Too often, compliance professionals do their jobs only to receive a pink slip at the end. Panelists at Compliance Week’s 20th Anniversary National Conference in Washington, D.C. this week said compliance professionals need regular access and reporting lines to CEOs and boards of directors, and to feel free to speak truth to power.

Ian Sherr, Compliance Week’s Editor-in-Chief, is a widely published journalist who has covered business, politics, and policy for outlets including CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and CNET.