Compliance Manager Operates as an Independent Office

Compliance Manager operates as an independent office within the corporation. This means that the compliance manager does not work under any of the management personnel. The reason for this is that the compliance manager must be able to maintain independent oversight of all levels within the company. The only way to achieve that is through full independence of the compliance manager. Compliance managers of individual firms are given oversight by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

A "governance culture" can refer to a culture that places primacy on good governance as a means of doing business. The underlying view of this culture is that good governance provides investors the security that they need to feel comfortable investing their money. This will attract more investors, and more capital into the banking system. The world's largest and most robust banking systems all feature a culture of governance, and those that have been troubled by corruption scandals or needed government bailouts represent banking systems that lack a culture of governance.

The DFSA "expects all regulated DIFC participants to evidence a strong compliance culture," and underscores the point that there needs to be recognition that such a culture that its best interests lie in meeting or exceeding written standards of compliance (DFSA, 2013). When the governance culture develops fully, the organizations will be capable of self-governing through this culture, which should result in little interference or enforcement from the oversight body.

3. Corporate governance occurs at a number of different levels. The first is at the regulatory oversight level. This is the level where the DFSA is, a government-sponsored oversight body that sets out basic rules of governance and has enforcement mechanisms. The government grants the DFSA the authority to conduct audits of different financial services firms, and to apply control mechanisms if there are violations that are found. This regulatory level, however, is the final level of checks against poor governance. Most of the work of corporate governance occurs at the firm level.

Formally, the compliance officer of a given firm has the charge of ensuring that the firm's codes and practices meet acceptable standards of corporate governance. The compliance office serves much the same enforcement role of FSHA, but in an internal capacity. The compliance office will often design specific governance policies as well. Another formal level of corporate governance is with the executives and board of a company. These senior officers have special powers to do two things -- make rules and establish culture. The ability to make rules -- often in conjunction with the compliance officer -- sets the internal legal framework for compliance. The culture of compliance is a trickier notion to master. Certainly, if there are governance lapses among the senior officers or board members, then that culture can be expected to trickle down. However, if the words and deeds of the senior officers and board send a strong message about governance, and that message is backed by their policies, then the company is more likely to have a strong governance culture.

Lastly, the governance culture must exist throughout the organization. Taking the lead from the senior officers and the company's compliance officer, the lower level employees must also contribute to the creation of a governance culture. If the culture is permeated throughout the organization, it is more likely to succeed in the long run.

4. Sustainability of the business is the result of a number of factors, and the culture of governance is an important one. The governance culture promotes sustainability because it allows the organization to avoid major financial catastrophe. The examples from America where there were major governance problems highlight that even bankruptcy is possible if a firm loses sight of its governance.