In many organizations, the role of the chief ethics and compliance officer (CECO)1 is taking on greater importance as he or she guides the enterprise beyond traditional concepts of being the compliance “cop” to being a champion of corporate values, culture, and ethics. This requires that the CECO be an integrated role in the organization’s proactive governance, risk and compliance (GRC) capabilities. Today’s CECO must have a full understanding of the ethical, regulatory, and cultural risks the company faces, how they relate to each other, as well as how they fit into broader enterprise risk strategies. He or she must be able to rely on well managed cultural, compliance, and ethical risk management and governance processes to provide assurance that ethics and compliance efforts are appropriate to meet obligations. Today’s CECO must help lead the organization to higher levels of performance while assuring the board and other stakeholders that the company can both maintain Principled Performance2 and take full advantage of opportunities that will meet its objectives while being compliant with the boundaries set by laws, regulations, contractual, and corporate social commitments.
As a key player at the center of the strategic team of the enterprise, the CECO must keep in mind and address wide-ranging stakeholder demands and concerns:
- The desire to move compliance from being the corporate cop to the champion of values, ethics, and culture within the organization
- Key external stakeholder (investors, regulators, NGOs, local communities) demand for transparency and evidence of an effective compliance and ethics program
- Board and C-suite need for clear and reliable information about ethics, culture, and regulatory risks that will drive strategic decisions and future outcomes
- Compliance executive need to allocate limited resources to minimize exposure to significant compliance and ethical risks
- Line executive need for policy communications, training, surveys, risk and compliance assessments that do not disrupt operations, have coordinated schedules and content
- An overarching need for improved efficiencies and reduced risks throughout the extended enterprise that align business relationships with the organization’s values and code of conduct
And all the while, the CECO must embrace a strategic view that satisfies the demands of all these competing forces while keeping an eye on the prize — meeting the organizational objectives for value.
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