What specific skills and qualities do you look for when recruiting compliance professionals in the financial services sector, and how have these criteria evolved in response to changing industry dynamics?
A good Compliance Officer must always be commercial, both to understand the products and services of the underlying business in order to best advise when interpreting how regulations do or will impact the firm, but also to be aware that wherever possible that advice must be pragmatic and enable the firm to optimise its revenue, not prevent a deal or new product just because it may be near the boundaries of what is permissible.
Additionally, communication skills are even more key than in other roles, which may be about trying to get an agreement to a balanced course of action or just being diplomatic in carrying out your day to day job. For example, whether just finding time in someone’s busy diary for an interview as part of a monitoring exercise, or how you may present the findings from such, which, if negative, may impact an employee’s earnings or even whole career path.
In the context of financial regulations, how do you assess a candidate’s understanding of complex compliance frameworks?
Very difficult, so best approach is to ask them to explain the structure as it applied to their previous/current employer, and if they give a fluent, sensible reply (as opposed to a hesitant rambling response), then you should be reassured.
What experiences or qualifications are considered valuable for roles within the financial services compliance sector?
With the increasing focus on technology and automation in compliance, how has the skill set required for compliance roles in the financial sector evolved, and what types of technological expertise are particularly sought after?
It is assumed that all junior staff nowadays are fully IT literate, whilst even Board-level Directors are fully aware of the capabilities and risks of technology, although it’s still early days knowing what the impact of AI will be of course. Most firms will have expensively designed in-house systems or have customised the many Reg Tech systems out there, thus there is little need for Compliance staff to also be IT techies.
However, the exceptions in main Compliance are sell-side surveillance systems and buy-side portfolio monitoring technology where knowledge of specific software is frequently requested. In AML and Financial Crime, it can be KYC Utility systems or Transaction monitoring software that can be needed.
How do you approach the recruitment of compliance professionals with a global perspective, especially considering the diverse regulatory environments across different regions in the financial services industry?
In broad Compliance, if you have strong Sector experience, you can move countries or assume global responsibilities from, for example, a London base especially if moving to counties where English and/or the English legal system dominate, places such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Australasia, and even more so Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar where the rulebooks were set up as a mirror image to the UK regulatory system.
In AML and financial crime, it’s even easier as the rules within sectors are the same, whilst the majority of regulations also apply across the world in the same way.
However, for permanent moves (as opposed to secondments/transfers from within the same firm), visa restrictions may apply as will language requitements, as it might be easier to liaise with local regulators if the person speak their first language, whilst even professional translations of documents, emails, and other forms of communication can lose some of the nuances so common in regulation.
Can you share insights into successful strategies for retaining and developing compliance talent within the financial sector, given the competitive nature of the industry and the demand for skilled professionals?
Ensure those you want to keep are not just paid well but promoted when possible, which gives them more challenges and interest in their role, so they are less likely to look around, as well as to feel valued by their employer.
In the face of emerging risks and regulatory changes, how does your recruitment strategy adapt to ensure that the compliance team remains agile, well-equipped, and aligned with the evolving needs of the financial services sector?
Ensure the team has time to study proposed new regulations and developing areas of financial services that may affect your firm, for example, crypto. This can be studying available materials online and offline, formal training and qualifications in specific areas, or attending conferences and events.
David Symes qualified as an Accountant with a City firm then moved to Credit Agricole in Audit. In 1988 when the first Financial Services Act came into force, he joined the Guardian Royal Exchange (a FTSE 100 Insurance Group, now part of AXA) to help set up their first Compliance Department as Deputy Head of Group Compliance, also in charge of Fund Management and later all Regulated Insurance activities. In 1994 he moved into recruitment, setting up Compliance Recruitment Solutions in 1996 and also working as a Fund Management Compliance Consultant, as well as assisting various UK organisations on Compliance issues.
He writes technical articles on Compliance in both Financial Services and other sectors, has spoken on this subject at UK and International conferences, and has twice been a studio guest on LBC Radio. He is a past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants London Region and still chairs their Compliance Group, as well as helping run other Compliance bodies (and was Chair of ACAMS UK Chapter 2013-17).
