Hi Alan:
> Two questions, does the group see a time when we have a VP Compliance on
> level terms with VP Finance, VP Marketing etc, or is this already
> happening in the US.
No. And not likely to happen in companies with ordinary
products.
As a general rule, "compliance" is seen as a necessary
evil. It is a cost without an associated revenue (or
customer-recognized need or benefit). Few companies
want to give VP status (and an empire) to a non-revenue-
generating function.
Many companies measure the product incremental cost for
"compliance." The objective is to find methods and means
for minimizing these product costs.
Furthermore, few companies recognize the work of "compliance"
folks as prevention of future unanticipated costs such as
failure of sales due to non-compliance, product liability,
or even product recalls. The reason the work is not
recognized is the difficulty of measuring the future cost of
non-compliance, especially if the company has never had such
an incident.
> Second Question. Does the group think a formal qualification in
> Compliance Management & CE Marking would be a good idea.
While we may think this is a good idea, most professional
managers in the field of compliance consider the job as one
interim step in their career. If "compliance" is a non-
revenue-generating activity, then the step to personal
growth is to measure the cost of compliance for the duration
of one's leadership, and add this to one's CV. Then, move
on.
Candidates for compliance management might find courses
useful. However, the value of such qualifications is not
for the long term.
Another problem is that upper management doesn't want to be
told that they are restricted by compliance rules insofar as
setting objectives for the products and the company. They
certainly don't want to feel that the only management folks
qualified for managing a compliance function are those that
are trained and qualified in compliance management.
Formal qualification in compliance management may be seen by
upper management as a power play where the compliance
manager uses his knowledge to gain some degree of control
over other managers.
If "formal qualification" in compliance management is
principally that of methodology for measuring and reducing
cost of compliance, then I would think this would be a
very good idea.
Best regards,
Rich
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