External compliance is as important as internal compliance such that bank compliance officers must also perform intermittent audits on the organization's internal controls. Presiding over staff meetings with agendas like addressing possible issues of non-compliance are also included in the job responsibilities. In addition, the hiring, training, and evaluating of the staff are also part of the responsibilities of the senior compliance officer.
The list of experience, expertise and skills on the bank compliance officer job description is on the lengthy side. Keep in mind that the position of compliance officer in an important financial institution as a bank is a highly sensitive post that demands only the best of the best in the industry.
In such a highly competitive environment, how then can you become a successful bank compliance officer? Here are a few commonsense tips in this regard, many of which can actually be used to achieve successful careers in other fields.
Keep Up with the Changing Environment
The finance industry is one of the most volatile industries in the modern economy for good reasons. On one hand, the fast advances in technology have made it easier to make various financial transactions from depositing in the savings account to betting on futures commodity. On the other hand, the federal, state and local compliance agencies are constantly on the lookout for any and all measures in which to ensure that the financial institutions follow the law.
All of these reasons require that the senior compliance officer keep up with the changing environment in which the bank operates. Otherwise, the consequences can be disastrous like lawsuits, loss of clients, and loss of income. Keeping up with the changing environment may not be in the bank compliance officer job description but it is a must. Such goal can be achieved by:
• Getting the right continuing education. Of course, as a bank compliance officer, you possess the right education (four-year college degree in finance, management, accounting, law, and economics), the right working experience (at least 5 years in a supervisory experience in financial institutions), and the right professional licenses and certifications from private organizations and public agencies. These basic and advanced qualifications are insufficient to become a successful compliance officer.
This is because compliance is a highly dynamic activity that demands constantly staying updated of trends in the industry with many a very successful senior compliance officer actually leading the change. Trainings, seminars, and workshops are excellent ways to acquire continuing education and, thus, anticipate the changes even before these happens. You can then become a successful compliance officer.
• Getting a wide range of work experience with specialization in certain areas of the profession. Nowadays, it is essential to be knowledgeable about virtually every aspect of the compliance industry and then be able to mesh the knowledge into one cohesive practice. On the other hand, the bank compliance officer job description will also require specialized sets of skills suitable for certain area of compliance in a bank.
Indeed, before you can become a senior compliance officer, you must start at the bottom. Along the way, you can improve on your skills set that will be your ticket up the corporate ladder.
Keep on Improving your Skills Sets
Speaking of skills sets, you have to develop certain skills and capabilities that make for a successful compliance officer in the banking industry. These professional skills sets are often developed through years of education, experience and training while others are personal traits that employers look for in their applicants no matter the industry. Again, we suggest looking at the bank compliance officer job description for more information.
• Excellent people management skills
• Exceptional attention to detail coupled with the ability to review large sets of data in a short time
• Very satisfactory grasp of the jobs required of the staff in the compliance unit
• Outstanding capacity to manage and adapt to changes in the industry
If you think that these qualifications are too much to ask for in a bank compliance officer, then you will not be successful but if you want a great career as one, log in to ComplianceCrossing.com for more job opportunities. Take advantage of their FREE TRIAL, too!
