Have you ever thought about becoming a compliance manager? Or is this kind of your career dream?
Okay, if you are reading this, I assume that you are interested in this industry. Considering this as your field of interest, today I will discuss this bright sector so that you can make a more solid decision.
Whenever you come to think about any particular industry, firstly, some common questions arise, such as what are the responsibilities of a compliance manager and what are the key responsibilities of a compliance manager?
So if you’re looking for the answers too, then keep reading this; as a result, you will have a more solid understanding of compliance managers.
First of all, let’s see what are the key responsibilities of a compliance manager:
Key Responsibilities of a Compliance Manager
As a compliance manager, you will have the opportunities to work in a wide variety of industries. These days most of the sectors face some level of regulation. These include accountancy, digital and technology, environmental service, financial services and many more.
So as a compliance manager, simply you are responsible for ensuring a company complies with its requirements and policies. You’re an overseer for ensuring that your employer plays lawfully.
Now, let’s breakdown the key responsibilities of a compliance manager:
- Audits to make sure that compliance procedures are obeyed correctly
- Conduct an internal study of compliance issues
- Develop risk management strategies
- Assess product, compliance or operational hazards
- Investigate to maintain environmental standards, which is environmental audits
- Notice compliance issues that need to follow-up or investigation
- Provide documented policies and methods related to compliance projects
- Ensuring appropriate compliance reports with regulatory authorities
- Verify software technology is in place to monitor all areas adequately
- Serve as a confidential point of contact for the employees to communicate with Management
- Maintaining documents of compliance activities
- Reviewing securities sales advertising to make sure there is no violation of regulations
- Train employee on related topics, policies or procedures
- Provide support to internal or external auditors in reviews
- Develop management reports according to operations and progress
- Observe compliance policies to ensure their effectiveness
- Report violations of standards to properly authorised enforcement agencies as required
- Observe internal reporting systems, such as corporate compliance hotlines
- Keep notified regarding pending industry changes, trends and assess the potential impact of these possible changes on organisational methods
- Design improvements in communication, monitoring of compliance standards
- Check that all firm and regulatory policies and procedures have been performed respectively
- Advise relevant professionals on the development or use of environmental compliance or recording tools
As I said earlier, there are plenty of industries you can work in. For your better understanding, I tried to break down the responsibilities of a compliance manager in a generalised point of view.
So, now I am going to tell you what are the key knowledge and skills for becoming a compliance manager.
Key Skills for Compliance Manager
If you want to start a career in any industry, it certainly requires some set of knowledge and skills which are essential for the industry. Most importantly, you should have some professional skills and expertise for working in any sector. Here I am going to show you the necessary skill and knowledge for compliance manager:
- Essential knowledge of regulations and guidelines related to the relevant ordinance or the ability to obtain such knowledge in some days
- Knowledge of state law, and local laws, official rules, and regulations relating to public agencies, or the ability to acquire such knowledge within quick times
- Necessary knowledge of organisational and management principles to evaluate the programs
- Knowledge of business and management policies associated with strategic planning, source allocation, leadership techniques
- Knowledge of best practices while analysis, budget tracking and reporting
- Essential skills to research, analyse, summarise and represent technical information in an obvious manner
- Skills to work as a team player to work cooperatively and develop an effective relationship with co-workers or other professionals
- Skills to assess, develop and apply best practice in the management
- Ability to learn new things actively and digest technical information
- Skills to supervise effectively, directing and motivating staff to get proper outputs
- Effective communication skill in both verbal and in writing with a variety of people
- Ability to use necessary software such as Microsoft Office suite with advanced proficiency
- Language – Ability to understand and refer to computer manuals
- Ability to write reports, business communication, and system manuals
- Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from the director, supervisors and the general public
- Excellent attention to detail
- Ability to work on own action where necessary
- Self-motivated and organised
Types of Compliance Manager
You will have the opportunity to work in a wide range of settings, as nowadays most sectors face some level of regulation. therefore, you can choose any of them as your career in compliance management:
- Accountancy
- Charity
- Digital and technology services
- Environmental services
- Financial settings
- Insurance
- Pharmaceuticals
- Property-related
Career Prospects in the UK
These days, this is a wise choice to pursue a career in this sector. Because of the increased focus on compliance, opportunities to progress your career in compliance is obvious.
Your progress as a compliance manager can be very fast, with several junior officers, being promoted to senior officers within 2 or 3 years. Usually, the compliance managers have more than 5 years of experience, and senior managers frequently more than 10 years of expertise.
If you want to work with a large company, then you may progress from analyst level to associate vice president to vice president. Besides, small firms can use the terms like “manager or senior manager”.
Just because of the rapid growth of compliance, many professionals move not only to more senior posts but also take steps into other relevant fields. Experience in this sector can provide you with plenty of work opportunities.
Salary Expectation in the UK
There is a wide range of work opportunities. Therefore, your salary will depend on your chosen industry and where do you work, I mean your workplace location. For instance, compliance officers in banking are highly paid than compliance officers in charities.
Besides, if you are working in London, then you can expect that the salary is higher than the other cities in the UK. However, in the UK, the average entry-level salary is from £18,000 to £35,000, and a managerial position can earn between £30,000 and £75,000. Senior position can earn up to or more than £100,000.
Qualifications for Compliance Manager
Those working in compliance do not always have a specific qualification. But as the importance of compliance grows rapidly, qualifications are becoming very important.
However, there is no certain study area, but there is a preference for number-based degrees, for instance, degree in economics, business studies or law degree. Besides, there are many employers who are flexible and accept any discipline degree.
There are various courses available to become or skill development for compliance management.
Closing Note
In conclusion, I can tell you that if you are thinking of starting a career as a compliance manager, then this is a wise choice indeed. This industry is on-demand these days and top of the list.
Now you know the responsibilities of a compliance manager and the required skills, so what are you thinking now? Is this one for you, or is it what you are always dreaming of?
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