The influx of new regulations, laws, and rules in the healthcare, financial services, and other sectors has seen an increase in the demand for qualified compliance individuals. It has been notably beneficial to risk professionals and regulators. By 2024, the US Bureau of statistics projects the need for compliance officers to grow by 8 percent. In the financial industry, for instance, firms are now looking for highly qualified compliance personnel to help them abide by the local and global regulatory requirements.
Today, compliance officers are hard to find. In that case, organizations are ready to offer attractive reimbursements to in-demand applicants. In the US, the projected salary for highly qualified compliance officers is $106,300, while chief compliance officers may get a midpoint of about $175,300. A 2018 report shows that the top-paying bodies for compliance were credit, management, and the government.
What Is The Role Of A Compliance Officer?
A compliance officer is involved in streamlining the financial aspects of a business to ensure it is in full compliance with all laws and regulations that pertain to its industry. The officers also enlighten an organization on professional standards, internal standards, and accepted business practices. This is a role that is crucial to ensuring that an organization manages risk, avoids lawsuits, and maintains a positive reputation.
A compliance officer is expected to have innate knowledge about the goals and culture of the organization. They must also be familiar with the industry and standard business law. A compliance officer is tasked with keeping an organization’s dealings legal and ethical. They are also charged with instituting practices and educating employees to ensure that the highest level of compliance is maintained.
Many industries are regulated to ensure that the interests and rights of citizens are protected and mitigate the risks of market failure. It is thus the responsibility of in-house compliance teams to ensure that the organization is adhering to the legal requirements. It means being constantly informed on legislation and staying close to the industry regulators and key stakeholders.
Typical Duties Of A Compliance Officer
In compliance, you will find multiple facets. It means you may specialize in a particular technical area within an industry of interest. In financial services, for instance, you may specialize in fraud, know your client (KYC), or anti-money laundering (AML). A compliance officer generally works on internal monitoring, quality assurance, and employee training.
Compliance officers are responsible for preventing missteps that could lead to legal ramifications, hefty fines, among other incidents that could harm a business. The work of an officer is to ensure that all employees comply with all internal policies.
They are also expected to create a game plan for dealing with potential risks and give regular reports on the compliance measures of the organization. Officers also advise the leadership and key stakeholders on changes that need to be implemented. Here is a summary of what an officer should do:
- Develop, implement, and manage the compliance program of the company
- Plan, implement and manage risk-related programs
- Coordinate with state and federal regulators
- Schedule required compliance training for staff
- Formulate compliance communications
Compliance officers are also expected to monitor the accounting guidelines. They should be knowledgeable in audit techniques, operations and procedures, and the policies of the company.
Why Should You Consider A Job In Compliance?
Being a compliance professional in an industry means setting standards for issues that could affect the business. The work of an officer is to uphold these standards for the benefit of the firm. You become an expert in subject matters affecting your company. This could also mean leading projects which could cause you to work across the board on different projects and give you exposure to top management.
Because compliance experts are on-demand, they are well remunerated, with entry-level positions offering $35,000. After a few years, you could double your salary. At a management level, you can expect anything above $100,000 depending on the company.
With the constant shifts in technology, industry dynamics, and regulatory environment, an officer must be adaptable. They also must be excellent problem solvers keen on the daily happenings of the industry. Ideally, the profession is more about balancing risks and weighing factors with reasoned judgment. Every decision made by a compliance officer has a significant impact, meaning it is vital that you have a keen eye for detail and reason clearly. Remember, you will be charged with analyzing every aspect of the company. Ensure you have a genuine interest in this field.
Companies consider professionals with excellent project management, analytical, and organizational skills. If you have a degree in business, finance, accounting, or any related field and have a genuine interest in compliance, you could be a candidate. While business and financial acumen are necessary, you must also have excellent public speaking skills and a mix of soft skills such as leadership abilities.
This is an article provided by our partners network. It does not reflect the views or opinions of our editorial team and management.
Contributed content
IntelligentHQ Your New Business Network.
IntelligentHQ is a Business network and an expert source for finance, capital markets and intelligence for thousands of global business professionals, startups, and companies.
We exist at the point of intersection between technology, social media, finance and innovation.
IntelligentHQ leverages innovation and scale of social digital technology, analytics, news and distribution to create an unparalleled, full digital medium and social business network spectrum.
IntelligentHQ is working hard, to become a trusted, and indispensable source of business news and analytics, within financial services and its associated supply chains and ecosystems.
