By Blandine CORDIER-PALASSE, Compliance - fraud - investigations 2017, Décideurs collection guide annuaire p.63
Interview with BLANDINE CORDIER-PALASSE; President BCP executive search and Vice-President, CERCLE DE LA COMPLIANCE
"The CEO must help promote a culture of ethics and compliance".
Blandine CORDIER-PALASSE
Blandine Cordier-Palasse, a former legal director and specialist in compliance issues, looks at the development of the function and its future within companies.
DECISION-MAKERS. Can you tell us about the Cercle de la compliance?
Blandine Cordier-Palasse. Created in 2010, the Cercle de la compliance is an association. It brings together around eighty members - compliance officers, lawyers, advisers, etc. - for workshops, training courses and conferences. Our initial objective was to raise awareness of compliance issues among senior managers and corporate governance bodies. At the time, there was little formalisation of these issues. Since then, things have changed with the Sapin 2 law. It requires the deployment of a compliance programme or the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA). This gives the compliance officer a more important role alongside the management team. Today, the association is keen to participate in the adoption of these principles. The aim is to help build the skills and profiles that companies need.
Why should companies step up their compliance efforts?
Under pressure from civil society and regulators, scandals, fines and financial crises, economic and political players are becoming increasingly compliant and ethical. But this is only the beginning. The increased exposure of companies to international (UK Bribery Act, US FCPA) and national (Autorité de la concurrence, Cnil, AFA) legislation, and the increasingly frequent imposition of severe sanctions on companies, should encourage them to structure their compliance policy more closely. Finally, some competitors and NGOs do not hesitate to resort to "name and shame". They attack a company's reputation to denounce its failings or shortcomings, for commercial or social purposes.
More than ever, compliance is becoming a strategic element for companies. It must be integrated at all levels of strategy - corporate, business and operational. The aim is for the development and transformation of the organisation to be aligned with regulatory developments. Another important element is the internal dissemination of these policies, guidelines and directives to ensure that risks are effectively monitored. This is a question of efficiency. The objective of a compliance culture is business continuity and sustainable growth.
What role do compliance officers play in the company?
Today, I would say that the function needs what the Americans call the 'C-Suite presence', i.e. the ability to be close to the executive committee, to talk to management. Its position within the company's organisation chart is therefore fundamental. It should not be a "sub-department", but rather report directly to the CEO, to strategy. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the CEO must participate in promoting a culture of ethics and compliance within the company. His effectiveness depends on it. Secondly, including compliance issues upstream of the strategy and throughout its execution ensures that it protects the company as it expands, rather than being perceived downstream as a hindrance or constraint to business development.
What are the qualities of a good compliance officer?
First of all, they need to understand the business, the challenges it faces, the markets, the customers, the products and services, the culture and the functional, operational, image and reputation risks. Positioned as a business partner, solution-oriented with a focus on strategy, he or she must be an excellent communicator, a good teacher and a team player. You don't follow processes, you follow a man or a woman. Finally, as I see it when I'm recruiting for groups, they need to know how to work in a multi-disciplinary team with legal, finance, audit, risk and business teams, and how to manage direct and indirect teams. Ideally, they have a real sense of perspective and courage. Highly specialised profiles with great human qualities: that's what our best clients are now asking for.
