Compliance Officers Take Their Own Path

Compliance officers today are more prominent than at any time in the history of the function. Historically, compliance was addressed by the general counsel’s office, because the function arose from adhering to laws and regulations. But chief compliance officers (CCOs) are now becoming more visible and detached from the general counsel’s office, in part, to establish the role’s integrity with regulators. With this growing independence, many compliance officers in the post-Sarbanes- Oxley era have legal backgrounds. Compliance officers who are specifically trained to interpret and apply laws and regulations are becoming attractive corporate assets and an added measure toward preventing company wrongdoing.