With organizations working to meet countless complicated compliance requirements, may it be anti-money laundering laws to data privacy acts, the demand for compliance officers begins to rise. For instance, employers from the financial services industry are always on the lookout for experienced compliance officers to help the organization stay updated with domestic and global regulatory standards.
Let’s look at what compliance officers do and their importance to the organization and employee compliance training.
The Roles and Responsibilities of Compliance Officers
Back then, compliance officers were viewed as compliance cops, giving them a negative undertone of someone looking for wrongdoing and violations.
Today, compliance officers have a more positive connotation, being seen as someone who needs to champion corporate accountability, ethics, and integrity. They are the ones who manage risks and protect the company and its employees through offline and online compliance training. Furthermore, these officers would handle these tasks:
· They manage policies and procedures, creating necessary rules to make sure that the organization will comply at state and federal levels. Compliance officers will communicate the policies and procedures to everyone in the organization, providing training to educate staff. Furthermore, they attest to employee compliance and maintain or revise the procedures as needed, communicating and training when updated are made.
· Compliance officers monitor compliance, measuring and evaluating it from the top to bottom level of an organization. They will also work with various departments, coordinating compliance activities and identifying any trends.
· The goal of compliance officers is to prevent improper, illegal, or unethical behaviors. However, violations happen, and it’s up to the compliance officer to investigate such incidents against legal and regulatory requirements.
The Importance of a Good Compliance Officer
Here are the benefits an effective compliance officer can offer to your organization:
· You receive a holistic view of any issues your organization faces. Compliance officers will offer a wider view of your company and any compliance issues, identifying broad trends and risks before they worsen. They will also think strategically and make better decisions in case issues or violations arise.
· Compliance officers will provide proactive resolutions to issues before they become significant problems. For instance, compliance officers will prevent violations by taking measures such as compliance training and monitoring. They ensure that everyone in the organization carries out their business activities within the regulatory framework.
· Compliance officers will ensure consistent accountability among all locations, departments, and job roles. From the top to bottom of the food chain, compliance officers ensure that everyone is held to the same standards and that if anything happens, the person in question is held accountable.
· Compliance officers can reduce liability by protecting the organization’s resources and reputation. They will educate the company and institute practices that help a company remain compliant, thus reducing any compliance risks. Organizations will avoid hefty fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage associated with violations of rules and regulations, thus boosting profitability and company performance.
Wrapping It Up
If you do not have a compliance officer in your organization yet, now is the time to start looking for one!