Comply or die

The level of compliance has grown since the creative accounting scandals in the US, writes Simon Carswell, Finance Correspondent.

Businesses have had to learn to live with an increasing amount of red tape as the level of compliance and regulation has grown since the creative accounting scandals in the US in recent years.

Seán Wade, chairman of the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland (ACOI), believes compliance officers should have a place at the top table of every company because of the savings they can make in a business.

Compliance officer can no longer be regarded as "a box-ticking role", he says.

"Compliance officers can add value, not by increasing revenue but by reducing liabilities and risk. There is a demand that people get the best products and the customer deserves to understand the products in plain English. Compliance is the minimum that the customer deserves," Wade says.

The ACOI has grown to 1,300 members since it was set up five years ago. Wade says the growth is due to a greater focus on compliance among companies.

Companies want to make sure their operations are fully in compliance and meet the highest standards of regulation in the industry.

"It really only took off in the mid-1990s in Ireland when all the barriers between the financial services - banking, insurance, investment - broke down and the role of compliance grew."

The ACOI is organising a conference called Compliance in Finance in Dublin on Monday to draw greater attention to developments in regulation in Ireland and Europe. Speakers include Ireland's EU commissioner Charlie McCreevy, AIB chairman Dermot Gleeson, Irish Life & Permanent group chief executive Denis Casey, Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority chief executive Pat Neary and Deirdre Somers, chief executive of the Irish Stock Exchange.

Wade said it has become obvious in recent years from the literature for investment products that the people selling products did not fully understand what they were selling. This needs to change, he says.

To give compliance officers a more professional standing, the ACOI has launched certificate and diploma programmes in compliance in association with the Institute of Bankers, the Insurance Institute of Ireland and the LIA, the representative body for the financial services industry.

The Institute of Bankers has also teamed up with UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School by offering candidates the opportunity to obtain an MBA in regulation and compliance.

Wade, who is head of corporate services at Friends First and the company's secretary, understands regulation and compliance better than most people working in the investment industry.

He worked on the regulation of the banking and financial services sector while working in the Central Bank between 1977 and 1999.

He says one of his roles at the Central Bank was the regulation of the IFSC when it was first set up and developing compliance during "the birth pangs of the Celtic Tiger".

He joined Friends First in 1999 and has just completed his first year of a two-year term as chairman of the ACOI.

Wade says the courses in compliance will allow risk management officers to build on their knowledge and expertise.

Compliance officers can bridge the gap between regulators and customers, he adds. "They have advice to give and relevance at the top table. They have to be heard. We see compliance as part of good corporate governance.

"Regulation is developing so fast and is so complex that it is a major difficulty to manage it in a commercial and efficient manner."