Organisations that intend to be sustainably successful need to maintain a culture of compliance and integrity, and take into consideration the needs and expectations of stakeholders (ISO 19600:2014). Compliance and integrity are therefore not only the basis, but also an opportunity, for a sustainable and successful organisation. An effective enterprise-wide compliance management system enables an organisation to demonstrate its commitment to compliance with applicable laws, regulations, rules, industry and organisational codes and standards, as well as standards of sound corporate governance best practices, ethics and stakeholders’ expectations.

Effective compliance management means meeting your compliance obligations and protecting your organisation from damage or loss.  From a regulatory standpoint, compliance and the compliance function are crucially important in any organisation. This is even more so in financial institutions. Since the harrowing experience of the 2008 global financial crisis, compliance has become a core area of focus for every type of institutions, big or small. Compliance functions are expected to have robust and comprehensive compliance related policies, manuals, standards, frameworks, charters, codes, rules and procedures, as well as assessment and monitoring tools that would help them effectively manage their compliance risks. The compliance function is also expected to develop, on an annual basis, a risk-based compliance programme containing the details of all compliance activities planned for the year. The cost implications of non-compliance in terms of financial, legal, regulatory or reputation is so high that every organisation wants to fall in line.

It is important to state that compliance is not just about anti-money laundering, neither is it simply about conduct risk. It is also not restricted to regulatory engagements. There is a full-range approach to compliance that pay due attention to the multi-dimensional facets of compliance, including, but not limited to, compliance governance, compliance management system, conduct risk (conflicts of interest, outside business interest, personal account dealing, market abuse, market conduct, confidential information and confidential information handling, gifts and entertainment, insider related transactions, Chinese walls/information barriers, watch and restricted list management, embargoed employees management, whistle-blowing, customer complaints, anti-bribery and corruption, code of conduct and ethics and anti-competition), sanctions (individuals, entities and/or countries), AML/CFT, KYC (CDD, EDD), rendition of returns, proactive engagements with regulators and law enforcement/investigative agencies, compliance risk assessment (CRMPs), compliance monitoring reviews, compliance self-review/evaluation, compliance documentation drafting, sustainability, environmental and social risk, conflicts control room (deal/conflicts clearing, watch and restricted list management), research compliance and compliance audit.

LeishTon can work with you to develop robust and top-notch compliance related policies, manuals, standards, frameworks, charters and procedures to enable you embed compliance culture in your organisation and in the behaviour and attitude of the employees. We also have the expertise to review your compliance activities and the Compliance function. Key compliance documentation LeishTon can work with you to deliver include:

  Compliance Policy

  Compliance Charter

  Compliance Framework

  Compliance Standards

  Compliance Manual

  Conflicts of Interest Policy

  Chinese Walls Policy

  Watch & Restricted List Policy

  Whistle-blowing Policy

  Code of Conduct and Ethics

  Code of Corporate Governance

  Corporate Governance Manual

  Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy

  Complaints Management Policy

  Best Execution Policy

  Risk-Based Compliance Programme

  Compliance Risk Management Plans (CRMPs)

  Compliance Risk Monitoring and Review Plans (RMRPs)

  Sanctions Policy

  Gifts and Entertainment Policy

  Outside Business Interest Policy

  Confidential Information Policy

  Market Conduct Policy

  Personal Account Trading/Dealing Policy

  Investment Research Policy

  Investment Research Manual

  Investment Research Standards