In-house counsel know how important compliance is. But many of them say they have a hard time enforcing it within their companies.
According to industry events company Consero Group’s 2012 Chief Compliance Officer Data Survey, nearly half of compliance officers say they lack sufficient resources to manage an effective compliance program. Fifty-five percent of the attendees said company programs that intend to raise employees’ ethical behavior don’t actually help minimize corporate risk.
“You can invest in training, you can invest in research to understand what the rules are,” Consero CEO Paul Mandell told the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. “But if you get caught trying to bribe a port official to try and get the company’s product in faster, and there is no punishment. … It’s a much tougher challenge to get people to take the compliance job seriously.”
On the plus side, compliance officers are well-compensated for their work. Consero’s survey notes that chief compliance officers’ pay is on par with other C-level executives’ pay, with salaries ranging from $150,000 to $250,000.
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