With the continuous advancement of globalization and the increasingly stringent regulatory environment, the profession of corporate compliance professional has emerged. This profession provides a mechanism for businesses to ensure that they function properly under various laws, regulations, and internal policies. So, how did the corporate compliance professional originate?What kind of skills do they need?How do you become a qualified corporate compliance professional?Let's go through the following parts to break them down one by one.
The Origin of Corporate Compliance Officers
The origins of corporate compliance professionals can be traced back to the United States in the 70s of the 20th century. At that time, the United States introduced the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in order to combat corporate corruption. This requires companies to establish an independent department to ensure that their business practices comply with various laws and regulations, which has led to the creation of the position of corporate compliance officer.
What is the profession of a corporate compliance professional?
A corporate compliance officer is a person in a business who is responsible for ensuring that all business activities comply with relevant laws, regulations, and company policies. Their work includes, but is not limited to, developing and enforcing the company's compliance policies, training employees to understand and comply with them, monitoring the company's business practices, and dealing with possible compliance issues.
For example, after the fake account scandal broke out in 2016, Wells Fargo, a U.S. financial services company, stepped up its investment in the compliance department and conducted compliance training for all employees to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
What skills do corporate compliance professionals need to master?
Corporate compliance professionals need to have the following skills:
Legal Knowledge:Understanding and interpreting laws and regulations is an essential skill for corporate compliance professionals. They need to be familiar with all relevant laws and regulations that apply to the company.
Communication Skills:Corporate compliance professionals need to explain complex legal concepts and policies to employees, so they need excellent communication skills.
Analytical skills:Corporate compliance professionals need to be able to analyze a company's business activities to determine if there are potential violations of regulations.
Ethical Judgment:Corporate compliance officers need to have a strong sense of morality and ethics to ensure that the company's actions are ethical and socially responsible.
How to become a corporate compliance professional?
To become a corporate compliance professional, you usually need to have a bachelor's degree in law or business. In addition, it is also necessary to pass the corporate compliance professional exam and obtain certification. In practice, many corporate compliance officers also go on to earn a master's degree in law or business and keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date through ongoing professional development courses.
Corporate compliance professionals are a crucial professional role that plays an important role in ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, preventing non-compliance, and maintaining a company's reputation.