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Insight
2013
Getting tougher at the top?
2013 comes to a close in the UK with two significant developments which demonstrate that regulators and lawmakers have their sights set firmly on senior bankers. First came the news that Standard Chartered had stripped its Finance Director of responsibility for risk, reportedly under instructions from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Next, the Banking Reform Act received Royal Assent on 18 December.....More
The big issue
At this time of the year, there are only two questions that really matter: (i) what's the largest Christmas tree I can fit into my house without it constituting a health and safety issue? and (ii) what's the biggest turkey five adults and three children can safely consume in one sitting?
5 top tips on how to approach your ICA exam
The way you approach an exam can have a massive impact on the outcome. Subject matter knowledge is crucial but this is only half the battle. You’ve studied the course for months, digested the wider reading and put the effort into completing the assignments. Now you want to pass with the highest score you can, achieve the certification and put all you have learned into practice. Here are five tips that will help you achieve your goal.....More
The value of compliance qualifications
If you are reading this as the holder of a compliance qualification then "congratulations!" You are, according to recent PwC research, hot property. PwC found that a staggering 100% of heads of compliance at UK asset management firms believe that there is currently a shortage of appropriately qualified compliance professionals in the market, and most expect this trend to persist for the next 2 to 3 years.
Stick, twist or fold? How best to manage emerging trends and best practice in money laundering and terrorist financing
I was delighted to represent the International Compliance Association at the Compliance Officer conference in Warsaw recently which focussed on the subject of new payment technologies and emerging money laundering and terrorist financing risk management.....More
Stranger than Fiction
As you will know if you’ve been reading this blog for the last year or so, I’m not averse to the odd film reference. I also have an interest in some of the subcultures we highlight in our courses. So I thought I’d combine the two and draft a plot for a film. Picture the classic Container Port scene in Heat and you’re on the right track.
Restoring trust: the long game
It would be an understatement to say that the financial sector has an image problem. Scarcely a day passes without the emergence of some new financial debacle or the imposition of some new high profile regulatory sanction.....More
Top 5 common mistakes made in ICA exams
Last November I wrote a popular blog on Top 5 tips for ICA exams so I thought it would be worth following this up with some more useful guidance.
Social media, independent thought and organizational culture
Have social media changed the way we think and work and has this had (positive or negative) consequences for organizational culture?....More
Responsibility and accountability... more than words
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards was set up to look into professional standards and culture within the UK banking sector. Its recent report – "Changing Banking for Good" – puts forward several recommendations.
How to Enable Staff in Firms to Report Suspicious Activity
Is your firm identifying and reporting the appropriate level of suspicious activity in respect of money laundering? For many of the firms and AML professionals that I speak to the answer is a clear no.....More
Compliance, parenting and playtime
When I’m not editing inCOMPLIANCE (ICA's quarterly journal for members) I spend a fair amount of my spare time watching small children terrorize each other in playgrounds, not because I particularly enjoy doing so, but because as the father of a three-year-old it comes with the territory.
The only way is ethics
Having had the privilege of attending the AMLP Forum on Anti-Bribery and Corruption in London last week, ethics (as well as collaborative action) was a key message.....More
A Day in the Life of a Compliance Officer
Anyone who works in financial services compliance will support me when I say that no two days are the same. The role is diverse, interesting and challenging and should easily tap into your skill set quickly and increase your knowledge day by day.
5 reasons why your employer should sponsor you to do an ICA qualification
We all know that training budgets aren’t what they used to be and sometimes it can be quite a difficult process persuading your employer to fund your course.....More
An introduction to Financial Crime
Financial Crime has recently emerged as a hot topic of late and I feel it is something that should be brought to the general public’s attention. Here in Singapore we are launching, for the first time in the region, the ICA Financial Crime qualifications, giving us a great platform to start looking at this area in a little more detail.
A tale of two cultures: Ethics and Compliance
Am I alone in being fed up with hearing the words `culture`, `tone at the top` after each headline associated with a new banking or corporate scandal? Have corporate environments really lost their moral compass?....More
The Asian rate fixing scandal: continuing lessons for organisational culture
We’ve been covering the topic of “culture” extensively within inCOMPLIANCE. And with good reason – cultural change at banks is increasingly being acknowledged as a board-level strategic challenge, and one which the compliance community can make a positive contribution towards.
Win a free place at ICA's Annual Conference 'Benchmarking Compliance - Preparing for the Road Ahead’, 27 March 2013, London
What do you think the future holds for compliance? How much of a threat is social media to your firm? How difficult is it to lead a culture of integrity?....More
Executive remuneration and cultural change: the long haul
Bonus season is guaranteed to provide some talking points, and this year is no different.For many within the City, the award of massive payouts for those at the helm of major financial institutions is simply the cost of employing such “talent”; a relatively small price to pay given the massive demands of the job.
What does a career in financial crime prevention involve?
The range of threats facing organisations means there are a multitude of career option in financial crime prevention. From anti-bribery and corruption specialists, to fraud analysts and cyber security experts there are a variety of challenging and rewarding roles out there. The roles on offer are very diverse but all require a combination of technical knowledge, understanding of business processes, products and services and the key vulnerabilities targeted by financial criminals.....More
FCPA Guidance: Emerging Benchmarks for an Effective Anti-Corruption Compliance Program?
Over recent years, we have all been witness to the US Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") aggressively pursuing enforcement action against businesses and individuals under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA").
What’s in a name?
The Christmas period was pretty standard in my house. Visiting family, family visiting us, an excess of cheese and biscuits, and a variety of PS3 games/TV movies.....More
Countering the threat of cybercrime
Can traditional risk management frameworks protect a firm from the ever increasing cyber threat? What role do financial crime systems and controls, requirements, business continuity, data loss prevention and traditional fraud prevention techniques play in the defence against sophisticated and targeted cyber attacks?
What does 2013 hold for the big banks?
2012 ended with a bang... but not in a good way. Coming just weeks after the conclusion of the Adoboli case, the UBS fine for LIBOR-rigging thrust the issue of culture in banking back onto the front pages.....More
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