Hopefully the title got your attention as compliance is not normally considered from this perspective. And I suppose I do have a vested interest in making compliance, well, interesting.
This does not mean that your ‘best friend’ won’t raise concerns with you, and compliance will certainly not hide from unpleasant topics. And of course, a good compliance professional cannot be bribed with coffee, wine, chocolates or other benefits!!!!
The reasons why compliance should be your best friend are quite relevant to you in your business – whether you run your own business, or if you are a financial adviser in a small or large organisation, compliance can provide you with a wide range of support.
Compliance professionals are great at finding solutions
Part of a compliance professional’s role is to find solutions that meet business needs while considering a whole range of matters, whether they are regulatory requirements, business considerations, marketing team preferences, etc.
For this to work, though, it is important that you are upfront about what you want to achieve and what you have in mind so that compliance can consider your needs. Be open about your ideas and compliance will work with you to help you achieve them where this is possible. And while there may be times that something might not work the way you had in mind originally, there may well be an alternative solution.
Compliance professionals are on your side
I realise that this may not always seem to be the case but compliance does not have as a purpose to ‘catch you out’. The aim of compliance is to prevent issues from occurring in the first instance but if there is an issue, to identify this as early and quickly as possible so that it can be addressed before it becomes a big issue.
If you have a concern, are not sure about something or when there has been an issue, talk to compliance so that they can assist you with the matter. Our aim is to find a solution.
That said, where a compliance professional becomes aware of a potential issue, or identifies that someone may be doing the wrong thing, compliance will be required to investigate the matter and take appropriate action.
Compliance is good at resolving issues
This is not dissimilar to the first item in that compliance is focussed on finding solutions and in the same vain when there is an issue, we are very good at resolving matters. So if you find yourself stuck with an issue, think about how compliance may be able to resolve the matter, especially if you are not sure about regulatory requirements.
Compliance can also be a very good sounding board if you are not sure if you are heading in the right direction. We are very good at discussing hypothetical situations and working through the pros and cons of different options.
At the same time we will not hesitate to tell you when there could be concerns, and explain these to you.
Compliance professionals actually enjoy being in compliance
Yes, it is true, certainly for myself. I enjoy being a compliance professional and all that this entails. But that is unlikely to be the case for you so rather than you having to focus on compliance requirements, let the compliance professional assist you.
My role as compliance profession is to work with you in your business, so the better I understand what you are doing and what you need, the better I can assist you. No matter how small your concern may be, it is always important to be considered!
And this is why you should be best friends with your compliance professional – they are ultimately there to work with you to achieve great outcomes. So, if you have not already done so, why not get to know your compliance professional in the business, maybe catch up over a coffee to have a chat and you will see what we can achieve.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss how Albrecht Compliance Consulting can assist your business, please feel free to contact me.