KNOW YOUR CHAPTER
Never stop asking questions , learn and take feedback as an opportunity to grow and learn even more
ANC : What is your role within the ACAMS chapter community , and what do you like most about it ?
YB : After a few years working in compliance , I wanted to obtain my CAMS designation , which I managed to do so in March 2018 . Afterwards , I wanted to do something as part of a local ACAMS community . At the time , I was living in Luxembourg and the chapter there was dormant , so I thought , “ Let ’ s see what can be done about that .” I reached out to Angela Salter with the idea of bringing the local chapter back to life and so it happened . Together with a few other enthusiastic local compliance officers , the ACAMS Luxembourg Chapter was relaunched . In January 2020 , just before the pandemic outbreak , there was an inauguration event for the chapter and , for a while , I was the chair of the ACAMS Luxembourg Chapter .
I mostly liked connecting with fellow anti-financial crime ( AFC ) colleagues and learning from each other ’ s experiences . Since 2020 , I have seen many younger colleagues joining the ACAMS community which made me realize that compliance as a profession has now really matured .
During 2020-2022 , I was part of the ACAMS Netherlands Chapter while working in Amsterdam — and , as previously mentioned , I moved back to the ACAMS Luxembourg Chapter Board in April 2023 as a programming director .
During my time in The Netherlands , I shared previous experiences from the chapter in Luxembourg , and now that I am back in Luxembourg , I am sharing good practices from The Netherlands Chapter . The regional ACAMS community often organizes events , and this is always a great opportunity to share experiences with other chapter members and to learn from each other . I believe that it is truly rewarding to see what can be achieved with a relatively small group of volunteers and to be part of creating the continuous sharing of knowledge and expertise within the AFC community in our countries . It almost goes without saying , but this AFC community stretches from lawmakers and regulators to private and public companies , as well as the many different services providers who make our day-to-day lives in the office easier and more successful to fight financial crime .
ANC : What do you wish to accomplish in the next six to 12 months , both privately and professionally ?
EB : My family recently grew with a new baby ( a second daughter ), so in the next six to 12 months I will have just started working again after maternity leave . I hope to have two happy and healthy girls who enjoy each other ’ s company , while professionally , I want to work on projects that make a difference . During the past years , the focus of the financial sector has mainly been on becoming compliant with laws and regulations , which remains important . However , by working together across sectors and departments , with different backgrounds and complementary expertise involved , we can contribute to being more effective and focus our efforts on where it is needed the most , to actually prevent financial economic crime from happening .
ANC : What advice would give to younger colleagues currently working in the AFC field ?
EB : Never stop asking questions , learn and take feedback as an opportunity to grow and learn even more . Work together with different people , be curious and open to different points of view .
AV : Keep your eyes and ears wide open and do not forget to engage with other compliance and risk professionals . We need each other to survive as professionals and as legislation is changing fast . The current situation in the world will also give us a lot of opportunities as professionals , which will hopefully lead to a better world . Environmental , social and governance is , for example , making progress , but a lot of work still needs to be done . Compliance professionals can really make a difference !
YB : Stay curious and never stop learning . Also engage with your colleagues from other risk disciplines , legal , etc . as a better way to deal with all the challengers ahead . A saying often used and quite inspiring is : “ We will either succeed collectively or fail individually .” There are obviously many other teamwork-related quotes which all are true in their own way , but the bottom line in my view is that we can all learn from each other , can achieve so much more if we work collectively toward the same goals , and while doing so , we should never be afraid to ask for help from another team member , friend , current or former colleague or an ACAMS community member .
ACAMS Netherlands Chapter Board
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