What is a Corporate Compliance Professional?In the past two years, corporate compliance professionals have become the focus of heated discussions in society. According to LinkedIn data, in 2015, Chinese companies on the LinkedIn platform accounted for only 2.2 percent of the world's demand for compliance talent2%, which has grown significantly to 1753%, an increase of 800%, and large companies are hiring.
However, at the other end of the market, the supply of corporate compliance professionals is not so sufficient. The high threshold for corporate compliance professionals is reflected in the fact that candidates are required to have rich experience and matching skills and abilities. The profession was originally born in the highly regulated financial field, and then gradually expanded to biomedicine, import and export**, the Internet and other highly regulated fields.
A corporate compliance officer is a key role in a business and is responsible for ensuring that the company complies with relevant laws, regulations, standards, and internal policies in all areas of its operations. At the heart of this role is the identification and mitigation of compliance risks to prevent violations and misconduct, thereby protecting the business from fines, lawsuits, and even revocation of business licenses. The role of a compliance officer is to build and maintain a culture in which compliance becomes a cornerstone of an organization's decision-making and day-to-day operations.
Arguments supporting this view include the role of compliance professionals in developing corporate policies and procedures, how they conduct risk assessments, and how they oversee compliance training and conduct internal audits. For example, regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union require companies to implement strict compliance measures, and violations of these regulations can lead to significant financial and legal consequences. Corporate compliance professionals play an integral role in ensuring that companies comply with these complex regulations.
The knowledge and skills that a corporate compliance professional needs to master are multifaceted, including but not limited to:
Legal knowledge: Compliance officers must have in-depth knowledge of applicable national and international laws and regulations. This includes understanding anti-money laundering laws, anti-bribery laws, data protection**, and industry-specific regulations.
Risk management capabilitiesCompliance professionals need to be able to effectively identify and assess compliance risks and design and implement mitigation measures. They must understand the business processes of the business and be able to ** where compliance issues may arise.
Communication skillsThey must have excellent written and verbal communication skills in order to clearly communicate compliance requirements and policies to a variety of stakeholders, including management, employees, customers, and regulators.
Audit and investigation capabilitiesCompliance officers need to be able to conduct internal audits, investigate possible compliance issues, and provide practical advice on how to address them.
Training & Educational SkillsIn order to build a strong compliance culture, compliance professionals need to be able to design and execute effective compliance training programs.
Moral judgment and decision-making skillsCompliance officers should be able to use a high degree of ethical and professional judgment to guide their decision-making when faced with complex compliance issues.
Technical skillsIn today's increasingly digital world, compliance professionals also need to be knowledgeable about data analytics and information technology to better handle electronic data, monitor transactions, and leverage technology to enhance compliance.
The necessity of this knowledge and skills can be confirmed by the analysis of multiple cases of corporate compliance failures. For example, some of the high-profile compliance failures in the financial services industry have demonstrated deficiencies in inadequate risk assessment and monitoring, poor internal communication, lack of employee training and education, and inadequate interpretation of legal requirements. The absence of every skill and knowledge area can lead to significant losses for a business.
In conclusion, corporate compliance professionals are the gatekeepers to ensure that businesses operate legally and compliantly, and they need to have a wide range of knowledge and skills to deal with the ever-changing legal environment and challenges within the business. Through the elaboration of the above two points, we can see that the corporate compliance professional is not only an enforcer of standards and rules, but a comprehensive role that requires diversified professional knowledge and skills.