The knowledge: Challenging times for compliance
Elizabeth Hornby MCSI is Deputy Chairman of the CISI Compliance Professional Forum Committee. Here she shares her views on the top five compliance challenges facing the industry
- Keeping up to date: Ask anyone who works in Compliance and they will probably put this at the top of their list. As the regulatory environment continues to evolve, domestically and internationally, balancing the allocation of resources between day-to-day compliance tasks and the implementation of new regulations is a constant challenge for all firms.
- Communication and teamwork: Compliance is a shared responsibility and has always required high levels of communication, effective training and cross-departmental teamwork. The increased focus on personal accountability (especially for those in senior positions) adds to this challenge. It is more important than ever that staff fully understand their personal regulatory responsibilities and liabilities.
- Culture: Culture is a top priority for the regulators and, unfortunately, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ prescribed checklist. A good starting point is a set of core values. The next, and more much more challenging step, is to ensure that they are put into practice. Ask yourself whether your firm lives up to its values. Where are the gaps?
- Beyond compliance: Increasingly, compliance is not just about the ‘letter’ of the rules but also about their ‘spirit’. This raises challenges that encompass both sound decision-making processes and robust record-keeping practices. Records, for instance, minutes, file notes etc, enable a firm to evidence and explain their decisions at a later date.
- Enforcement trends: You only have to open a newspaper to be aware of the high levels of fines imposed on firms. Remember that regulators also have the powerful tools of suspension and prohibition in their armoury and that they are prepared to intervene at an early stage to prevent detriment to customers and markets.The challenge here is to actively monitor and learn from enforcement cases.
Read your next article on your device with the new MyCISI Member App
Available on App Store and Play Store
