right now in Financial Services and
in U.S. enforcement actions to demand that the Compliance Department
function outside the Legal Department. This trend is likely to continue
and is likely to become best practice throughout the world.
What else can a Compliance Officer do to be effective?
The best Compliance Officers are those who can embrace change. The
regulatory environment is an ever-evolving one, and just when a
Compliance Officer thinks that the program is perfect, another law will
come into force or an enforcement action will require the program to
shift. Compliance Officers need to be naturally curious with a can-do
attitude. If a Compliance Officer learns to say “no” effectively to the
business using empathy and giving an explanation, it will go a long way
toward building the trust that is critical for the Compliance Officer
to maintain with management.
What role does enthusiasm or charisma play in becoming a good compliance officer?
Ideally Compliance Officers come to the job with a belief that what
they are doing is important, valuable and helpful to the business. It’s
been said that the Compliance Department’s job is to protect the
business in five years. Therefore, short-term sales goals and actions
which may create reputational risk must be eschewed in favour of
long-term thinking about what is going to make the business sustainable
and profitable in the future. Compliance Officers who maintain a sense
of mission, justice and proportionality will be successful. A sense of
purpose, enthusiasm for the job and natural charisma will draw people
within the business to listen to the Compliance Officer, which can be
helpful.
The definition of what makes a “good” Compliance Officer different when the person is working in a multi-national business?
Compliance roles inevitably become more complex when the business is
multi-national. Not only does the Compliance Officer have to manage
differing, and sometimes competing laws, but there will also be
questions of language and culture that can make the job more difficult.
Compliance Officers working in multi-national environments need to be
incredibly attuned to the cultural differences within the countries in
which their business operates. A strong desire to learn about the other
cultures will make a big difference. People tend to listen to people
who listen to them. A good Compliance Officer in a multi-national
company will be one who is aware that everyone comes with a set of
expectations created by their culture of origin, and that listening and
being aware is critical to the success of the compliance program in a
multi-national environment.
What’s the number one way to determine whether or not you are, or have hired, a good Compliance Officer?
You know you are a good Compliance Officer if members of the business
frequently come to you to proactively seek your advice. If you’re
providing smart, helpful counsel and engaging with them so that they
trust you, then you are likely doing your job effectively.
