The Highest Paid Compliance Jobs
The compliance industry is booming, and there is a growing skills gap in the public and private sectors. As external and internal regulations become strict operating baselines, companies in highly competitive industries are fighting for scarce talent. Here are five of the highest-paid compliance jobs.
Compliance Specialists and their Responsibilities
Compliance specialists ensure organizations maintain current licensing and regulatory requirements set forth by government agencies. They are responsible for the development and implementation of policies and procedures that help a business operate within the legal and ethical requirements in the industry. Whenever compliance violations arise, the specialists conduct audits and recommend roadmaps for remediation and improvement. But if compliance issues require external auditors, the compliance professionals act as the link between third-party auditors and the company. They review any proposed audits and procure the necessary compliance documentation. Regardless of whether they develop their recommendations from scratch or enhance existing policies, they are in charge of ensuring future compliance. In the past, compliance departments were more of auditors conducting reactive investigations after a breach. But modern compliance specialists act as strategic risk managers that help companies maintain compliance and mitigate operational risks.
Senior Compliance Analyst
With an annual salary of $70,000 – $123,500, a senior Compliance analyst ensures that an organization adheres to all the applicable regulatory frameworks and laws. This may include industry regulations relating to financial reporting and occupational health. Ideally, your responsibilities include data collection, conducting research, and assessing current business practices to create or update rules and policies that enhance compliance. Continuous monitoring is necessary since the business landscape is never static, and compliance needs may evolve as the organization grows. An entry-level compliance analyst may require a Bachelor’s degree, sufficient work experience, and problem-solving skills with an analytical approach. However, you may need an advanced degree to qualify for senior levels. While compliance is a broad industry, senior compliance analysts ought to understand the major types of compliance. Regulatory and legal compliance involves laws and regulations set by external bodies, including government agencies and industry bodies. The regulations often encompass safety measures, materials, and internal policies. Compliance analysts look into company policies and procedures about existing regulatory and legal compliance frameworks. A good understanding of IT compliance is critical in this digital age as the need for data privacy and compliance is at its peak. This type of compliance governs how businesses store and process sensitive customer data. Considering the strict penalties associated with data security, compliance analysts should keep tabs on any developments in IT regulations. PCI is a subset of IT compliance, and it’s basically a security framework that helps merchants or service providers secure debit and credit card transactions from data breaches. As such, compliance analysts need to understand how PCI compliance works.
IT Compliance Analyst
Information technology compliance analysts get an annual salary of $67,500 -$105,000. They help organizations ensure their IT assets and systems are compliant with laws and regulations that govern IT. Since IT is a fast-evolving industry, IT compliance analysts require outstanding research skills and experience. They must stay current on new and existing regulations to keep the organization compliant. And since compliance analysts often deal with multiple compliance issues at once, it’s important to master prioritization skills. They review business requirements and risks when determining which issues to handle first. Compliance analysts help businesses implement sound security designs through system development to ensure compliance. After figuring out the number of regulations that affect an organization, they embark on building a roadmap to achieve the necessary standards. Also, they educate the IT teams to ensure everyone understands the compliance issues at hand.
Compliance Testing Analyst
A compliance testing analyst carries out independent testing of established compliance controls within an organization. The specialists also provide experts and guidance on appropriate compliance processes and controls. The annual salary for this role is $63,000 – $104,000. Typically, compliance testing analysts provide support to compliance managers to enhance regulatory compliance. In this role, you create testing plans and review various business functions for compliance issues. Also, you will be responsible for analyzing findings to identify underlying risks and develop corrective measures.
Regulatory and Compliance Technician
The annual salary range for regulatory compliance technicians is $47,000 – $98,500. They monitor, assign, communicate, track, and close compliance requests following the laid-out protocols. They also ensure timely submission of regulatory responses to external stakeholders and regulatory agencies. In addition, the professionals prepare compliance status reports to highlight trends and changes in regulations. As a compliance technician, you will provide guidance by providing current summaries of applicable regulations.
Compliance Examiner
A compliance examiner is responsible for conducting scheduled or random inspections in business facilities or branches. A majority of compliance examiner roles are often found in company branches, banks, or the Federal Reserve. The annual salary for this role is $41,500 – $79,500. Some of the responsibilities of a compliance examiner include ensuring a facility conforms to regulations, adheres to ethical operational procedures, and follows established company policies. These professionals need experience and skills in audit documentation since they are responsible for improving the inspection processes. Besides developing the audit schedule, they often train company staff on compliance issues.
Bottom Line
As new technologies emerge, current regulations will change, creating unique opportunities for compliance experts. While most employers are looking for experience and qualifications, it’s best to build extensive knowledge in associated fields.
