Compliance Liaisons: Who And Why

A question facing every compliance and ethics program (compliance program) is how to best structure the program to achieve optimal effectiveness (i.e., how to structure it to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse, which is the objective) most effectively. For multisite organizations, one structure option involves the use of compliance liaisons. Compliance liaisons are generally not employees of the compliance program but are individuals with an operational role—sometimes in a higher-risk department or off-site location—that function as a liaison between the compliance program and operations stakeholders throughout the organization. Compliance liaisons can help bridge a gap over which many compliance programs struggle: practical engagement with and impact on operations departments and personnel. Compliance liaisons—while not employees of the compliance program—have a formal or informal "dotted line" to the compliance program to help the compliance