I recently attended the Compliance Institute’s annual Conference. It was very insightful, and informative. Michael McGrath (The Minister for public expenditure) spoke very highly of our profession, as he said that it is thanks to the Compliance profession that Ireland now has financial stability. This gave me a real sense of achievement and purpose. It prompted me to write about the positive side of Compliance.

Compliance is sometimes viewed as ‘boring, restricting, tedious, box ticking’ along with many other negative words. I disagree with this view because the really positive outcome from regulatory compliance is that people who wish to purchase their first home through a mortgage can do so knowing that they are dealing with a regulated firm, customers who wish to invest in funds can do so where the correct fund is chosen for their needs, and should the markets fall they have a clearer understanding of why their fund is underperforming, customers who wish to save for their children’s education can do so with confidence and achieve their financial goal.

Because of Compliance, Financial Services Providers are more accountable to their customer, which will ultimately lead to trust and confidence from customers.  That should a great motivator for Financial Services Providers to overcome the negative side of Compliance  – to  instill confidence and trust from customers – That is quite a nice business to be in!