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Insight
Why study with ICA?
Have you decided it’s time to progress your career and that a professional qualification is the perfect way to enhance your knowledge and skills?....More
Compliance must carve out role in company ESG efforts
Respondents to Compliance Week's “Inside the Mind of the CCO” survey agree compliance should play a key part as businesses determine their ESG strategy—either through primary oversight or meaningful participation
Why I loved being an MLRO
Being an MLRO can be tough, but it is also exciting and fulfilling with many opportunities for personal and professional development....More
Compliance must be a force for good
Ethics and purpose should underpin every effort to meet the challenge of climate change, writes James Thomas
What it takes to work in sanctions compliance
Sanctions impact almost every aspect of our lives, and is one of the few topics with real, day-to-day significance....More
The journey toward integrated risk management
Discover four practical steps to realising the gains of IRM
Putting the ‘G’ into GRC
Governance plays a significant role in determining how a business’ objectives are set and achieved, how risk is monitored and addressed, and how performance is optimised.....More
Suex sanctions: the compliance implications
Deepa Chandrasekhar considers the significance of the recent OFAC decision to sanction cryptocurrency exchange Suex
Ethics Masterclass: A Plantation Adventure
In this four-part series, Dr. Kara Tan Bhala will guide you each week through a case study taken from her book, Ethics in Finance: Case Studies of a Woman’s Life on Wall Street.....More
Counterfeiting, Covid and Conscience
Are you inadvertently contributing to criminality? As we acclimatise to the ‘new normal’, we examine how the global pandemic has helped facilitate unprecedented growth in the UK’s counterfeit market and how compliance professionals utilise their skills to combat it.
A milestone case in Singapore: Failing to perform KYC/CDD & false statements
Proper due diligence work is very important; so important, that it is vital it isn’t undermined in practice by banking and finance professionals, nor by the firms in which they work.....More
Nord Stream 2: A study in sanctions complexity
The political fallout has been described as ‘the biggest diplomatic crisis in transatlantic relations since the Iraq War
Why compliance needs to talk about sustainability
Recently, we conducted a poll of ICA members and the wider compliance community on sustainability and the role compliance has in addressing it. The results were not only revealing, but pointed to a potential new direction for compliance as its responsibilities expand.....More
Whistle-blowing: Good apples, bad apples and behavioural science
This blog series will explore sensitive questions around whistleblowing. It will consider the social and individual processes that surround deviant corporate behaviour and why these are strong barriers to ‘speaking up’. It will also ask how we can bring those barriers down. A field operation plan for whistle-blowers will also be built, sharing techniques that individuals can adopt to assist them in the face of corporate misdemeanours.
What every compliance professional needs to know
Why every compliance professional needs to know how to protect customers’ monies and assets – and why they should encourage others to do the same.....More
6 ways to mitigate a bad day at the office
Throughout this mini-series, we have explored how compliance faces unprecedented challenges and exciting new opportunities in our rapidly changing, digitising world.
5 tips to help you file more effective SARs
What could you be doing to file more effective suspicious activity reports (SARs)?....More
Are companies ready to trust artificial intelligence?
A recent roundtable, sponsored by Wolters Kluwer and organised by ICA, looked at the importance of balancing machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) with human intelligence and intervention.
Effective AML training: four questions to answer
Ensuring your employees are adequately trained in anti money laundering (AML) is a crucial component of managing financial crime risk. Not only is it vital to protect your firm, but its often required by regulations.....More
Has human trafficking grown during the pandemic?
Many aspects of life over the last year have stagnated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the virus grinding whole countries and economies to a halt. However, one thing that defied the slowdown – depressingly – was the number of human trafficking victims.
The importance of transaction monitoring – and the cost of getting it wrong
In this week’s #ICAInsight, Teodora Harrop considers what can be learnt from recent enforcement action and provides best practice examples from which firms can learn.....More
The qualities demanded of a GRC professional
An effective GRC practitioner must face problems rather than avoid them, hold to principles when it is easier to dodge them and challenge commonly accepted beliefs when needed. What psychological research tells us is that these qualities do not come naturally to us as humans.
Who will be suited to compliance roles in the 2020s?
We are already seeing signs that the 2020s will be vastly different from the 2010s and unrecognisable in many ways from, say, the 1980s. Back then, a ‘job for life’ was a reality and a career within a single profession or trade, perhaps even with the same employer was common place. These days, rather than seek a job for life, Generation Z are more likely to question how they can leverage their value now and start their own business or, at least, a side hustle. This article will explore these differences and look at how compliance could be reimagined in the future and who is best suited for a role within this burgeoning industry.....More
How firms can protect vulnerable customers
Recent research from the FCA revealed that, by October 2020, 27.7 million adults (53%) possessed some characteristics of vulnerability
Roundtable highlights: best practice in risk assessment
A recent roundtable on best practice for risk assessment, sponsored by OneTrust and organised by ICA, uncovered some fascinating insight from those on the front line of compliance.....More
5 reasons why your employer should sponsor you to do an ICA qualification
Many employers all over the world recognise the value of ICA qualifications in increasing the confidence and ability of their staff
Are compliance officers good board material?
Outside of our profession, a common frame of reference for compliance is the historical context of enforcing rules and regulations....More
5 reasons to sponsor an employee’s ICA qualification
Here are five reasons that funding a course for your employee can be a wise investment
Financial Crime: A Global Perspective
A fascinating collection of global industry insights on current and emerging trends, challenges and opportunities in 2021 and beyond....More
Can you really help stop wildlife trafficking?
Wildlife trafficking is a big issue. We’re not just talking about endangered animals from Africa being poached and sold on the black market. There are many other ways that wildlife trafficking can be a part of your life, without you even realising it.
How global compliance works at the local level
This insight article will consider what global compliance looks like at a local level. It will also examine how different regions understand and adapt definitions of compliance to their own purposes, and the consequences of this for businesses.....More
Take part in ICA's sanctions risk survey
Share your input into a short survey about your organisation’s approach to sanctions control
Can a compliance team change a culture?
Compliance teams need to think and act more holistically, strategically and embrace innovation – to ‘design in’ rather than ‘bolt on.’ It’s vital they play their part in unlocking synergy and adopt a mindset that values reflection.....More
BIG Compliance Festival 2021 - Highlights
The 2021 edition of the BIG Compliance Festival, the biggest event for compliance professionals globally, attracted over 650 participants from 82 countries worldwide. Attendees enjoyed an array of insightful presentations on a variety of topics. Below we present a summary of some of the event’s highlights and key takeaways from the discussions that took place.
Why curiosity is important for compliance professionals
Curiosity is not often seen as an attractive trait: as the saying goes ‘curiosity killed the cat’. But for compliance professionals, I would argue that it is a key skill we need to improve both personally and professionally, and in order to protect our firms from risk.....More
Combating terrorist financing: Coordination and the ‘human element’
The nexus between transnational organised crime and terrorist financing is a contentious, ongoing topic of debate. The extent of their connection is disputed, but what is accepted is that the motivation and ideology of a terrorist differs fundamentally from that of organised criminal groups.
Sanctions are constantly changing. Here’s what firms can do.
Over the last five years, there has been a significant shift in the sanctions world, from traditional jurisdictional and list-based sanctions to those that are more nuanced and thematic.....More
You’ve got your ICA qualification - what happens now?
The key steps you can take to maximise the potential for professional success that your ICA qualification offers.
Is compliance staying the same in a rapidly changing digital world?
In a rapidly changing digital world, thinking around compliance needs reframing. The question today is whether compliance can keep up in world moving faster than any had thought possible....More
ICA's Monthly News Chat: episode 1
We are pleased to announce the launch of ICA’s Monthly News Chat, a brief and informative video series, providing a rundown of key topics trending that month.
Bonuses and bias: the risks of variable pay for compliance professionals
When a compliance professional perceives their pay package may be reduced as a result of their actions, there is a risk of biased decisions....More
Anti-corruption developments in 2020: China, India make strides
A global panel of experts with law firm Gibson Dunn share insights around recent anti-corruption developments in some of the world’s largest regions, including China, India, Latin America, and Africa.
Keeping pace with the latest AI trends
What challenges and opportunities does artificial intelligence present and how can risk and compliance practitioners best respond to these? James Thomas reports on recent ICA Roundtable events....More
Identity Fraud Report 2020
In this report, Onfido analyses data from its roster of global clients to understand where current and future risk lies
Compliance training – the real value and benefit to the modern compliance professional
What is the real value and benefit of training to the modern compliance professional?....More
[Video] All you need to know about 6AMLD
In this video, James Wood-Rickett, Course Director, Global Lead - Anti Money Laundering, ICA, considers the key changes of 6AMLD.
UK sanctions – under new management
The UK has completed the process of leaving the European Union. This article is a follow up to a previous piece where the complicated relationship between sanctions and the UK’s transition from the EU was assessed. Here we will look at the reality of post-transition UK sanctions and the new sanctions landscape in the UK.....More
Breaking barriers: Advancing diversity and inclusion in the compliance world
As a global organisation, we understand that diversity and inclusion is different around the world - the challenges faced by different groups vary significantly.
Compliance, bias and illogical decision-making
Most people understand and accept that human decision-making is tainted by bias. But what is less well-understood is how these human biases can creep into technology intended to streamline, improve or make fairer decisions made by machines.....More
The role of HR in driving diversity and inclusion
What is the role of the HR function in driving D&I, and the importance of compliance management in overseeing changes in organisational behaviour and practices?
COVID-19, cryptocurrencies and fraud
James Thomas considers fraud risks associated with cryptocurrencies in the context of COVID-19....More
Six steps to improve your customer due diligence
CDD is a key part of any firm’s anti money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework. With this in mind, this blog looks at six steps that the reader can take to help improve their CDD.
Future proofing the compliance professional
Technology is set to have an impact on the way in which compliance professionals work. In a future defined by VUCA, what can compliance professionals do to ensure that they have the skills to prepare for the changes?....More
The skills crucial to combating terrorist financing
A proven and effective method of preventing terrorism is disrupting the financial networks used to fund it. This has been known to organisations, regulators and governments for some time now.
Dun & Bradstreet E-Book: Third-Party Risk Management
Download your free copy of Dun & Bradstreet's latest e-book ‘Busting The Myths That Make Third-Party Risk Management More Painful’ published in association with ICA....More
“Fail to prepare, prepare to fail” - Interview tips
Before attending an interview, go through the job description in more detail. This will give you an understanding of what the hiring manager is looking for.
OFSI: the story so far
A brief comparison of the key outputs from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's (OFSI) annual reports....More
How the art market helps fund terrorism
Art and antiquities looting was ISIS’s second highest source of income at the terror group’s height. Unique and rare objects from the world’s oldest civilisations were flogged to Europe and North America to raise funds for its activities. The regulatory response from the EU and the art industry has been swift – but is it enough?
The compliance response to the SRA’s updated regulations
Compliance professionals employed in SRA-authorised law firms should be busy preparing to support their colleagues to make a safe and appropriate transition.....More
Will AI replace compliance professionals?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is today being adopted across all sectors which will require us to adapt and obtain new skills. People will continue to be needed, but the types of jobs that they do will change.
United Arab Emirates: the rapid pace of regulatory change
It is often said that the only constant in life is change, and that certainly rings true for the current regulatory climate. The global nature of financial crime means that all regulators, and firms operating in the regulated sector, must be quick to respond to threats.....More
Virtual Banking is coming - are you ready?
Malcolm Wright, Chief Compliance Officer, Diginex, and keynote speaker at ICA’s 2nd APAC Conference, discusses the latest trends and challenges in virtual banking and how it’s impacting the skills and competencies of compliance professionals.
Financial crime: a 360-degree view (Podcast)
Broadgate Search sat down with Pekka Dare, Director of Training Education and Development at ICA, to uncover various case studies in the financial sector.....More
Vulnerable Customers: The new hot topic
‘Vulnerable Customers’ is not a topic you can avoid if you are a compliance professional in the retail sector. While the UK may be leading in the implementation of new requirements, many other jurisdictions are incorporating or considering the principles involved. These principles are pretty much incontrovertible and so there is inevitable pressure and momentum behind development of this area.
Starting a career in compliance - Part 2
Here at ICA, we are home to an array of rich and diverse compliance backgrounds and, as such, everyone has a story to tell. ICA’s R&D managers and tutors relay their stories, sharing valuable insight regarding careers in compliance. Whether you are a senior compliance officer or someone looking to enter the sector, this will be an interesting and beneficial read.....More
How to make the most of your ICA qualification
Upon completion of an ICA qualification, you may find yourself wondering what comes next and how you can make the most of your new qualification. Here we discuss the nine key steps to maximise the potential for professional success that your ICA qualification offers.
Starting a career in compliance - Part 1
There’s a whole world of professional paths out there. Yet a lot of kids seem to dream of the same options: ‘when I grow up I want to be a vet, doctor, firefighter, police officer’. These are all admirable options, but not many say ‘I want to work in compliance’. Not yet, anyway.....More
Virtual Currencies – four key updates in 2019
Move over Bitcoin and Blockchain – there’s a new raft of terminology to come to terms with in the form of virtual assets, crypto-derivatives and Libra. Adding to the mix the recent announcement on virtual assets from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), it’s been a busy few weeks for anyone keeping an eye on the virtual world. In this Insight piece we will be looking at four key updates from recent weeks.
Blockchain: an introduction
Blockchain is capturing the imagination of the financial services for its potential to reduce risk and decrease costs. It’s easy to consider blockchain as a unicorn – elusive, never seen and no one seems to quite know its capabilities. Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT), but what exactly is blockchain and DLT? And how can they be used by mainstream companies?....More
Are you accidentally funding terrorism?
Hands up if you’ve ever bought a fake pair of sunglasses or fake handbag? Or if you know someone that has? Maybe a friend of a friend has sold you a copy of a film on DVD?
A new study reveals whistleblowing arrangements in UK and European companies
Fresh legislative initiatives and large scandals are thrusting whistleblowing on to the corporate agenda. However, how companies approach internal whistleblowing arrangements varies significantly across Europe. This is according to the Whistleblowing Report 2019 published by the University of Applied Sciences HTW Chur in Switzerland and EQS Group.....More
How new technologies help prevent money laundering
$2 trillion – that’s the amount of illicit funds estimated to be laundered through financial institutions annually. Worse, financial crime appears to be increasing (see the latest from Insight for the reasons behind the rise). In response, Europol estimate that banks globally are spending $260 billion each year in financial crime defences to combat the issue.
Is financial crime on the increase?
At the recent City Week International Financial Services Forum in London, one of the panel sessions focused on the evolution of financial crime, and a statistic highlighted during the session struck a chord with me.....More
Human trafficking – how technology and collaboration can help combat the issue
Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing and most widespread criminal activities in the world.
Correspondent banking – why it's important to understand the risks
Money laundering scandals have been all over the news recently, with banks such as Danske and Swedbank....More
Irish stockbroker enforcement action: What were the issues and why do they matter?
On 8 May 2019, the Central Bank of Ireland found Campbell O’Connor & Company, a private client stockbrokers
Why collaboration is vital to combat money laundering
Great strides forward have been made in the general awareness....More
[Infographic] 6 tips to help you on your study journey
'An investment in knowledge pays the best interest' - Benjamin Franklin....More
Monetary Authority of Singapore launches debut enforcement report
The Monetary Authority of Singapore details enforcement actions and key initiatives as it launches debut enforcement report.
Compliance culture – What is the challenge?
Compliance culture, especially in financial services, is a really important element that can impact on the wider cultural challenges that a firm could face.....More
Anti-corruption compliance programmes have never been more important
Take a moment to look beyond the turbulence of current affairs and traverse the terrain of a global anti-corruption trends monitor. What you will see, may surprise you.
Standard Chartered $1.1 billion enforcement action: what lessons can we learn?
It was announced that Standard Chartered has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to US regulators and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). What lessons can we learn from this?....More
Corruption Perceptions Index – do movements in the middle also reflect the regulatory environment?
The new Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has been released and you can see the results here. The Index is used in many financial crime models and is a highly regarded tool for geographic risk insight.
The UK’s anti money laundering regime – A time for celebration?
Mutual evaluations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are big news within the anti money laundering (AML) community; its peer reviews provide insight into the AML framework of a country, the key risks that it faces and how those risks are managed.....More
Skills and Attributes of an AML Professional - Infographic
Have you ever wondered which skills and attributes are useful when working in anti money laundering (AML)? If you currently work in AML, have you considered how your own skills measure up? Here’s a quick look at some of the skills and attributes that an AML professional may need
10 ways to instil a culture of compliance
Despite significant investment in compliance, we still see incidents where things go wrong. In many cases the root cause is the wrong culture and values. How do you drive the right culture across your organisation? How do you ensure everyone is accountable for compliance matters? Below we provide some tips to help support a successful compliance ‘change programme’.....More
South America: can a continent conquer corruption in 2019?
US politics inevitably tends to attract greater scrutiny than anywhere else in the Americas. Regrettably, this often obscures that which is unfolding in the southern half of the continent, where very interesting – often odd, sometimes distressing – events are taking place. Last year was a case in point.
Top 5 fines of 2018: Lessons Learned from Enforcement Action
As Father Christmas prepares his list of who has been naughty or nice, I thought it would be interesting to take look at enforcement action in 2018 from around the world and consider some New Year’s resolutions that compliance professionals may want to make in 2019.....More
Navigating the bribery risk this Christmas
Christmas – the season of gifts and giving. Nobody needs reminding that we already hurtling our way full speed towards the Big Day, but for businesses it is the time of year when a useful reminder on the dangers of bribery is required.
Meet an ICA member: Sheila Patel
I am a Senior Compliance professional with extensive skills, knowledge and expertise of the regulatory landscape and systems and controls, gained through 17+ years’ experience within the financial services industry.....More
Meet an ICA Member: Paul Byrne
I’m Paul Byrne, MICA and Compliance Manager at RA International in Dubai. I’m also an ICA alumni having studied the ICA International Diploma in Compliance and graduating with a Merit. I’ve been a member of the ICA since 15 September 2015.
Meet an ICA member: Robert Dagg
I’ve worked in financial services for 30 years across a range of roles in front office and support functions, leading sizeable teams with multiple jurisdiction responsibilities. I joined the ICA two years ago as a Fellow after graduating with a Post Graduate Diploma in Governance, Risk & Compliance. I’m also a member of the ICA Technical Advisory Board.....More
Governance in Japan: Going, going, Ghosn
Carlos Ghosn has his own comic book, The True Story of Carlos Ghosn. It ran as a strip in the manga Big Comic Superior in Japan in 2001, before being published as a book the following year. In a country obsessed with comic books, Ghosn having his own should give you an idea of the reverence in which he is held for reviving the ailing carmaker Nissan after his arrival in 1999.
Meet an ICA member: Robert Dagg
I’ve worked in financial services for 30 years across a range of roles in front office and support functions, leading sizeable teams with multiple jurisdiction responsibilities. I joined the ICA two years ago as a Fellow after graduating with a Post Graduate Diploma in Governance, Risk & Compliance. I’m also a member of the ICA Technical Advisory Board.....More
Guy Fawkes Night: Celebrating counter-terrorism
Guy Fawkes Night celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot to kill King James I at the Palace of Westminster on November 5, 1605. There’s something modern, and therefore something we recognise, in the Gunpower Plot: it featured a small group of fanatics, whose plan was wildly ambitious, violent, and spectacular in its execution
Meet an ICA member: Jonathan Harris-Moss
If I’d been asked earlier in my working life to consider a career in compliance, I might have turned my nose up on the grounds that I was trying to become one of those ‘creative types’, unrestricted by rules. Fast forward several years and here I am in 2018, a fairly new entrant into the governance, risk and compliance (GRC) profession.....More
How much do businesses know about competition law?
The CMA and the ICA are collaborating to ensure that together we can #StopCartels
What I learned during my year as a student
At International Compliance Training we try always to underline the virtues of learning. To show you that we practice what we preach, I want to share my own experience as a student over the last twelve months.....More
Meet an ICA Member: Paul Byrne
I’m Paul Byrne, MICA and Compliance Manager at RA International in Dubai. I’m also an ICA alumni having studied the ICA International Diploma in Compliance and graduating with a Merit. I’ve been a member of the ICA since 15 September 2015.
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