TRAINING: THE FOUNDATION OF EFFECTIVE COMPLIANCE BY WILLIAM J. SHOWALTER, CRCM, CRP, SENIOR CONSULTANT; YOUNG & ASSOCIATES, INC.; KENT, OHIO We have all heard the old maxim, “How can you expect them to do things right in the first place if you don’t tell them how to do it.” That is particularly true in the area of compliance. You cannot expect employees to comply with the plethora of laws and regulations that impact banking today if you have not given them appropriate instruction on what is required of them. This is accomplished through compliance training. Training is the foundation or bedrock on which you can build a compliance program that should flourish in the current compliance environment. Regulators expect financial institutions to manage their compliance function and any risk area effectively. In addition, within the past 20-plus years, the industry moved into a new age for compliance management — one calling for a new management model or paradigm where more responsibility and involvement are pushed down to the front lines rather than being retained centrally by a single compliance officer or department. For this paradigm to work, those on the front lines must be well-versed in the compliance responsibilities that their jobs entail. What is effective and works will vary from one institution to another, but we will try in this article to point you in the right direction to set up a successful compliance training program. We will help you ferret out how to approach this process and give you ideas on how to tackle such training and end up with a positive experience for both the trainer and the trainees. Reasons To Train The reason you want to train your staff in compliance matters is to move toward the ideal of having them do the compliance-related aspects of their jobs right the first time, every time. Making your compliance function work this way will take you a long way toward good risk management — reducing the risk of noncompliance. Education of the bank’s board of directors, management and staff is essential to maintaining an effective compliance program. Board members should receive sufficient information to enable them to understand the bank’s compliance responsibilities and Endorsed Partner 19 In Touch
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