MAINTAINING REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Once an organisation has achieved regulatory compliance, how does it maintain it? How do you sustain that regulatory compliance when global regulation, the organisation and the environment in which it operates all change over time?
It is not just about the compliance team, although they are clearly vitally important, it is about bringing everyone along on the journey. It is about creating and maintaining a strong compliance culture where everyone in the organisation engages to maintain compliance. In this way everyone understands the rules and regulations that are applicable within the organisation, they have a strong sense of ownership and they can react in the most appropriate way when the change, in whatever form, inevitably appears.
In many organisations, compliance activities are ‘done’ by the compliance team. They are the people who understand the rules, ensure that they are effectively applied and undertake the necessary monitoring. But this creates an inevitable distance between the first line and the team that makes up the second line, particularly compliance. That distance means the first line may not be fully engaged and does not have that sense of ownership; after all, it is being done for them.
So how does the organisation achieve this goal of a compliance culture? First, it must understand that it is not going to be done overnight. It takes time, patience, engagement from the first line and a clear will from the whole compliance team. And crucially, the compliance team must want to achieve this. It may not take blood, sweat and tears, but it will take time and energy, constantly thinking about getting that message across, that everyone is in it together and that the first line is a vital part of the operation. But it is an exceptionally important investment that all compliance teams should push to attain as the rewards are extraordinary. It maintains regulatory compliance and, ultimately, makes the organisation better.
Jul-Sep 2023 Issue
AXA