Where is the love France?

So, I’ve just moved to Paris from New Zealand. I came for the baguettes and the boys, and the beautiful culture of course. To maximise my exposure to the latter and to be able to afford the former, I decided to get a job. I am super lucky to have great friends in Paris who have been great at helping me make the adjustment. Their first question for me, “what kind of job do you want?” My response, “preferably one in compliance.” Awkward, nervous laughter ensues until they realise I am serious. “Ahhhh, compliance…”

I have been working in compliance within the public sector in New Zealand for the past 2.5 years. While it certainly isn’t a sexy profession back home and people generally don’t want to sit around talking policy, processes and systems all day and night, the word compliance doesn’t have nearly the same negative reputation as it does in France. Asking around, it would appear that compliance in France is synonymous with paperwork and financial institutions. It’s that thing you do once a month, where people come in and tell you that you’re not going to jail. It is Pandora’s box of processes and pain. So, what’s the deal?

As the job hunt continues, I have decided to spend my time writing about compliance in France and New Zealand. The topics will be mostly influenced by whatever I am doing, looking at, or learning about at the time. No doubt it will be somewhat biased, as I have been working in New Zealand so am familiar with a number of the laws and regulations there. I also struggle translating French menus, let alone French legislation, so certain subtleties and key points may be missed. Nonetheless, there are lessons to be learned and the good name of compliance to be restored so “on y va!”

What is this mythical beast they call… “compliance”?

I’m not going to lie. When I applied for a role as a compliance advisor, I had no idea what the term “compliance” actually meant. For most, compliance is a mythical beast that, as it grows in importance within both the public and private sector, gets thrown around very casually without much explanation. That’s probably because it has such a broad definition. Compliance is a set of actions taken to by an agency or business to comply with the laws, regulations and other applicable requirements or standards that apply to them. It may also encompass steps taken to meet voluntary commitments made by that agency or business reflective of values or ethics. Like I said, she’s a beast!

Those working in compliance are employed to understand the regulatory environment of the agency or business they are working for. They look at the laws, regulations and standards that apply and consider what actions need to be taken to comply. I typically describe this to people as an exercise of translation and common sense. How many people sit around reading the law? Not many, unless paid to do so. Compliance advisors, often being lawyers or working with lawyers, will read the law and translate it into plain and simple terms or rules. They then consider the best ways to ensure that everyone plays by those rules through the development of policy, processes or systems. These are then tested regularly to ensure they are working as they were designed to, so that people and businesses are protected from liability stemming from non-compliance.

Sounds boring? It isn’t! Compliance requires you to think objectively. For example, how do we assess “necessity” and “proportionality” when considering the protection of personal data? Where do we draw the line and is there sound justification for this? Compliance requires skills in problem-solving. If we do X and Y we will be compliant with Z but what impact will this have on the business? Are there other ways to meet these requirements? Compliance requires skills in asking questions and assessing the root-cause of issues. Something has gone wrong, but why? Was it due to lack of understanding, poor policy and process, a malfunctioning system, inadequate training, or a little bit of everything? Importantly, compliance requires skills in communications and relationship building. Compliance needs to be relevant and straightforward, so that employees and customers know why they are being asked to do something. Compliance as an exercise of power or tyranny doesn’t work!

So, where next?

I am going to continue on this journey to compare compliance systems in France and New Zealand, looking at a different topic or area in each article. The goal is to shed some light on the differences between the two countries and perhaps some potential learnings, as opposed to an exercise of criticism and shameless promotion of New Zealand (although, it is a pretty great place to live and do business, just saying!) Topics that have kept me up late at night:

· Banking Regulations — just why France? Seriously, why?

· Privacy — What learnings can NZ take away to be GDPR ready?

· Corruption and Transparency — NZ (and Denmark) are no.1 in this space, France is no. 23. What’s the deal?

Watch this space for musings on compliance from a Kiwi based in France.