Compliance Management: Some Tips from Pros

What makes a good compliance manager? Several leading compliance managers share their tips for success.

Get around the bank. According to Jack Adams, Vice President at UJB Financial, the very best compliance manager is a person who really knows his/her way around the bank. Thorough knowledge of bank products, jobs, and how things get done are key to understanding how best to implement compliance. This knowledge is also important in knowing how to approach bank staff and gain their participation in and support for the compliance program.

Know your bank's weak spots. Good knowledge of the bank can also help to identify where the bank faces the most risk. Employee skills and ability may have a direct impact on the way in which procedures are followed. For example, teller line turnover presents a challenge to compliance programs. The high turnover rate of tellers means that there is never an end to training.

Be involved in technology and product development. Chuck Lewis, SVP with UMB Financial Corp., stressed that the bank realizes savings if the compliance manager is involved in the selection or development of software and new products. Compliance involvement avoids delays and makes sure the product or software is developed right. It saves delays and corrections later.

Use your time efficiently. Tom Bernowski, VP with Provident Bank of Maryland, makes sure he is on the distribution list for minutes of meetings he is unable to attend. Reading the minutes keeps him apprised of the progress of task forces and committees. He then knows when he really does need to participate in the group's work. Being on the minutes circulation list may also help you to identify products that you should be involved in.

Be prepared for change. Banks are struggling to compete against new players in the financial services market. To do so, banks need to implement new ideas, new products, and new strategies quickly. Moreover, banks need to be able to do this while maintaining a level of regulatory compliance that the competition doesn't face. This calls for speed and creativity in the compliance program to match and support the bank's competitive needs.

Get regular feedback. It can be useful to regularly get the views of your peers and people you are trying to influence. Their feedback will help you to understand how you are functioning. Regular communications with peers can also help you gain insight into how your ideas will fit in the organization.

Develop good communication skills. In addition to attending compliance seminars, you may benefit from a periodic course on writing. Compliance depends on good communication skills. You have to get out information that is timely, correct, understandable, and complete. This means being able to talk or write quickly in language that communicates to your target audience. This also means understanding what you are talking or writing about. That can be a lot of studying.

Copyright © 1996 Compliance Action. Originally appeared in Compliance Action, Vol. 1, No. 12, 7/96