:The question that was on everybody’s lips after a report conducted by a leading UK magazine was related to the characteristics of the position of a Compliance Officer for legal practice. However, we believe that the position of the compliance officer should be given to a person that is fit for the purpose. Furthermore, there are at the most five features that are supposed to be consistent for the position of the compliance officer. They include: Independence
The fact that any compliance officer should have enough authority and the independence to direct the integrity of the compliance program cannot be avoided. An important responsibility of a compliance officer is to report the line to the company’s Board of Directors and the Audit/Compliance committee. Moreover, there should be a clause that protects the employees and should also include the employment contract with a non-discretionary escalation clause. It should even have an approval from the Board if any changes to the terms and conditions of the employment contract are to be made. There must also be sufficient resources in the form of an independent budget and adequate staff to manage the overall compliance program. Empowerment The compliance officer is required to give clear cut instructions, should possess delegation of authority, senior level positioning and empowerment to carry out their responsibilities. For the compliance officer to achieve all this there needs to be a board resolution and a compliance character, adopted by the board. In addition to all this, while recruiting for this position, the job descriptions should be stated in a clear manner and at a minimum should cover the single point accountability to develop, implement and supervise the effective compliance program. Also, it is necessary to practice working in a close relationship with the independent board committee. Seat at the Table It is firmly believed that the compliance officer should have some formal and informal connections in the business and knowledge about the various functions of the company. They should be made a part of all the important meetings where all the major business decisions are discussed and made. If not all this, then at least the compliance officer should be made a part of the budget review strategies, planning meetings, disclosure committee meetings, operational reviews and risks crisis management meetings. Line of Sight The compliance officer should have unrestricted access to the relevant information which will help them form independent opinions and manage the compliance program effectively. However, this does not mean that the compliance officer will have veto power over functions such as safety or environmental or that such functions must report to the compliance officer. This is unless there is visibility to the officer for these risks areas, they will effectively be able to access and manage the risks from a compliance perspective. Resources It is very important that the compliance officer is provided with the physical resources in terms of personal and monetary resources both that will help them get their required job done. When resources are not provided, the chances are high that they wont succeed in discharging their duties. Therefore, it is necessary that both the types of resources are made available to them whenever required.
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