The Wine Cache

Chief Compliance Officers have a lot on their plate in today's business world. An April 2010 report published by Corporate Compliance Insights brought out the fact that the chief compliance officers in many corporations are the most important figure in the company. Some CCOs are on the same level as the Chief Executive Officer. That is certainly true in the financial services industry, according to Helane Morrison, the Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Director of Hall Capital Partners in San Francisco.

Morrison thinks compliance officers are actually legal as well as ethical experts that develop risk mitigation strategies as well as make improvements or develop new controls. Some of those controls are: New policy enforcement, review, and authorization protocols, reengineered workflows, system controls, and employee training. In order to maintain those controls, the CCO must collaborate with risk, finance, legal and information technology divisions of the company. Morrison also thinks the human resource and employee service departments play a role in managing the controls set by the CCO. Communication is the key ingredient for success, according to Morrison. Helane said chief compliance officers must be able to navigate through the shifting landscape of the corporate world and have a cohesive plan that offers solutions if a crisis develops.

As the regional director of the Security and Exchange Commission, Helane Morrison dealt with a fair share of compliance violations. Morrison was responsible for enforcing Security and Exchange regulations, and in her five state district, that wasn't easy. Her legal expertise also came into play while she was employed by the SEC. She still maintains her partnership with the San Francisco law firm, Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin. In her role as Managing Director of Hall Capital Partners she oversees the financial investments as well as work with clients that need information about the changes that have developed in the investment world.

There is no doubt that the role of compliance officers has changed and will continue to change. There is talk in Washington that new regulations will take effect once the election is over. Morrison is not predicting the winner of the race for president, but because of popular opinion about hedge funds, and how they operate, there will be new regulations that change the way hedge funds invest and the amount of money they pay in taxes. No one knows better than Helane Morrison how quickly things can change in the investment industry.