September 26th was National Compliance Officer Day! The important work compliance officers do never stops, and should be celebrated every day, not just once a year.
Here are 9 reasons why we are thankful for compliance officers, and why your coworkers should be too!
Compliance has always been an essential part of any financial institution, helping the company steer clear of regulatory risk. However, compliance has become even more important in recent years. In the last decade, the industry has weathered dramatic changes: a major financial crisis, the passage of Dodd-Frank and the establishment of the CFPB, increasing consumer awareness, rapid changes in consumer behavior, and major regulatory updates such as the HMDA Final Rule.In this regulatory environment, the role of the compliance officer at a bank, credit union, mortgage company, or other financial institution is even more important than ever.
Here are 9 reasons we're thankful for you. Thank you for the wonderful job you do every day.
Thank you for your work on the internal audits, risk assessments, compliance analysis, reports and controls that manage and monitor risk. This work helps entire companies reduce risk, including senior management and the Board of Directors, and serve communities better. These risk assessments and monitoring are the foundation to your enterprise risk management programs.
Today's compliance officer is responsible for creating, maintaining and improving policies and procedures that guide compliance. They serve as a strategic link between the company's vision and day-to-day operations. Thank you for building the strong policies and procedures that provide the right foundation for your financial institution to be successful and compliant.
Everything from the risk assessments you coordinate to the data analysis you deliver helps provide meaningful insights about how the financial institution is operating - and how it can improve. Not only are you looking to find and prevent risk exposure, you are identifying potential opportunities. With your insight and expertise, the institution can grow safely and successfully.
Training is an integral part of the compliance program, as it is one of the best ways to prevent compliance issues. You have strong training policies and procedures that help educate the team, tracking their attendance and comprehension.
History reminds us that training success goes beyond the introductory sessions and includes your periodic reinforcement that reminds your team what is most important.
We've all seen major changes, both in volume of new rules and the regulators' approach, and it takes an active effort to stay afloat in the changing regulatory tides. Over the past few years, we've seen Redlining dominate headlines, learned more about the rising cost of compliance, and the new HMDA Plus requirements.
Given the expanded depth and breadth of your role, we realize it is not easy to stay current on industry news, trends and best practices. Thank you for your efforts to do so, and keep the rest of your organization informed, too.
Your work getting buy-in from key decision-makers in your organization, both in theory and practice, is extremely important. Compliance is a team sport. It requires the full support of management. Your work to improve compliance culture is greatly appreciated.
The role of the compliance officer is constantly evolving and growing to meet the needs of the changing banking environment, economic markets and regulations. You are willing to adapt to the changes in your personal role while serving as a positive change agent for the entire financial institution.
You ask the tough questions, monitor the various behaviors, then communicate the results. Not only are you responsible for keeping up-to-date on regulatory guidance, you're responsible for communicating that internally and living your company's values at work. Simply stated, the compliance culture of the organization is directly influenced by your communications.
9. Thank You for Your Day-to-Day Leadership.
Leadership is not always easy, and the compliance officer must be prepared to act with authority and the required courage to take the necessary actions. Your role is rarely about universal popularity. It is about leading your organization to where it needs to go to succeed.
[Editor's Note: This post has been updated for 2019. It was originally published in 2012.]