The compliance industry gets a boost
Compliance will soon be big business in South Africa. It became big business after the 2008 global financial crisis – for good reason – and the idea is to prevent such financial catastrophes from occurring again in future.
In fact, financial crime and market abuse appear to be on the increase, and even if this is because more cases are being uncovered and reported in the media, rather than actually taking place, companies are increasingly relying on their compliance officers to guide them with regulation.
So vital is the role of compliance officers that, when an officer leaves a company, investors ask why, says US lawyer Joe Murphy, author of the book 501 Ideas for your Compliance & Ethics Program.
The Compliance Institute Southern Africa is all for professionalising the compliance industry and its recent recognition as the professional body for compliance officers in South Africa is a real feather in its cap, says CEO Julie Methven. The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) indicated that this recognition will include the registration of two professional designations: Compliance Practitioner (CPrac) and Compliance Professional (CProf).
Those officers who pass the Board exams and have the necessary experience, knowledge, skills and ethical requirements may have these designations conferred upon them.
Earlier this year, the Compliance Institute became the Development Quality Partner (DQP) with the Quality Council for Trade and Occupations (QCTO) for the development of a compliance officer occupational curriculum.It has also been approved as the QCTO’s Assessment Quality Partner, which means that it can assess, accredit and provide quality assurance for those training providers wishing to deliver the occupational qualification.
This occupational qualification evolves from the occupational curriculum, says Methven. The curriculum is registered with the QCTO and the occupational qualification is registered with the National Qualification Framework.
The new front line of corporate governance?
Companies may well feel they are drowning in regulatory proposals, but they can no longer view compliance as a low-profile, tick-box business – Methven says it needs to become part of a company’s business strategy, an imperative that will see compliance officers (COs) in top management positions. Internationally, the approach is to go even further and the US is driving to have the CO on the Board, or at least have a seat at the boardroom table.
US-based consulting firm Kinetic Partners recently published the results of a survey on compliance and it found that nearly half (48%) of financial services CEOs believe senior managers need to spend between 20% to 40% of their time on risk management on compliance. The aim, respondents said, it to “improve transparency” and “restore consumer confidence”. But this next-generation regulation is complex and not without challenges.
Companies are keen to strengthen their reputations and this could give them a competitive edge in the market. But just how keen are they to promote compliance officers to C-level executives? And will they really be the new front line of corporate governance?
Ask HSBC, whose head of group compliance, David Bagley, ‘stepped down’ (that’s the official line, anyway) in July last year over claims that the bank failed to guard against money laundering and gave criminals, terrorists and drug cartels access to the US financial system. Bagley was replaced by Ruth Horgan, an auditor from KPMG.
Compliance failures are worrying; but having insufficient compliance oversight is even more worrying. Last year saw a record number of financial services companies being fined for infringements by US and UK regulators. South Africa may soon follow suit.
Editor’s thoughts:
How do you feel about compliance? Is the cost of non-compliance greater than the cost of hiring a compliance officer? And will fines really be a deterrent? Let us have your thoughts in the comment section below, or email fiona@fanews.co.za.
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