Andrew Donahue, the Chief of Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission gave a speech earlier this month to the National Society of Compliance Professionals National Conference. He was attempting to share his thoughts on the current and future challenges that compliance professionals in the financial services area face.
He envisions that CCOs will need to be a “jack of all trades with access to a wide array of skillsets.”
In the past, compliance merely required an expertise in the applicable laws and regulations.
Now it requires expertise in technology, operations, market, risk, and auditing. Firms are changing rapidly, and markets are rapidly evolving and regulations are only getting more voluminous. Mr. Donahue points out that staying up to date is one of the biggest challenges for complaince professionals.
“It is critical that you make it a priority to develop the necessary technical expertise, keep up with changing market dynamics, fully appreciate all of the firm’s businesses and follow regulatory developments and their impact on your firm and its operations.”
I fear that Mr. Donahue should remember, and compliance professionals shoudl strive to avoid, the second half of the phrase: Jack of all trades and master of none.
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