What Does a Compliance Manager Do? (Roles and Responsibilities)

Have you ever wondered who guarantees that organizations follow legal and ethical standards? Or who ensures a trust bond between the organization and its stakeholders and clients? It's the compliance manager; they are the ones who uphold ethics and trust.

Compliance managers make sure that businesses follow applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies to maintain ethical standards and reduce risks.

In this article, we're going to explore what do compliance manager does and the roles and responsibilities of a compliance manager. With the help of ITIL Foundation certification online courses, you can start your journey to becoming a compliance manager.

Who is the Compliance Manager?

A compliance manager checks a company's policies and standards to verify that all departments follow the laws and regulations. Depending on the industry, a compliance manager's responsibilities may include auditing, designing procedures, and identifying potential hazards.

Example: 

• To stay in line with data protection rules, an IT firm must develop policies governing how personal data is safely stored, processed, and sent. 
• In health organizations, the compliance manager must make sure that the most recent and updated versions of medical tools and machines are equipped. This is done to give high-quality treatment and protection to the patients. 

What Does a Compliance Manager Do?

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Compliance managers must stay updated on the relevant laws and regulations and apply them to company practices to minimize financial and legal risks. While a compliance manager's job duties can vary based on their employer or industry, a compliance manager may complete the following tasks: They are required to conduct quarterly and annual reviews to monitor adherence to rules and regulations.

The compliance manager's responsibility is to develop strategies and programs for the company based on state and national laws. They assess team members' awareness of policies and educate them on workplace laws and regulations. 

These managers identify and evaluate possible risks and then create strategies to lessen or prevent them. Work with higher management to address and solve ethical offenses or compliance issues.

Compliance Manager Roles and Responsibilities

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Depending on the level within the organization, the compliance manager’s position description changes accordingly. 

Entry-Level

Roles  

It is the role of the compliance manager to conduct and/or facilitate internal communication and training on records management issues and best practices. Must have strong or effective verbal and written communication skills. They must assist with defining business-specific service provider requirements for any records storage, retrieval, protection, or destruction contracts.

These managers should demonstrate the ability to effectively manage time, prioritize tasks, and work within deadlines. They must have an everyday passion to do the job and improve themselves and everyone around them.

The entry-level compliance manager's role is to participate in divisional and corporate working groups and initiatives relating to privacy and/or records management matters. Serve as a consultant to senior leadership on privacy and records management issues.

Responsibilities 

Entry-level managers must create and maintain appropriate structures, methods, policies, procedures, and reporting systems to support compliance management programs. They must be the champions of business ethics and compliance. They have to participate in stakeholder analysis to identify key stakeholders and their concerns related to compliance.

Organizing and coordinating training sessions and workshops for employees affected by compliance changes is also a key responsibility. At this level, it is the compliance manager's duty and responsibility to review documents and process, track, and monitor payments relating to activities.

Mid-Level

Roles 

The role of a mid-senior compliance manager is to serve as a key team member capable of working both independently and collaborating with others effectively. They must be able to communicate and interact effectively, as well as manage their time and stay organized.

These managers demonstrate strong analytical skills to identify gaps and opportunities for continuous improvement. They are required to develop and implement compliance policies and procedures. Having the ability to analyze and interpret complex regulatory requirements is a key role for these managers.

Periodically conducts audits and reviews to ensure the execution of compliance standards. When compliance problems arise, these managers must conduct investigations to discover the roots of the issue. They must also stay informed about environmental standards and make sure a company operates within those standards.

Responsibilities

At the mid-level, it is the compliance manager’s job responsibility to lead compliance management activities for specific projects or tasks, ensuring cross-functional teams meet project objectives. They guide and support junior compliance team members, provide best practices, and assist in skill development.

These managers evaluate the impact of proposed changes on employees, processes, and systems, identifying potential risks and developing mitigation strategies. They must maintain clear reporting and documentation across projects to aid decision-making. 

It is the compliance manager's responsibility to create tracking tools and provide accurate tracking reports related to project management initiatives, external government inquiries, and corporate integrity agreement requirements.

 Senior-Level

Roles  

Senior compliance managers are required to demonstrate expertise in compliance management and cultural disciplines, with previous experience in leading large-scale compliance efforts. They must have the ability to interact with senior management and investment professional clients. Must have excellent analytical, interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, including active listening skills. 

Managers at this level must have sound judgment, freedom of action, and the capacity to handle legal difficulties, confidential information, and highly sensitive materials.

Senior managers play an important role in managing experienced individual contributors, whether directly or indirectly. They must possess a strong understanding of business models and corporate strategy and be able to translate business priorities into effective compliance solutions.

Responsibilities

The compliance manager's responsibility at this level is to oversee and rank several intricate initiatives. They respond to both internal and external questions, and they must also produce and offer reports, presentations, materials, guidelines, and documentation.

Along with creating monitoring tools and delivering precise tracking data, they must also take care of company integrity agreement obligations, external government inquiries, and project management objectives. Senior managers must be up to date on new and updated rules, regulations, and directions that affect the company and facilitate changes as needed.

Senior managers need to identify, communicate, and escalate as appropriate control issues and process inefficiencies. They must assist with the evaluation and creation of internal training materials, including working with third-party training vendors to create such materials. It is also the responsibility of the senior managers to assist in what the compliance directors do. 

What Makes a Good Compliance Manager?

Soft Skills

Communication Skill

To keep all the sectors and resources that must follow a compliance procedure in sync, as a compliance manager, you must have strong communication skills. 

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving involves using strategic thinking and logical reasoning to find effective answers. Since compliance managers frequently meet regulatory challenges and hard situations, you must have this skill, as it is most required. 

Adaptability

Adaptability refers to your capacity to react quickly to changes while maintaining efficiency and productivity. Being a compliance officer requires you to be updated on regulations, which can change quickly.

Hard Skills

Regulatory Knowledge

This skill refers to your understanding of applicable national and international rules, regulations, and standards. Staying informed and attentive about changes might be crucial in this profession.

Data Analysis

Data analysis involves gathering, evaluating, and applying data to inform your compliance strategy. This knowledge can assist you in making educated judgments, forecasting future trends, and reducing possible risks.

Policy Development

Policy development involves creating effective procedures and guidelines that comply with external regulations while allowing the organization's internal operations.

Compliance Manager Job Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree

To become a compliance manager, a minimum requirement of a bachelor's degree program relevant to your chosen industry is a must. Accounting, business, economics, finance, legal studies, management, and manufacturing are common degrees.

Master's Degree

The advanced degree may qualify professionals for higher-level roles. Selecting a specific area of focus within a master's degree, like risk compliance, corporate governance, etc, can make a person's skills more relevant to the requirements of their present job.

Work Experience

There are no specific requirements for work experience or qualifications to work in compliance. However, interns are hired by businesses of different kinds, providing students with valuable experience before joining the workforce. They help them determine where they want to work after graduation.

Certifications

Having a professional qualification is completely optional. It may still be utilized to demonstrate competence, get a job, increase pay, network with other professionals, or maintain skills over time. You can get your professional certificate through IT Service Management certification courses online. 

Conclusion 

It is the compliance manager’s role and responsibility to make sure firms maintain ethical standards, control risks, and obey all applicable laws and regulations. Working as a compliance manager can be challenging and stressful because of the ever-changing surroundings, but at the same time, it is also very rewarding.

Having a compliance manager’s job responsibility is a challenging but rewarding experience. It demands a strong educational background, relevant experience, and a diversified skill set. You can obtain the necessary skills and information for a compliance manager by taking the Knowledge Hut ITIL Foundation course online. These courses can also help you understand what a risk and compliance manager does.