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(USGovernment-News.Com, December 04, 2015 ) Johannesburg -- The information officer of the Compliance Institute Southern Africa noted that the role of a compliance officer can be a misunderstood concept within the business world.
He comments, "Over the past decade or so the role of a compliance officer has become increasingly more important and significant to organisations. More and more organisations are relying more heavily on their compliance officers in order to guide and recommend best practices moving forward with their regulatory responsibilities.
Even Regulators themselves view compliance officers as very important extensions to their monitoring structures. This still does not answer the question of what a compliance officer is.
The literal definition is that of an employee whose main responsibilities include making sure that the company or organisation they work for complies with all its outside regulatory requirements as well as its internal policies. Sounds simpler than it is but there are many more layers to it. "
He added, "As a compliance officer you are able to review and set the standards you see fit for all outside communications of a business or organisation. Compliance with regulatory requirements is a must in every business.
This can be achieved through requiring disclaimers in emails, or as an officer you may examine facilities of the organisation to ensure that they are accessible for all employees and clients and that they are completely safe.
Internally compliance officers can also design, change or update policies in order to mitigate the risk of that specific business, company or organisation breaking the laws and regulations in place. They will also lead all internal audits of those procedures.
Compliance officers have the most responsibility for understanding and overseeing the management of compliance within a business or organisation. Although all the applicable laws, rules, codes and standards reside with top management and the ever so demanding board, it is the role of the Compliance Officer in assisting them with rolling out these responsibilities.
This is done by facilitating the development, establishment and maintenance of an efficient and effective compliance risk management process. Some major characteristics of a compliance officer in order to perform diligently at their job is that of having an objective view of the company, business or organisation policies.
They should also be very headstrong and not be easily influenced by other employees especially those at top management and sitting on the board to overlook any infractions."
He added, "This could lead the business overall into a substantial amount of trouble with significant fines and at worst business closure. Some of the bigger companies take compliance seriously and have appointed Chief Compliance Officers (CCO) to monitor and direct all compliance related activities.
There are two types of risk that a business/company can face; Regulatory Risk and Reputational Risk. This is where a compliance officer is most important to businesses as they make sure these risk factors do not become a problem in the future.
Compliance management, monitoring the effectiveness of compliance functions as it grows in maturity and having ion place compliance risk management processes ae just the tip of the iceberg for an officer."
He noted "To find out how you can become a qualified compliance officer with the right designation and accreditation visit http://www.compliancesa.com/ today. One of the critical success factors for a Compliance Officer is a sound understanding of the business and with Compliance Institute Southern Africa you get that kind of experience, knowledge and education."
About Compliance Institute Southern Africa: The Compliance Institute Southern Africa is a Non-Profit Company with a vision to be independent, a professional body for all compliance professionals. Its main objectives are to establish, maintain and promote standards for compliance functions and compliance officers. The strategic direction of the Institute is the responsibility of the Body. The daily management rests with the Chief Executive Officer, supported by the Executive Committee.
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