Running a Team of Compliance Auditors

In the financial market, information is of great importance, and so is compliance to the best practices that have been established. Without reliable information and without proper compliance, there is no way to ensure that a business will go in the right direction. Thus, compliance auditors are now highly in demand, and they are now offered various positions from entry-level to higher leadership positions.

If you are planning to pursue leadership compliance audit jobs, you should know all there is to know about running a team of compliance auditors. Your role will be to manage the auditors and to oversee the work that they do. Lead compliance auditor jobs also go by the name ‘manager of compliance’ or ‘chief compliance officer’ in some organizations.

 

Roles, Responsibilities, and Objectives

In a lead compliance audit job, your primary purpose is to continuously improve the processes and controls to meet ongoing compliance requirements. It is also your responsibility to evaluate the internal control structure to preserve the integrity of financial data throughout all business processes.

To achieve this, a lead compliance auditor’s primary duties will involve:

• Liaise with compliance auditors who are assigned to various departments or sections in the company
• Plan business process controls that the team of compliance auditors will execute
• Analyze process, test data, and perform risk assessments
• Gather required documentation to support findings and recommendations
• Review compliance audit findings conducted by your staff
• Identify, develop, and implement improvements in control processes
• Finalize and approve compliance audit reports

As the lead position holder, a head compliance auditor is also responsible for delegating specific tasks to specific auditors and for maintaining a good working relationship within the team. Due to the status of a compliance manager, leadership skills are essential for this position.

The chief compliance auditor is also tasked to report the status and findings of the whole compliance team to the chief operating officer or the chief executive officer.

 

How to Become a Compliance Manager

If you wish to pursue leadership compliance audit jobs, you have to develop the necessary skills by pursuing a bachelor’s degree in any finance course, most preferably accounting. An accountant makes an ideal compliance manager and many organizations prefer to hire accounting majors to take up lead compliance audit jobs. Most finance degrees take 4 years to complete.

After pursuing the necessary educational background, a compliance manager also has to become acquainted with compliance regulations not only in the financial field but also in the technical field and manufacturing industries (e.g. ISO 9001).

Before you can take up a leadership compliance audit position, you first have to apply for an entry-level position, which may require a lot of effort and long work hours. While in the entry-level position, it would be most beneficial for you to take up auditing and inventory responsibilities, which are closely tied to the work of a lead compliance manager.

Once you have the necessary work experience in order to advance in your career, you can pursue an advanced degree, which will make you eligible for a leadership financial position. It will be of great help to your career plans if you become a Certified Public Accountant, as this is a major stepping-stone to leadership compliance audit jobs.