Compliance overruled

Compliance teams are at the sharp end of office politics, as they fight to be taken seriously by their superiors and by the teams whose work they are monitoring. So, where does the balance of power lie now? And what are the prospects for the influence of compliance officers? Neasa MacErlean reports.

What are the main issues in practice?

Compliance teams appear to be playing David to the Goliath of the people whose actions they are monitoring. Like lone police officers sent to control far more powerful communities, they often struggle to maintain their authority. They generally do not receive the big bonuses that customer-facing staff earn — and, in a sector focused on earnings, that reduces their standing. The Jes Staley case at Barclays illustrates the way that even chief executives undermine compliance and other internal regulation systems. [1] “It’s an ongoing problem for Compliance and Risk,” says financial services consultant Joe Egerton, commenting on the difficulties that compliance teams face when trying to be taken seriously.