Opinion | Compliance Week
Columns and insights written by Compliance Week editorial staff or outside contributors.
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OpinionAgentic AI and the policy blind spot: Why security can’t wait
The current AI policy and regulation landscape is still emerging globally. While some regulations and standards exist, governments, industry, and security leaders have critical gaps to close, especially around agentic artificial intelligence.
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OpinionThe CFO, AI, and the New Compliance Frontier
As CFOs use AI to streamline operations, they face new compliance risks tied to accountability and algorithmic governance. CCOs must work with them to ensure transparency and oversight throughout adoption.
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OpinionThe Compliance - Audit gap in ESG and financial reporting
ESG reporting has moved from a voluntary PR exercise to an expectation for regulators and investors, but the compliance audit gap now threatens credibility.
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OpinionBeyond the Binder: Policy governance in practice
Most compliance professionals have faced it: a regulator or client requests a policy, and several slightly different “final” versions appear. The issue often stems from reactive, siloed work without a unified governance framework.
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OpinionWhat compliance can learn from a 95 percent AI pilot failure rate
Compliance professionals have long known that systems fail when governance does. An MIT study’s finding that 95 percent of enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) pilots fail underscores how essential compliance-grade discipline is to the success of emerging technologies.
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OpinionRisk-Based AML only works if the C-suite agrees what ‘risk’ means
Banks emphasize risk-based compliance in their AML programs, citing it to regulators and embedding it in policy, yet many institutions still handle risk very differently in practice.
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OpinionEvidentiary Debt: The blind spot liability
On a gray Tuesday morning, the audit seemed routine. A stack of binders sat on the table, the compliance officer was confident, and the regulator’s tone was cordial. Then came the question that changed everything.
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OpinionTracing Illicit Crypto: How to leverage blockchain analytics for effective AML compliance
Cryptocurrency’s transparency can be exploited for laundering, ransomware, and darknet activity. Blockchain analytics helps trace funds and flag suspicious behavior.
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OpinionKristy Grant-Hart: Why I Chose to Be a Compliance and Ethics Officer
When people ask me why I chose to be a compliance and ethics officer, my answer is simple: because what we do changes the world.
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OpinionJennifer Newton: How you start is how you finish. Leading with integrity in uncertain times
In today’s world, the role of a compliance officer feels more important than ever. Political rhetoric is at an all-time high, trust in institutions is declining, and there is a growing pushback against values we once thought were non-negotiable.
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OpinionRezaul Karim: What the compliance profession means to me
When I look back on my career as a compliance officer, I often have mixed feelings. Of course, neither is it a glamorous job, nor is it always well understood by those outside of this profession, but it is an extremely important profession nowadays. On National Compliance Officer Day, I ...
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OpinionLisa Johnson: What the compliance profession means to me
After completing law school, I accepted a role in the Hearings group with the Nasdaq Stock Market. I did not have any previous experience or desire to enter the financial services industry, but was fascinated by the regulatory body and its goal to protect individual investor interests.
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OpinionJacquelyn Pruet: Compliance of the future—A value driver, not a cost center
No budgets. No resources. Some of the worst issues our companies have to offer. Executives expecting miracles. Employees afraid to come to us. We are both the police and the shield, the answer everyone needs, and yet often given nothing to answer with.
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OpinionTaneesha Routier: Compliance en blanc
I liken my career in compliance to the movie and international social staple known as “Le Diner En Blanc.”
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OpinionCarrie Penman: Putting the “E” back in ethics and compliance
When I first stepped into this profession, my title was not “Chief Compliance Officer.” It was “Ethics Officer.” At Westinghouse, I was tasked with launching a program that, at the time, felt experimental: a global, enterprise-wide ethics initiative built not on rules, but on values. I traded in my career ...
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OpinionAlishia Farr: Building a culture of compliance
For me, being a compliance professional is not about checking boxes or reacting only when issues evolve, it’s about building and sustaining a culture. At its core, compliance is about honesty, courage, and standing firm in the moment, even when it’s uncomfortable or difficult.
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OpinionNational Compliance Officer Day 2025 - What does the job mean to you?
Compliance officers do not have easy jobs. They’ve got to navigate ever-changing regulations, follow trends in their own industry and other parts of the world, while also managing the internal culture of their organizations. It’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of pressure.
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OpinionDecision Debt: The silent crisis undermining compliance and governance
Decision debt is the practice of leaving key compliance decisions unresolved, and it is a crisis few compliance leaders are willing to name. Some of the world’s largest financial institutions, including Wells Fargo and Citibank, have learned this lesson the hard way.
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OpinionAI adoption without trust: A call for compliance professionals
Employees are adopting AI faster than companies can build policies, governance, and training. That gap creates compliance exposure in areas from data privacy to shadow IT to workplace equity.
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OpinionA friend for the compliance officer: Co-thinking with AI
At their core, compliance officers are problem-solvers. They wrestle with thorny questions every day: How do we implement a global gifts-and-entertainment policy across jurisdictions with vastly different cultural norms? How do we balance business pressures with anti-corruption obligations? How do we address new risks like AI itself?