“Compliance is not anymore a checklist of regulatory obligations or a list of rigid rules and procedures to adopt, but rather a corporate culture which is built on Ethos,” stated Marios M. Skandalis, Chairman at the 2nd International Compliance Forum on October 14.
“Its effectiveness is measured not in terms of the degree of conformity to the vast amount of regulatory frameworks in place today, but rather on the degree of integrity and transparency that corporations practically adopt,” he added.
“We all know about the importance of adopting a risk based approach in compliance rather than a rules-based approach. But how can this be possible if we still create and adopt “Regulatory Compliance Programmes” with prescribed rules and procedures rather than “Ethics Programmes” with emphasis on values and on doing things right? The choice we need to make is not just to decide on the title of our programme but rather on the attitude that we commit to demonstrate,” Marios Skandalis said.
He further mentioned that it is the obligation of the Compliance Officer to initiate all actions necessary to ensure consistency and alignment of his/her objectives with the Board prior to building and implementing any Compliance program.
According to Skandalis, “the real quality of an ethical compliance framework is measured and assessed simply on the basis of results recorded and behavioural patterns.”
He concluded by giving special thanks to the organisers of the event, IMH and Gold Magazine. The Forum is presented by Bank of Cyprus and sponsored by PwC Cyprus, Hellenic Technical Enterprises Ltd and Infocredit Group. Communications Sponsors of the event are Accountancy Cyprus, Reporter Online and IN Business magazine.
Marios M. Skandalis is FCCA, CFC, CFE, MICA Director, Group Compliance Division, Bank of Cyprus Group, Vice-President, ICPAC Executive Vice-Chairman, Transparency International (Cyprus).
