It may be difficult for businesses and governments to keep up with the fast evolution of cybersecurity risks. The task is particularly onerous for multinational corporations, which must continually resist an infinite stream of cyber-threats while showing regulatory compliance in all nations where they do business. Companies situated in countries with strict cyber integrity regulations may have an advantage since they have already put in a lot of the effort required to clear a very high bar, such as investing in SIEM solutions to mitigate cyberthreats.
Companies headquartered in countries with less stringent standards, on the other hand, are likely to be behind on the compliance maturity curve and will need to put in more effort to catch up. However, having a Chief Compliance Officer in your company can help you overcome compliance-related problems. In this article, we will talk about the role and the importance of CCO.
What is a Chief Compliance Officer?
A chief compliance officer (CCO) is in charge of creating and implementing a company’s compliance program, as well as ensuring that regulatory obligations are met. Despite the fact that it shares an acronym with a firm’s chief commercial officer, a chief compliance officer’s work is exclusively focused on corporate compliance and ensuring that a corporation follows all relevant regulations.
The CCO works closely with the compliance and legal departments to ensure that the organization has a strong compliance program and that all employees are aware of and follow the regulations. The CCO is also in charge of compliance managers in other departments. In a full-time senior-level, executive-level, or C-suite role, the chief compliance officer reports directly to the company’s chief executive officer (CEO).
The CCO works with the company’s chief financial officer (CFO) and chief risk officer (CRO) to produce reports to the board of directors or other stakeholders. The CCO ensures that the company’s compliance initiatives are successful and reports on compliance risk assessments and issues to top management.
Importance of Chief Compliance Officer
As NordLayer mentioned every company should have specialized staff that is trained and experienced in assessing cybersecurity compliance. Clear ownership and responsibility aid in the maintenance of a current and responsive cybersecurity environment, as well as the development of an agile approach to threats and issues.
1- Culture and Governance
Businesses cannot afford to ignore their compliance responsibilities due to the complexity of political, regulatory, and supervisory constraints. The significance of culture and governance cannot be overstated, and the process must begin at the top. That is why the chief compliance officer is one of the most significant members of a company’s executive team in this regard.
2- Managing Company Strategies and Monitoring Risks
With day-to-day responsibility for managing compliance and reputational concerns, the contemporary CCO plays an increasingly crucial role. CCOs now play an important role in influencing company strategy and monitoring risks that might jeopardize company success. A capable CCO may advance the company’s culture and possibly provide it with a competitive advantage.
3- Consistent Accountability
A level of accountability must be put into a compliance program to guarantee that personnel is following the policies and procedures laid forth for them. One of the most important advantages of having a Chief Compliance Officer is the uniformity that they can give across divisions, regions, and employee positions. The CCO ensures that everyone, from the top down, is held to the same high standards.
4- Lowering Risks for Companies
Because compliance is the compliance officer’s duty, the successful performance of the tasks protects the company’s reputation and resources. The Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for not only maintaining a company’s commercial dealings ethical and legal, but also for training the whole organization and establishing policies that will assure the greatest degree of compliance possible.
Responsibilities of Chief Compliance Officer
The CCO’s work comprises reporting directly to the CEO or COO and presenting information on key concerns, the actions of the violations program, and its efficacy. It also entails developing policies and processes to ensure that the whole organization’s compliance systems are effective and efficient in identifying, preventing, and rectifying noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations. Here are the other responsibilities of a CCO listed below:
1- Reviewing compliance issues
Risk management is an important aspect of compliance. The CCO examines reports and internal audits to determine if corporate policies are in conformity with regulatory standards or not. To examine any concerns and propose solutions, they collaborate closely with the top risk manager and their risk management team.
2- Keeping track of compliance regulations and ensuring that employees are properly trained
A CCO’s responsibilities include ensuring that all departments get compliance training. To administer training and assure completion, they collaborate closely with the company’s other compliance specialists, human resources, and legal departments.
3- Creating and conveying strategies
The CCO is in charge of defining the company’s compliance requirements and communicating them to management. They work with the general counsel to design an annual compliance strategy or amend a current one, keeping the plan up to date by examining new information from regulatory agencies.
4- Compliance updates and reporting on potential conflicts of interest
The CCO must disclose any possible conflicts of interest or unfavorable business effects that occur from a new or altered compliance strategy to senior management, in addition to reporting compliance problems involving workers.
Final Words
As mentioned above, the role of the Chief Compliance Officer is more important than ever for companies. This new, emerging role is critical for ensuring cyber security risk management, and it will eventually assist CCOs in achieving their due status as subject-matter experts in compliance and risk management inside a corporation.
