Changes Expected with Regulatory and Security Requirements

As compliance professionals, we need to embrace the changes, but we are also expected to continue to comply with regulatory and security requirements. I don’t think a compliance group that continually says “no” is as effective as one that is collaborative in understanding the business objectives to be achieved and then assisting in identifying reasonable controls to address the risks and requirements. The compliance team has to be viewed as a business partner – not a gatekeeper.
Creating a link to make compliance work
As a global enterprise, sometimes it is difficult to ensure the appropriate links between our own internal organizational units. You can get bogged down dealing with varying time zones, cultural differences, language barriers, competing priorities, etc. Then you add external parties to the mix, and the situation gets even more complex. On a daily basis our employees interact with outsourcers, clients, contractors, consultants, vendors, and many other external business partners. For our organization, I think the best way to effectively manage risk is to expect every employee to be responsible for monitoring compliance. A group of compliance professionals sitting in a corporate headquarters office can’t possibly oversee everything, but the working manager responsible for the day-in and day-out transactional interactions with external parties has keen insight into what is happening or not happening. I think having a corporate compliance team is extremely important, but the attitude has to be that every individual is responsible for security and compliance. This message should be driven from the top but understood by everyone throughout the organization.