CAREER GUIDANCE
However , in a competitive market the top compliance talent can be hard to come by . Research published last month by SWIFT , Dow Jones and ACAMS found that having enough properly trained anti-money laundering ( AML ) staff was a concern for 57 percent of the AML professionals surveyed — up from 36 percent in 2013 — and 26 percent of respondents listed this as their top challenge . 1 Therefore , banks are having to work harder than ever before to attract confirmed compliance talent from other banks and vendors . At the same time , banks are proactively developing in-house talent to meet their compliance needs .
Against this backdrop , it is important to take all measures necessary to attract , retain and develop top compliance talent . One way in which banks can achieve this is by building a strong compliance culture across the organization .
Why choose compliance ?
In the past , the compliance function has not always been seen as the most attractive career opportunity by ambitious candidates . There is a lingering perception that compliance , while necessary to the organization , acts as a hindrance to business development . As such , some talented candidates have preferred to focus their attention on business development opportunities .
However , while today ’ s more stringent regulatory environment is not without its challenges , it has also highlighted the considerable appeal of a career in compliance . For one thing , compliance is increasingly seen as a noble cause , which speaks to the values of many professionals . Working to prevent the illicit money flows that support terrorist financing , human trafficking , drug dealing and corruption means that people working in this area feel they are making a positive contribution to society and building a better world .
At the same time , compliance is an intellectually demanding discipline , presenting challenges that are likely to appeal to high achievers . Not all compliance roles are the same , but whether an individual is a specialist compliance expert or a general management professional supporting the compliance team , the role of the compliance professional is both challenging and fulfilling .
There is much that will draw top talent to a career in compliance , but in a competitive recruitment climate banks cannot rely on this appeal alone . By tapping into opportunities for innovation and collaboration in this area , banks can build a culture of compliance that will not only achieve cost and efficiency benefits , but also increase the appeal of their organizations for compliance professionals .
Innovation
Central to building a compliance culture is the adoption of innovative technology . While the prospect of having to comply with regulations may not be appealing in and of itself , organizations that position compliance as an epicenter of innovation and actively pursue new opportunities to drive efficiency , have more to offer candidates than organizations that approach compliance as a tickbox exercise .
There are a number of ways in which compliance professionals can embrace innovation . In order to achieve compliance with the necessary regulations , professionals need to make sure that their processes and policies are effective , and that they meet expectations . With this achieved , compliance staff can then explore innovations that can increase the efficiency of the organization in meeting regulatory requirements . Beyond this , specific regulations may present opportunities for financial institutions to achieve further improvements .
Leveraging the DFS regulation
Last year ’ s publication of the New York Department of Financial Service ’ s new risk-based anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering regulation is an example of how banks can take advantage of regulations in order to achieve further advancements . The regulation requires banks operating in New York to maintain appropriate watchlist filtering and transaction monitoring programs . Banks are also required to carry out regular testing and demonstrate that their programs are both compliant and aligned with the organization ’ s risk appetite .
Institutions affected by this regulation can simply choose to fulfill the requirements . Alternatively , they can take advantage of the opportunity that the regulation presents to enhance their quality assurance programs and to build a more robust compliance regime , thereby reducing costs and improving the efficiency of their environments .
Embracing continuous improvement
The same is true of other regulatory requirements . Throughout the compliance discipline , there are opportunities to embrace innovation and to adopt a mindset of continuous improvement .
For example , sanctions screening involves checking transactions for names that appear on regulators ’ sanctions lists . To achieve this , banks have to refine the parameters of their sanctions screening filters to make sure that they identify illicit transactions , even if names do not appear exactly as they do on the sanctions list .
1
“ 2017 Global Anti-Money Laundering Survey ,” Dow Jones and SWIFT , http :// go . dowjones . com / AMLsurvey2017
ACAMS TODAY | SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER 2017 | ACAMS . ORG | ACAMSTODAY . ORG 63