Articles by Gabe Shawn Varges
In light of our work in the White Paper on the separation of legal and compliance, we thought we would share the two articles by Gabe Shawn Varges, Board Member and Former Chairman of Ethics and Compliance Switzerland.
The first article, entitled “Working with the Chief Compliance Officer: A New CEO Skill”, argues that CEOs have long known how to work with the General Counsel, but most CEOs are still trying to figure out how to interact with the CCO.
The second article, entitled “Engaging with the CCO”, advances the argument to the Board level. It provides tips to Board members on how to engage with the CCO as part of the Board’s oversight duty of compliance.
The first article “Enganging with the Chief Compliance Officer: A New CEO Skill” can be found here. The second article can be read following the link “Engaging with the CCO”
Whitepaper: Strategic Positioning of Compliance
The Importance of Independent Compliance
Is your Compliance function truly independent?
The European Network For Compliance Officers (ENFCO) just released a whitepaper on best practices for Compliance Officers, highlighting the critical need for compliance to be separate from the legal function.
Here’s why this is so important:
- Independence: A dedicated Compliance function has the freedom to make objective decisions without the pressure of legal considerations.
- Sufficient Budget: Dedicated resources ensure that the compliance function has the tools and technology needed to perform its role effectively.
- Direct Access: A seat at the table with the Board and senior management allows for proactive risk management and strategic guidance.
Having an independent Compliance function is not just a best practice; it’s a necessity for robust governance and risk management in today’s complex regulatory landscape.
Download ENFCO’s whitepaper to learn more about how to strengthen your company’s compliance framework ENFCO Strategic Positioning of Compliance.
Whitepaper: ENFCO Survey-Results “AI & Compliance” 2025
ENFCO (European Network for Compliance Officers) conducted a Europe-wide survey entitled “AI & Compliance” between September 13 and October 21, 2024. Purpose of the survey was to get an overview of how AI influences compliance functions and how it is treated within compliance. 454 people took part in the survey. 78 percent of respondents worked in the compliance area and 16 percent in the legal area. The distribution of responses varies across company sizes, with larger companies (over 8.000 employees) and smaller companies (fewer than 50 employees) representing a larger share compared to mid-sized companies.
The trend shows that AI is already integrated to some extent in most companies. Over 63 percent of respondents report using AI either regularly or occasionally for professional purposes. More than 80 percent of respondents either strongly or rather agree that AI can significantly support the compliance function.
The survey addresses AI definition and framework conditions, benefits and challenges, responsibilities and organization, areas of application of AI, implementation status of AI in Compliance, future perspectives and demographic data.
Read the full whitepaper ENFCO Survey-Results “AI & Compliance”.
Whitepaper: ENFCO Survey-Results “ESG & Compliance” 2023
ENFCO (European Network for Compliance Officers) conducted a Europe-wide survey entitled “ESG & Compliance” between October 2 and November 17, 2023. The aim was to gain an overview of how differently ESG is perceived by compliance officers and how companies deal with it. 505 people took part in the survey. 74 percent of respondents worked in the compliance area and 17 percent in the legal area. All company sizes were equally represented.
The relevance of ESG is high in companies. In three out of four companies, either top management or compliance management are responsible for ESG. However, responsibility for ESG is rarely assigned to a single department. The location of the area of responsibility in companies does not yet appear to be fixed: 52% of respondents stated that they did not know whether the current allocation would remain in place in the near future. Nevertheless, ESG is a clear future topic for the respondents.
The survey addresses ESG definition and framework, responsibilities and organization, implementation, future perspectives and demographic data.
Read the full whitepaper ENFCO Survey-Results “ESG & Compliance”.