Despite the fact that the current economic downturn seems to be hanging on far longer than predicted, there are some positions within the corporate structure that are busier than ever. Increased governmental oversight and heightened public scrutiny have made compliance management increasingly difficult.
The good news, however, is that never before has the compliance officer had the benefit of the wide range of compliance products that are available today. Even though the demands of financial and regulatory requirements were growing anyway, after the scandals at the beginning of the previous decade, like Enron and WorldCom, that growth became exponential. Without tools, like financial compliance software, what is still a daunting task would be nearly impossible.
At one time, many organizations included compliance issues in the job description of those on the accounting staff. This is no longer the case for businesses of any size. The compliance manager typically falls directly under the Chief Executive Officer. This is not difficult to understand, since one of the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act made it a requirement that the CEO sign off that they certify the integrity of the financial reporting. Corporations that didn’t have executive level compliance officers rapidly recruited for them, largely due to the “I didn’t know” defense no longer being available.
Compliance officers are responsible for the demands of all local, state and federal regulatory agencies, as well as any third party requirements. In addition, internal policies and procedures also fall within their sphere. This includes all stages of policy creation, review, approval, implementation, dissemination, employee sign-off and compliance, monitoring and tracking. Prior to the use of financial compliance software, each step could take a considerable amount of time. Now, with a few keystrokes, information is shared and each phase is completely documented. This feature, alone, saves an inordinate amount of time and expense and does it far more efficiently.
There is an old saying about the tool being only as good as the one who wields it. Even though this was said long before the age of technology, it is just as relevant with regard to financial compliance products. The finest software package available will not guarantee adequate results, unless there is an experienced and competent manager overseeing the process. In this case, however, the reverse is also true: even the most experienced and competent manager is unlikely to be successful in all the complex areas of compliance without tools like compliance software.
Considering the increased demands, coupled with escalating assessments of fines and penalties for missing the mark on compliance issues, the companies most likely to be successful in today’s market are the ones who recognize the importance of hiring the best team and providing them with the necessary tools to do their job.