NEWS & OPINION
31 July 2020
RICHARD RATTUE MD, Compli-Serve SA
Culture can cost you
A
company’s culture is the or compliance teams within various very bloodline from which it sectors across global financial operates in the marketplace. It services. The survey concluded should centre around company ethics before the COVID-19 pandemic took and principles, which should be wellhold, but nevertheless tapped into known by everyone working there, some pain points being felt in the and always adhered to. compliance realm. Key among them According to the 11th annual were culture risks. Thomson Reuters Cost of Compliance Survey 2020, released earlier this year, Culture goes hand-in-hand the single biggest compliance risk with conduct facing those surveyed was creating a A reported 34% of respondents had unified compliance function. turned down a potentially profitable This could be for a number business opportunity in the last year of reasons, but because of culture or ultimately speaks to conduct risk concerns. needing everyone in a Evidencing culture HOW DO YOU company to be on the is a difficult task. How CONSISTENTLY same page. Company do you consistently PROVE WHAT procedures and prove what your compliance around YOUR COMPANY company culture is? them are there for a It isn’t something that CULTURE IS? reason. Having these is necessarily easily work well in unison makes for a great observed. Some company culture is (and compliant) place to work. consistent with high ethics and good Respondents of the Reuters morale, while other offices may fear survey are primarily on the board senior management and turn a blind
eye to misconduct. There are many regulations to contend with as it is, so having cracks in your culture can be a costly problem in the end. It is one that must be solved, and quickly. Imagine a crack on a building; it gets worse the more you ignore it. A robust repair makes for a solid structure you can trust. A compliant culture We know that trust in a financial services brand is essential. Consumers increasingly expect ethical behaviour from their service providers. With so many more of us working from home, and so many more of us operating online, culture and values count even more. Some adjustments may be needed, and a stricter policy for company conduct exercised. Mandatory training came up in the Reuters’ survey as among tasks that can be outsourced. All staff need to go through the basic elements of legal and regulatory
requirements, which includes company policy on ethics and conduct. Prioritising this, or outsourcing it responsibly, is essential (and some things may have changed in the wake of COVID-19). It was different when we were all in one office together, and arguably the culture risks have shifted dramatically. Companies need to be clear on social media conduct and online etiquette, as an example. Going forward Fortunately, regulatory requirements have placed the financial sector in a relatively good position. Business continuity regulations requiring digital back-ups are a pre-pandemic win. I feel hopeful because I sense that the local financial services industry is banding together in these tough times. If we keep culture and conduct top of mind, we should be able to keep going strong and hit the ground running once lockdown is eased to the lower levels.
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