The compliance officer is briefly the facilitator in consolidating a culture of compliance within the organization, and should be the first to set an example, with respect to behaviors and attitudes when interacting with internal and external clients.
The compliance officer should also be the one to ensure the implementation of the organization’s compliance program, especially with regard to monitoring and proof that it is being faithfully understood and followed by everyone. If non-conformities are identified, it is his / her role to correct the problem and use the lesson learned to educate the organization not to make the same mistake.
Because the compliance officer deals with internal and external rules, it is very common for some organizations to have a single professional as a legal manager and compliance manager. The advantage is that the opinion is unique, without the risk of an internal client obtaining a controversial opinion between the legal and compliance areas. The disadvantage is that, no matter how important the compliance is, it will never be a priority, because, regardless of what the manager is doing from the compliance standpoint, if an urgent request for an important contract or notification is claimed the compliance work will be postponed, due to the legal demand, which generally has restricted deadlines.
Another important issue is the nature of the compliance officer´s degree(s). Being a law graduate has the only advantage of knowing more about laws and facilitating their interpretation. But that is not the main quality of a compliance officer. His / her ability to interact with people, to have attitude, to enchant by example, to be kind, to demonstrate balance and keep focus under pressure, to plan, to motivate, to work as a team and to be loyal to the business, enable a professional of any undergraduate area to assume this role.
From the perspective of the behavioral profile, this professional is expected to have integrity, unblemished character, transparency, diplomacy and commitment in what he / she does.
Now let’s look at his / her main attributions:
ASSIGNMENTS OF A COMPLIANCE OFFICER:
1. Preparation, distribution and training of the Code of Conduct.
2. Elaboration and training of the main policies and procedures that are the basis for a solid compliance program, especially the anti-corruption, conflicts of interest and non-retaliation policies; and assistance to other areas in the elaboration of their policies and procedures.
3. Development of educational programs for employees and third parties, aimed at consolidating the compliance culture in the organization and with third parties.
4. Identification and assessment of risk areas for the business.
5. Classification of third parties regarding risks and implementation of due diligence with depth and cost compatible with the risk presented.
6. Ability to prepare the budget, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the compliance program.
7. Regular monitoring of the business’s risk areas, implementing corrections when necessary and training the organization to avoid the recurrence of such failures.
8. Advice to Human Resources and other managers of the organization, regarding the adoption of disciplinary measures, when necessary.
9. Certification that the compliance program is focused on prevention and is capable of detecting violations of laws, association codes to which the organization is affiliated and internal rules.
10. Implementation and management of channels for reports of misconduct, including the possibility of anonymous complaints and channels for employee advice, whenever they need any guidance.
11. Internal conduct or coordination with external lawyers regarding the investigation of violations of conduct by employees, in order to maintain the confidentiality of the process, respect for participants and mitigation of risks to the business, also ensuring the application of the measure discipline whenever necessary.
12. Adoption of an agenda for reporting meetings and discussion of topics eligible to the Compliance Committee.
13. Regular review of the compliance program, with recommendations for improvements, including the organization’s governance.
14. Ability to defend the compliance program with the middle and senior management.
15. Ability to manage, motivate and interact with people.
16. Leadership by example.