MyComplianceOffice Blog

“Remember - NO TWO-TIMING - NO MOONLIGHTING”, reads a recent email from Infosys to its employees. The communication stresses the clauses of Infosys employment contracts, which restrict its employees from taking up secondary employment.

It’s been just about a year since the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) issued the Dear CEO letter Thematic findings on the reliability of regulatory reporting, serving notice to firms that the agency has seen “a historic lack of focus, prioritisation, and investment in this area.”

It’s not a new problem but the letter has brought it into sharp relief. One year on, where are firms regarding the expectations around regulatory reporting and governance set out in the letter?

Competing priorities for compliance departments today include tight budgets, challenges hiring and retaining skilled professionals, the continuing impact of COVID 19 and remote and hybrid work—all while maintaining a culture of compliance in the midst of everything else.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released the staff bulletin Standards of Conduct for Broker-Dealers and Investment Adviser Conflicts of Interest to reiterate the required standards and obligations for broker-dealers under Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and for investment advisers the fiduciary duty standards under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The modern workplace has undergone a significant evolution in recent years. The pandemic has changed employee priorities and organisations’ attitudes towards remote and hybrid work environments. These changes have also brought a greater acceptance of workplace flexibility - from both employer and employee perspectives. However, there are also new challenges.