RISK AND COMPLIANCE: A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FIRMS
They say that there are two drivers of markets: greed and fear. And there have been plenty of both in recent years. The burden of regulation and legislation puts onerous demands on global business, across multiple sectors. The rise of the compliance function and the appointment of chief risk officers and compliance officers to senior positions in firms demonstrates just how important compliance and risk management has become.
Forward looking businesses have realised that managing risk and compliance effectively provides a commercial advantage. The organisations who are implementing change most effectively are driving change from the business (which accepts ownership of the risks), and not purely from the compliance function.
By addressing training, insight and understanding of regulatory issues throughout an organisation in a clear, efficient, innovative and accredited way, a firm stands to gain significant advantage. It is not just a case of doing business – in many cases, it is the business. When done well, effective risk and compliance management can drive down costs and enable new opportunities to be identified.
Trust is the watchword of industries, from banking to pharmaceuticals, from insurance to oil and gas. Trust comes from a reputation for solid controls, but also delivery of great service. It can be difficult to do this in a world of hyper-regulation – and that is where organisations need to switch their thinking about compliance and risk. The assumption that regulation automatically gets in the way of great service is flawed. Risk and compliance professionals can and must challenge and prove this assumption by implementing effective systems and controls that both provide the required regulatory assurance but also enhance the organisation’s service delivery.
Jul-Sep 2015 Issue
Wilmington PLC