| Building
a Career in Compliance and Ethics: Find Your Place in the Business
World’s Hottest New Field
By
Joseph E. Murphy and Joshua H. Leet
Published
by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics; 198 pages;
hardcover, $34.95; ISBN: 978-0979221026
Reviewed
by Paul E. Zikmund
DECEMBER 2007
- Building a Career in Compliance and Ethics is an excellent
read. In the beginning chapters, the authors provide thorough background
information on why and how interested professionals can enter the
field of compliance. The authors’ explanation of why the demand
for compliance professionals continues to rise lays a solid foundation
for the rest of the book. I was impressed with his ability to define
not only the field of compliance but also the different titles of
compliance professionals and how these individuals fit into the
corporate structure.
The book
effectively provides insight into the skills, experience, and
education needed to be successful in this field. I particularly
enjoyed how the authors defined the compliance profession and
differentiated how this area has grown significantly as a result
of recent legislation. They even provide, in the appendices, an
overview of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which serves as
the foundation of all compliance programs.
One section
describes a day in the life of a compliance officer, which is
very helpful to someone unfamiliar with this field. It covers
the type of issues compliance professionals deal with on a daily
basis. Examples include sexual harassment claims, allegations
of fraud, environmental concerns, and anti-corruption training.
The discussion on these issues helps the reader obtain a thorough
understanding of what compliance professionals are responsible
for.
Although
the book contains significant materials for those wishing to learn
more about the compliance field, it may also be useful for someone
already practicing in this area, as there are many references
to other resource materials throughout the book.
The field
of compliance is quite large. The book does a great job of breaking
down the field into various segments and exploring ways in which
professionals can pursue many different types of compliance roles.
It further emphasizes the need for experienced professionals and
points to how readers can gain the requisite experience and education.
The authors describe a variety of career paths that an individual
can in the compliance profession. The analogy of how a person
can position oneself for future opportunities from the experience
gained as a compliance professional is excellent. Many compliance
professionals express concern about hitting a glass ceiling, but
the authors describe effective methods to go beyond compliance
in any company.
Two chapters
discuss compliance opportunities for lawyers and privacy and data
protection. These chapters provide interesting insight into how
individuals can transition form their current career paths to
a career in compliance. Many compliance positions include legal
or data protection responsibilities, so it is important to have
a strong background in one or both areas to be considered for
a position.
Perhaps the
most interesting section focuses on the real-life experiences
of compliance professionals in the field: One section contains
five interviews with professionals ranging from compliance counsels
to law professors. Each person describes their current job responsibilities
and provides insight into how and why they entered the field.
Additionally, the interviewees describe the type of experience
and education that are relevant to compliance roles. Understanding
what others believe to be important qualities in the field can
help newcomers become successful.
As the field
continues to grow, more college courses have been developed to
educate compliance professionals, and the book provides an excellent
overview. It also includes a comprehensive model curriculum for
a compliance and ethics course. The authors discuss organizations
that offer compliance-related certifications and training, and
notes additional resources that would interest to readers pursuing
further training. This section serves as an excellent reference
for compliance professionals, as well as those interested in entering
the profession.
There is
a chapter dedicated to selling compliance services. One difficulty
of building a compliance program is obtaining buy-in and support
from senior management. The compliance area, similar to security
and fraud prevention, is sometimes viewed as a cost center, and
it is difficult for professionals to effectively define the return
on investment. Selling such services requires gaining the support
from senior management to build a robust compliance program. The
authors provide sales tips such as “protecting the brand
and company reputation” as a way for professionals to better
market their compliance services. The book also provides useful
hints to help professionals analyze their audience and design
an effective sales approach to use during discussions with senior
management.
Overall,
Building a Career in Compliance and Ethics is a great
resource for compliance professionals and those considering a
transition into the field. I highly recommend this book to anyone
interested in learning more about careers in compliance, as well
as to those currently in the field.
Paul
E. Zikmund, CFE, CFD, is a principal, enterprise risk management/fraud
and forensic services, at Solomon-
EdwardsGroup LLC, Wayne, Pa.
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