What is compliance in business and what does a compliance manager do?

Did you know that in Spain, companies and entities are required to have a staff member responsible for overseeing their criminal risk prevention plans, which are mandatory? This is the raison d'être of professionals who work in the field of compliance. 

In fact, according to data from Deloitte, in Spain alone, some 78% of companies with more than 5,000 employees have a compliance manager, while this percentage drops to 38% in companies with fewer than 5,000 employees. Given how important the role is, this is a job that is being extended to all sectors. 

Want to find out what compliance in business is, what are the responsibilities of a compliance manager and what know-how or skills the job requires? Let us explain all. 

What is compliance in business? 

Don’t worry if you don’t already know what compliance in business is, since the concept has its origins in Anglo-Saxon culture. Specifically, this is a term that emerged in the 70s in the USA, as a result of several major financial corruption scandals that affected various large companies. The result was the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) which came into force in 1977, and which includes requirements and prohibitions on bribes, book-keeping and records. 

As such, some of the responsibilities of a compliance manager are ensuring that a company or entity - and therefore also its employees - conducts its operations in accordance with the laws, regulations, standards and ethical practices that apply to its sector and industry.

The aim is to ensure the compliance of the company or entity, from managing external relations and internal policies to comprehensive staff training. To do this, they need to identify and avoid potential red flags in their business, as a serious breach of the regulations could lead to costly future fines or penalties. 

In companies with a strong compliance culture, the compliance manager not only protects the business but also seeks opportunities to help the company achieve its goals for sales and growth.

Compliance manager responsibilities

The person in charge of ensuring what compliance in business is with regulatory authority regulations and internal policies is the compliancer or compliance manager. Their main focus is on avoiding criminal prosecution for malpractice. To prevent that from happening, compliance manager responsibilities cover the following tasks:

• Identifying all pertinent risks an organisation faces.
• Developing, reviewing and updating a company's existing compliance policy to ensure it is up-to-date and complies with the current standards issued by regulatory authorities.
• Reviewing internal company policies and procedures to prevent unethical, illegal or improper conduct within the company. 
• Designing and implementing new compliance programmes and, at the same time, solving compliance issues as they crop up in real time.
• Advising and reporting to the Board of Directors and senior management on everything they need to know about what compliance in business is, to ensure alignment with the company's existing policies.
• Promoting training and awareness-raising initiatives in collaboration with other departments, to prevent compliance violations and ensure good practice. 

What know-how and skills do you need to be a compliance manager?

So, now you know what compliance in business is and what responsibilities a compliance manager has, but do you know what training or skills are needed for the job? Compliance managers tend to be lawyers or specialised consultants. In fact, there is abundant training available to specialise in compliance in business, which targets the above-mentioned profiles. 

In addition to demonstrating training in and knowledge of compliance, it is essential that candidates have additional know-how and skills such as the following to work as a compliance manager:

• Having empathy to discuss any topic without creating fear, as well as knowing how to connect with the people who make up the organisation.
• Being honest and consistent, possessing integrity and strong values to act as a role model.
• Being a good communicator to convey this culture of integrity, as well as knowing how to motivate others. This includes knowing how to listen and having the ability to engage in dialogue.
• Knowing and understanding the business in order to identify and manage the risks, the market in which it operates and the global, regional or local environment. 

Of course, besides the above skills, it is vital that a compliance manager has a good command of English, and more specifically, in relation to the business and legal field, as they will probably deal with international communications in English.

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