[Feat. Corrie Ehler, Owner, Regulatory Connections] —
In this installment of Compliance Over Coffee, Ascent’s Rachael Battista subs in to talk to Corrie Ehler, regulatory banking expert and owner of the Regulatory Connections consultancy. Here are a series of clips from the conversation between Rachael and Corrie, which primarily highlighted the importance of managing risk holistically in the wake of COVID.
Regulatory Connections is a risk and compliance consultancy that focuses on technology, business continuity, and bringing safety and soundness to financial institutions. Visit the Regulatory Connections website.
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About Regulatory Connections
How does one get into regulatory consulting in the first place? Corrie shares how she went from working for an independent stock brokerage in the early 2000s to working in compliance shortly after the 2008 financial crisis hit. Over time, she started Regulatory Connections, where she and her team focus on risk management, especially as it applies to anti-money laundering regulation.
Challenges on the Lines of Defense
Coordination among the lines of defense is critical to managing risk. However, when all lines manage the same risk but at different times in the compliance process, sometimes tensions can arise and coordination can break down, leaving organizations vulnerable. In this clip, Corrie explains what it’s like to be both an internal and external auditor working with the other lines of defense.
Strengthening the Lines of Defense
What’s the biggest challenge on the lines of defense? In Corrie’s expert opinion, it all boils down to one thing: ownership. The lines of defense are only as strong as their response to risk. To manage risk effectively, it’s important that each area of risk throughout the business has an owner, and this includes technology.
Integrated Risk Management in the Time of COVID
COVID prompted much of the industry to re-evaluate what it means to manage risk holistically, and emphasized the need for better business continuity and disaster recovery planning in particular. According to Corrie, COVID showed the industry these plans can no longer be limited to location or executive level. Risk can happen in any place and at any level. Here’s where she thinks that the industry has room to improve.
The Future of Monitoring COVID Activity
The impact of COVID continues to ripple through financial services, leaving issues like PPP loan and PPE sales fraud in its wake. As an expert in anti-money laundering techniques, Corrie shares what she believes is yet to come for monitoring COVID-related transactions. In particular, how technology could become an integral part of transaction monitoring. And, based on her experience using it to track transactions like marijuana sales, how the technology will still need to evolve as well.
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