A compliance officer is responsible for overseeing an organization’s compliance with government laws and regulations. Their duties include coordinating with company management to identify potential risks, implementing policies and procedures to uphold laws and regulations and monitoring the company’s adherence to those policies and procedures.

If you feel like this might be an opportunity for you, you need to have integrity, connect with people, be an effective problem-solver, be detail-oriented and able to interpret data.

A compliance officer’s responsibilities primarily involve identifying and eliminating risks of non-compliance, both externally and internally. They develop internal company policies and ensure that they are respected. They make sure the organization has a clearly defined program for complying with the country’s laws. A compliance officer continually reports to management concerning the organization’s compliance with laws and regulations.

In addition, a compliance officer deals with non-compliance situations, creating realistic plans to overcome them. They also conduct regular audits to identify potential weaknesses and non-compliance situations. Finally, they communicate with employees to ensure everyone knows what they need to do to comply with internal and external laws and regulations.

Compliance officers must have strong knowledge of federal and state regulatory guidelines and standards and need to monitor accounting and regulatory guidelines as they relate to financial reporting and documentation.

Many compliance officers have a bachelor’s degree in business or environmental science; plus up to a year of experience in regulatory compliance work. Depending on the field, many employers also value a master’s degree in business administration or an in-demand certification such as the CPA credential.