Financial crimes compliance can be a daunting exercise. With a constant evolving regulatory landscape as well as increasing pressures from examiners, auditors and industry expectations, it is often difficult for firms to find the right balance between the cost of managing risk to that of operational efficiency and ultimate profitability of the firm. This has resulted in many firms experiencing a sustained increase to the cost of operating their compliance programs as their programs have not been able to readily evolve and adapt, becoming inefficient and requiring increased manpower to maintain. To this end, much of the industry has labelled compliance as a cost center and is frequently one of the first areas challenged to reduce cost and headcount, which if not done in a considerate manner can put the firm in a precarious position.

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In order to legally operate, a firm needs to be compliant with the rules and regulations within the jurisdictions and markets it conducts business. Due to this, there is a mandatory cost associated with compliance, that should be proportional to size, risk, and complexity of the firm's operations. As a result, if a firm adopts an agile and sustainable approach to compliance, they can treat compliance as a cost containment center and not a just a cost center. Cost containment is the practice of maintaining costs to realistic and required levels to prevent unnecessary spending, or thoughtfully reducing expenses to improve profitability without long-term damage to the firm.

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The reality is, large parts of compliance do not need to be complex. The secret to effective compliance is simple solutions that can be realistically executed. Effective compliance is best achieved if you have the right skills and knowledge within the firm. BC Compliance can help the firm on this journey by imparting knowledge skills through educational programs and advisory services.