MACO is to become the recognised standard-setting body for the accreditation, certification and qualification of knowledge, skills and competences of Compliance Officers serving in the Maltese financial services sector. It will also act as a single professional industry voice on matters
related to compliance in Malta.
MACO Values are as follow:
Awareness
Issue papers of interest from time to time such as for example on the Role of Compliance Officers in FinServ in Malta
Communication
Upkeep of online forum for members. Open platform for third party training activities.
Education
Update circular to members. Training events (for members and non-members) in collaboration with sponsors.
Presence
Issue of position papers/reactions to proposed legislation/regulation. Social events.
Recognition
MoU with MFSA and MITC. Networking with sister Organisations and Associations. Sponsorship
Membership of MACO will provide you with a wide range of tools and resources to help you achieve your professional goals.
Learn more
The mission of MACO is to create professional education and knowledge standards for Compliance Officers serving in the Maltese financial services sector, enrich the professional culture and enhance both Maltese and international relations and alliances.
MACO Mission Statement
Insight News
May 13, 2019
Published by International Compliance Association at May 13, 2019
Categories
#LearningAtWorkWeek - Shaping the Future Contents: Are you a T-shaped Compliance Professional? Coming soon- Stimulating curiosity 7 How experiences help in the future [Infographic] Hear from the experts [Video] Are you a T-shaped Compliance Professional? There are a lot of learning theories out there. This one caught my eye, and given that it’s Learning At Work Week, it seemed a good place for us to start as it contextualises a lot of what will follow over the course of the week. Let’s apply this theory to the modern Compliance Professional. The Compliance Professional is often categorised into two areas. This is often a product of experience, career development and size of firm. The Specialist If you are a Specialist, you are likely to be described as ‘I’ shaped. So – what does this mean in practice? Essentially, it means you have a great depth of knowledge and experience, but in a focused area (great depth, limited breadth). Maybe you are a Sanctions subject matter expert. You know the topic inside out. You possibly undertake advisory or assurance within your firm and have input into the particular governance framework. However – we know that financial crime tends not to occur in neat silos. Are you as confident in anti money laundering (AML), or bribery and corruption risk? Probably not. We can’t all be specialists in everything but when it comes to Sanctions, you’re front and centre. The Generalist The second type is the Generalist. The Generalist is the opposite of the Specialist, the horizontal, whereas the Specialist is the vertical. Generalists have a good understanding of a variety of technical areas but are perhaps ‘experts’ in none. They are the breadth to the Specialists depth. Generalists tend to get involved in a variety of projects, give a view to enable decisions and assist the business in thinking about risk and opportunity. As effective Compliance Professionals, they should be high on the list of people who are asked to get involved: “You know, for this product development meeting – has anyone invited Simone from Compliance? She always has good ideas…” What if we mix the two? The answer is that we get the T-shaped Compliance Professional. This T-shaped theory came from the technology world originally (programming and suchlike). But it seems to me to apply really well to the Compliance environment. It looks like this: Essentially, this is a combination of the two approaches. ICA are increasingly seeing this T shape being adopted in larger firms, and learning solutions are being developed to accommodate this. The reason is agility. This adds value to the firm and to your own career. It broadens the scope of activities within which you can get involved and also enhances your professional reputation. You can become both of the personas identified above. It also breaks down silos. By embracing the T-shaped approach and gaining the resultant agility, Sanctions SMEs, for example, can also look for money laundering indicators from a position of confidence. Ultimately, we move towards a more holistic compliance risk framework, and everyone wins. Don’t Forget Soft Skills The skills of the Compliance Professional are something we talk about a lot at the International Compliance Association (ICA), particularly in terms of the evolution of the role. Technical knowledge, as outlined above, will always be crucial. But it’s recognised that technical knowledge on its own is often not enough to have a positive impact in a firm. This was a topic that was debated in the panel session at our London Conference in April. As Paul Asare-Archer, Fellow of the ICA and Director of Compliance at O2 said; “Having strong emotional intelligence and being a great stakeholder manager is key to making sure compliance isn’t marginalised in the business”. Influencing, communicating, relationship building – all these are key to the modern professional. Can these be slotted in to the learning model? Indeed, they can. The Shape of the Future If the role is evolving and the skills are evolving, then is the shape evolving? It seems that it may be. Having asked at the outset of this piece whether you are a T-shaped Compliance Professional, maybe the shape for the future is now this: Whatever the shape ultimately is, the key is that the role of the Compliance Professional continues to evolve. Not everyone is at the same stage, not everyone needs to be at the same stage. But your development is in your hands. Get more technical knowledge, enhance your soft skills. Make the most of Learning at Work Week and keep learning. Don’t forget - ICA members can access a variety of learning resources through the ICA CPD Centre.
April 29, 2019
Published by Holly Whitehead at April 29, 2019
Categories
Click to enlarge image: You may also like: Compliance culture – What is the challenge? [Infographic included] What are the 6 benefits of studying for an ICA qualification? Meet an ICA member: Micaela Madureira This article forms part of the #BigCompConvo - Join us as we explore and debate the latest challenges and issues facing you and regulatory and financial crime compliance professionals all over the world. If you’d like to contribute an article as part of the Big Compliance Conversation get in touch with us at contributions@int-comp.org
April 25, 2019
Published by Holly Whitehead at April 25, 2019
Categories
Monetary Authority of Singapore details enforcement actions and key initiatives as it launches debut Enforcement Report On 20 March 2019, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published its inaugural Enforcement Report . This report – which will be published every 18 months – notes the MAS’ enforcement principles, and the enforcement actions taken by them, between July 2017 and December 2018, as well as the key initiatives the MAS has put in place to preserve Singapore’s reputation as a trusted financial centre. By doing so, this report hopes to provide greater accountability and transparency on the MAS’ enforcement outcomes and strategies. The report is broken down into five sections, which we will be exploring in further detail during the course of this blog. MAS’ enforcement principles Enforcement plays a vital role in financial supervision. The MAS itself has stated that ‘having an effective and robust enforcement function is a key priority’ and they are determined to deliver high standards in this regard. The report lays out the enforcement approach of the MAS as being shaped by the three principles of the MAS’ ‘enforcement philosophy’. These three principles are: early detection of misconduct and breaches of law effective deterrence shaping business and market conduct. Summary of key enforcement outcomes This section looks at the actions taken on breaches of MAS-administered Acts, Regulations and Notices from July 2017 to December 2018 and the average time taken for reviews and investigations by the MAS. Click to enlarge image: These results are due to the efforts of the Enforcement Department within the MAS – a dedicated branch of investigators established in 2016 to combat breaches of the MAS rules. You may be wondering why the financial penalties seem so low considering the fines handed to banks following the MAS’ probe in to the 1MDB scandal, however the majority of those fines were actually applied before July 2017 and therefore haven’t been included here. Click to enlarge image: Key areas of focus The MAS states in this section of the report that they focused on three key areas for enforcement: market abuse – conduct which disrupts genuine price discovery and undermines market integrity financial services misconduct – breaches or misconduct by licensed entities and representatives money laundering-related breaches – money laundering-related breaches by entities and individuals. For each key area, the report states the outstanding reviews and investigations by types of offences, discusses one or two ‘featured cases’ that the MAS investigated and the enforcement actions that stemmed from those, and examines the key initiatives that the MAS is taking to strengthen its enforcement approach. Let’s take a quick look at the key initiatives for each key area: Market abuse. The MAS is disrupting potential market misconduct through engaging brokers in order to safeguard the integrity of Singapore’s capital markets. By doing this, the MAS can minimise negative market impact from ongoing suspicious trading activities and support the third aim of their enforcement approach: shape business and market conduct. Interestingly, the MAS is also using an ‘Augmented Intelligence tool’ which they are calling ‘Project Apollo’. This data analysis technology helps enforcement officers assess and prioritise cases for investigation, reducing the time required to review each investigation lead from several days to just a few hours. Financial services misconduct. The MAS has embraced a proactive approach to detecting financial advisory misconduct. They are combining large data sets to identify potential misconduct cases using advanced rule-based analytics. This enables the early detection and investigation of offences, meaning that the MAS can allocate enforcement actions in a timely manner and better protect investors. Money laundering-related breaches. The MAS has employed data analytics to sharpen and intensify anti money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision. One example of this is the use of insights from the network analysis of information drawn from suspicious transaction reports (STRs). Key outcomes of using data analytics to enhance AML/CFT supervisory effectiveness include sharpened supervision and enhanced surveillance and detection. International cooperation This section advises how the MAS collaborates closely with international regulators and enforcement agencies to combat cross-border misconduct. For example, they are: a Board Member of the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO) a member of IOSCO Committee 4 on Enforcement and the Exchange of Information. MAS were able to provide assistance in 119 IOSCO requests from 22 international regulators signatories to IOSCO’s Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU) and Enhanced MMoU co-chair of the Policy Development Group of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Singapore is an active member of FATF, and as co-chair, it works closely with fellow AML/CFT policy makers and supervisors to develop international standards to combat money laundering, terrorism and proliferation financing 2019/2020 priorities The final part of the report details the 2019/2020 enforcement priorities for the MAS. In other words, in 2019/2020, the MAS will focus its enforcement efforts to strengthen the following: timely and adequate disclosure of corporate information for better investor protection the business conduct of financial advisers and their representatives AML/CFT compliance – by utilising thematic reviews and assessments of AML/CFT controls in financial institutions brokerage houses’ internal controls to detect and deter market abuse surveillance and investigations into suspected insider trading This new Enforcement Report was built on last year’s ‘ Enforcement Monograph’ and provides some detailed and noteworthy insights into the MAS’ enforcement work and priorities. As Gillian Tan, Executive Director of the Enforcement Department at the MAS states: ‘As Singapore’s financial industry grows in size and complexity, so will the risks of financial misconduct.’ Therefore, it will be interesting to see what the next report reveals in 18 months’ time and how it builds upon this one. The ICA Conference in Singapore is returning this year! We have just announced the date and location , will you be joining us? Further reading: Compliance culture - what is the challenge? 5 ways to establish a fraud-averse environment 6 tips to help you on your study journey This article forms part of the #BigCompConvo - Join us as we explore and debate the latest challenges and issues facing you and regulatory and financial crime compliance professionals all over the world. If you’d like to contribute an article as part of the Big Compliance Conversation get in touch with us at contributions@int-comp.org
