Vincent Gaudel, Compliance Expert for LexisNexis Risk Solutions is among the keynote speakers of the 7th International Compliance Forum, representing Infocredit Group
In an interview at Gold portal, Vincent highlighted the biggest challenges faced by compliance professionals today and why so many organisations struggle with compliance. Stringent regulatory requirements, investing in data analytics, cryptocurrency risks and cybersecurity are a few of the major concerns for companies.
What are the biggest challenges in your field of work? How would you assess the global compliance and AML environment today?
The field of financial crime compliance, which mainly encompasses anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) and international sanctions is highly dynamic. There is ever-increasing regulatory pressure to tackle the issues at hand while, at the same time, organisations are working out ways to operate in compliance and manage their financial crime risks. I firmly believe that financial crime and AML compliance is improving overall, even if disparities remain in the levels of maturity from one economic sector to another. There is widespread, global awareness of financial crime risks and challenges. The key focus for the industry today is to address those risks and challenges effectively.
Compliance is a complex subject, especially when considered in the light of global operations. How do you achieve coordination and adjustment to new developments?
At a basic level, organisations need to know what they are required to comply with. Compliance requirements are the result of an organisation’s risk exposure. Different requirements will apply, depending on the types of customers they serve, the products and services they sell, and the countries in which they operate. When it comes to complying with international sanctions, an organisation with global operations might be facing divergent and even conflicting requirements, so there is no simple answer or one-size-fits all recipe for compliance. The current divergence between the US and the EU towards Iran is an example that illustrates the complexity of such conflicts of law. One fundamental ingredient of compliance, though, is putting in place a comprehensive and dynamic risk assessment. Without this, compliance controls cannot be implemented effectively. A firm-wide risk assessment needs constant adjustments to reflect changing regulations, as well as changes to the business’s operations or findings from internal controls and audits. Risk assessment is an ongoing exercise.
Read the full interview here
Infocredit Group is a leading provider of global risk intelligence and KYC/AML solutions for over 45 years and a strategic partner of LexisNexis Risk Solutions in Cyprus, Malta, Greece, Romania, UAE and Russia.