As the founders and original Board members sat down to establish and formalise the Institute some 20 years ago, at the heart of their discussions was how the Institute could help its members and the people who were charged with responsibility for the ‘new’ discipline of ‘compliance’.

Hard to believe today but 20 years ago there was great uncertainty as to what ‘compliance’ and the compliance function were to be. T

Those involved in the Institute had the foresight and indeed insight to realise that to develop what ‘good compliance’ looked like and to help those emerging, new compliance professionals the best route was to establish a ‘standard’, a starting point as to the sound principles and practices of ‘compliance’.

Education was and is so central to the Institute that it is enshrined in our constitution and is one of the key pillars of the strategy of the Institute and what will continue.

The Institute and their initial education partners IOB, LIA and III set about developing an innovative and ground-breaking academic programme that was applicable across industry and sector, and most importantly, was developed and taught by practitioners and set the standard for compliance education in Ireland.

 That programme was the Institute's flagship Certificate and Professional Diploma in Compliance (PDC) which has become the de facto industry standard for those starting and progressing their career in what is now an established compliance profession some 18 years on since it first launched.

Launching a new academic programme is and was no mean feat and the programme and its success was and is down to those original developers, authors, lecturers, examiners and of course our education partners many of whom worked in an entirely voluntary capacity in order to establish the programme.

The Institute has been very much built on the success of the PDC programme and it continues to be hugely successful to this day with hundreds of students graduating annually. It is recognised by regulators, recruiters and within industry as the essential qualification for compliance professionals. It is included as part of the education programmes driving success in the Ireland for Finance 2025 government strategy document – it certainly has come a long way and is something that the Institute and all involved should be duly proud.

I was privileged to be one of the people involved in the programme both in its inception and still today as are many others and on behalf of the Institute, I’d like to say thank you to all those who made the PDC programme a success and who continue to do so. The programme’s aim was to set and drive standards amongst the compliance profession and it has been incredibly successful in doing that. The programme also has an international reach with students graduating from South Africa and the UK amongst others and the PDC qualification is recognised by IFCA member countries.

But if the PDC programme was and is the foundation of the Institute's education programme the Institute did not and does not stop there. The founding principle of the Institute was to be an Institute of members but most importantly for its members – it is your Institute first and foremost. As the compliance profession develops the Institute’s goal will be to ensure it provides programmes to meet your needs and to help you as you progress through your career as the needs of the profession changes. To reflect those growing and changing needs including the development of specialisms within the broader compliance discipline – in conjunction with our education partners – the Institute’s education programme now includes a level 9 Master’s qualification aimed at the development of the next leaders of the compliance profession, specific qualifications in Financial Crime and Data protection at Master’s level as well as programmes in leadership, programmes aimed at the growing Fintech and e-money sectors and many other collaborations. The appetite for lifelong education is strong amongst our members and your Institute will continue to develop programmes to ensure you are ready to meet the challenges of the profession as it grows and changes. Our education partners and collaborators now include IOB, LIA, III, DCU, CAI, PAT, Griffith College and TU Dublin – and we thank all our academic partners for their continued support.

The academic partnership model continues to serve the Institute well bringing academic rigour to the profession and also means you, as students, have nationally and internationally recognised qualifications.

It is often said, no doubt somewhat tongue in cheek, that ‘Academia is where the very simple becomes very complex’. In the context of our education programmes as well as the success 2019 Compliance Institute Awards Ceremony. IC20 MAGAZINE 31 of our academic partnerships the key driver and differentiating factor of our programmes has always been that they are practitioner-led in their development, teaching and guidance.

That is vital as compliance and the nuances and challenges that face the profession and those who work in it day to day is rarely black and white.

As I am sure you appreciate if you complete the PDC programme, the MSc programme or many of our other programmes you are not a ‘qualified’ compliance officer. It is not a simple matter of passing exams. So much of what makes you effective in the role as a compliance professional is your experience, your insight, your courage and many other of your personal qualities. You cannot get that directly from ‘the books’ so to speak so the Institute ensures that in developing its programmes you hear and learn from the experience of the leading thinkers in the compliance space.

The Institute is lucky to have always had amongst its members and its academic team some of the leading thinkers within the compliance profession nationally and internationally, people who are at the forefront of compliance and ethics thinking in their respective sectors and who deal with the continuing developments and challenges on a day-to-day basis.

The Institute will continue to share with you their thoughts both through our education programme and through our CPD offerings – as we have mentioned above, it truly is about your lifelong learning and we encourage you to continue on that journey with us.

To finish, on a personal note I have had the privilege to be involved in the Institute’s education programme since its inception and in developing and teaching on many of those programmes. It really is a privilege to see people/students coming into the sector as they begin their career taking our PDC programme, establishing themselves as respected professionals in their career and continuing their lifelong learning through our various education programmes as their career progresses. I can think of countless people, our members, who have given amazing feedback on our programmes and what they have done for them through that journey and who continue their education by engaging in both our new programmes and our CPD programme.

The Institute and its programmes have and always will be there to help our members but also be at the forefront of thinking on the topics of compliance and ethics. It is what our founders set out to do and the success of delivering on these goals is something that all those involved over the past 18 years should be justifiably proud – we cannot thank you all enough – it really has been the key.