There can be a real and demonstrative positive value to compliance and many regulators actually acknowledge that positive value. For example, when implementing rule 206(4)-7, the SEC stated quote," We expect that fund investors advisory clients, funds, and advisers will benefit from the new rules. Commentators generally agreed that comprehensive compliance programs are beneficial." The SEC went on to state that it will among other things, diminish the likelihood of securities violations, provide important investor protection benefits and enhance the efficiency of funds and advisers' operations. Obviously, a good compliance culture limits potential liability, whether through intentional violations or even negligent ones. But separately, a good culture and a good compliance program as part of that culture really just makes sense. A good compliance program actually promotes good business. Compliance enforces a type of discipline and stewardship that helps move an organization towards its goals. It can similarly make an organization more efficient. Marvin Bower, a leader of McKinsey and Company and considered by many to be the father of modern management consulting said quote, "A business of high principle generates greater drive and effectiveness because people know they can do the right thing decisively and with confidence. They know that any action that is even slightly unprincipled will be generally condemned." Quite frankly, employees feel better about working at a company that is perceived to be compliant. Some people believe that happy employees and employees who just generally feel good about the environment they work in are better employees, more productive employees and sort of hard to argue with that. But empirically, creating this type of positive atmosphere will likely result in lower employee turnover. I suspect there's a direct correlation between companies that are perceived to have an excellent compliance environment and the tenure of people in their senior ranks. Compliance generally gets done, and gets done well when people know their own organization. When policies are written, reviewed and updated, it gives people an opportunity to reconsider how they are addressing certain issues. As a result, it helps discover inefficiencies as well as opportunities. Conversely, a company that has a substandard compliance policy and procedure or an entire subpar compliance program or worse, a questionable culture can't function well. In the end, it will affect the quality, creativity and efficiency of almost all the employees. It makes it that much harder to achieve the company's goals. Imagine for example, that you worked at a place that was regularly accused of violating laws, rules or regulations. Imagine that every few weeks or days there was a press report about an investigation involving your accompany or report about another person, another colleague, who was put on leave or worse arrested. Now, you might think that's an exaggeration or that I'm just making this up, but it actually has happened and far more frequently than you would think. How do you think the employees were performing in their jobs after that? Probably not very well if they were constantly looking over their shoulders or uncertain if the company would even be around the next day when they got to work. Externally, the value of compliance presents itself by potentially attracting new customers or new clients and by retaining the ones that it has as well. A good compliance program can be a competitive advantage in the marketplace. If your compliance program addresses privacy, data protection, business continuity and cybersecurity for example, you're clearly going to be more attractive than companies that are not. If your compliance program regularly reviews and updates its policies and procedures to be compliant with new or proposed banking regulations, then I imagine, they're going to be more clients willing to trust their money with you than if you were not. Now, it might sound like an oversimplification, but good compliance is good business and good business is good compliance.
