Purposes

• A regulatory compliance curriculum helps an attendee learn about recent changes in professional standards and their impacts on banking activities. For example, a risk director at an investment bank can familiarize himself with updates in generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) and how they affect a bank's internal procedures. A compliance program can also instruct on the latest regulatory guidelines. As an illustration, the risk director may learn about recent changes in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules regarding quarterly reporting.
  
  

Types

• A banking compliance training officer may provide courses on the Internet or online. Example: The risk director who wants to learn about SEC rules may log into a website, select applicable courses and take a pass/fail exam at the end of the session, or participate in a training session that the firm organizes at its head office. Alternatively, he may attend a college's five-week summer finance program or take part in a seminar that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sponsors.
  
  

Features

• A regulatory conformity training curriculum may cover various topics, depending on the industry, company size, skill needs and budget allocated. For instance, a senior compliance officer may select topics related to Federal Reserve (Fed) reserve ratio requirements and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) guidelines regarding international transactions. A bank's human resources supervisor may select a course on safety procedures to familiarize herself with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) criteria.
  
  

Benefits

• A banker who is licensed can attend training sessions to comply with continuing professional education (CPE) criteria that a state or industry regulator often requires. These licenses may include certified financial services auditor (CFSA), certified banking auditor (CBA) and chartered financial analyst (CFA) designations. A bank also could benefit from a training program because skilled employees are more prone to establish adequate and functional procedures that conform to laws and regulations.
  
  

Expert Insight

• Occasionally, a training program instructor may find that a topic is complex or uneasy to explain. She also may note that no employee has practical expertise in a particular field. In these cases, the instructor could hire a specialist to clear up complex subjects. For example, a curriculum coordinator can hire a certified public accountant (CPA) to explain compliance requirements regarding generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the banking industry.