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Welcome to your guide…

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20 COMPLIANCE OFFICER
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS &

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ANSWERS
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For personal use only.

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Q1. Tell me about yourself and why you want to be a Compliance Officer?
Sample Answer:
Over the years I have been careful to make sure I build up the necessary skills and experience to
perform highly as a Compliance Officer. As each year goes by, I reflect on my performance to see how I
am progressing. By taking this approach, I am somebody who can bring significant value to your
organization by ensuring you operate within the regulatory boundaries of the industry. I am an excellent
communicator, I have exemplary attention to detail skills, I am a very fast worker and I can be relied upon
to work with you, not against you. I have lots of experience working in compliance and my knowledge of
risk assessment, the relevant regulatory requirements we need to operate under, and my knowledge of
potential threats to a business are second to none. In short, my strong work ethics, my ability to report
back to you on business functions based around current risk and compliance performance, will enable

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your business to continually grow and develop at a fast pace.

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Q2. Why do you want to work for our company as a Compliance Officer?
Sample Answer:
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With any role in compliance, I believe it is vital you choose your employer carefully. If you don’t, you will
not get supported and you may not last that long in the position. Prior to applying for this Compliance
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Officer role, I spent a considerable amount of time researching your background, your values and also
the work you carry out within the sector. There’s wasn’t one thing I saw that deterred me from applying.
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You set high standards, you have a great team of people and you also want to do things to a high
standard, which will all serve to help me perform my own duties as a Compliance Officer competently
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and robustly. I feel this is somewhere I will enjoy working based on the people I will be working alongside
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and also the strong Senior Management Team that is in place.

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Q3. What skills and qualities are needed to excel within compliance?
Sample Answer:
There are many different qualities needed. However, the ones that are more prevalent and the ones I
would utilize the most whilst working here include, a thorough UNDERSTANDING OF THE RISK
ASSESSMENT process, high levels of INTEGRITY, making sure your KEEP YOUR OWN KNOWLEDGE
UPDATED and also an ability to COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVELY both in writing and verbally. You
also need ANALYTICAL AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS, be capable of INTERPRETING DATA
carefully and concisely, be able to RESPOND TO CONFLICT and deal with it professionally, and finally,
a high levels of STRATEGIC AND COMMERCIAL AWARENESS.

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Q4. What is the difference between a compliance risk assessment and a standard organizational
risk assessment?
Sample Answer:
Many large organizations conduct risk assessments to identify issues or threats that would prevent the
company from achieving its strategic objectives – Examples of these include enterprise risk
assessments, safety risk assessments and also an internal audit assessment, which is usually used to
develop an internal auditing plan for a business. However, a compliance risk assessment is created to
identify potential legal or regulatory risks and therefore, in my opinion, carries more weight. This is based
on the fact that the threat to an organization from a financial or brand reputation perspective is significant.

Q5. In your opinion, what makes a brilliant compliance risk assessment?

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Sample Answer:

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Whenever I create a compliance risk assessment I focus on 10 different elements. First of all, I ASSESS
AND DETERMINE THE OBJECTIVE of the risk assessment – it’s important to have a clear goal of what
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the risk assessment needs to achieve. I then consider WHAT WORK HAS ALREADY BEEN CARRIED
OUT previously – the last thing we need to do is reinvent the wheel. I will then GATHER INFORMATION
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FROM A WIDE RANGE OF SOURCES, including people from across the organization who have the
expertise, knowledge and know-how to assist. I will then IDENTIFY THE RISKS and determine WHO
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SHOULD TAKE OWNERSHIP of the risk elements. At this stage I will always focus on COMPLETE
TRANSPARENCY. Next, I make sure the risk assessment is ACTIONABLE. Without action, the objective
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of the risk assessment cannot be achieved. Whenever I create the risk assessment I always make sure it
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is READABLE AND UNDERSTANDABLE. This is achieved by using simple, plain English that everyone
who needs to use the document will understand. Finally, I would ensure THE INFORMATION AND DATA
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LEVERAGED FROM THE RISK ASSESSMENT IS ACTUALLY USED before carrying out PERIODIC
REVIEWS of the risk assessment to ensure it is still current, applicable and up-to-date.

Q6. What can you bring to the role of Compliance Officer?

Sample Answer:
I can bring many years’ experience dealing with difficult and challenging compliance problems. I can
bring a strong understanding of the role, including how my work in compliance should fit into the work
you carry out. I can bring a flexible and adaptable approach to work that ensures your organization can
function effectively whilst still maintaining compliance. I can bring excellent team working capabilities,

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excellent communication skills and a hard-working attitude that encompasses attention to detail skills,
strong values and exceptional analytical capabilities.

Q7. It's late Friday afternoon and you notice a significant issue relating to organizational
compliance. A senior member of the management team says it can wait until Monday. What would
you do?
Sample Answer:
First and foremost, I would be talking to a senior member of the management team, so I would be total
respectful at all times. I would speak to him or her and explain the reasons why the issue would have to
be dealt with there and then, and whilst I fully understood the fact it was late on a Friday, the best
interests of the organization should and must come first. I would also explain that, by letting things like

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this slip and leave until the following Monday morning, we would effectively be telling everyone who was

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aware of the issue that it is fine to leave it, and ultimately, that compliance is not as important as we
might first suggest.
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Q8. What’s the most challenging compliance project you have worked on and why?
Sample Answer:
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One particular compliance project immediately springs to mind. I was working on a multi-departmental
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project and my role was to ensure compliance was adhered to all times. During project meetings I felt as
though the team were not taking compliance as seriously as they should do. Every time I raised an issue,
it was ignored. Fairly early on during the project meetings, I decided to take positive action to stop this
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from happening. I requested 15 minutes of everyone’s time to deliver a short presentation on the
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importance of compliance and how, if we did not make it an integral part of our plans and discussions, we
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would be putting the organization at risk. Following my presentation, the entire team started to take
compliance seriously.

Q9. How would you commence a newly assigned compliance project?

Sample Answer:
One of the most important things for me as a Compliance Officer is clarity. Unless you gain total clarity at
the start of the project, it is likely to fail at some stage down the line. So, as part of the compliance
process, I will start off with the planning stage. This is where I define the reason for the project, its
intended purpose and the pre-determined objectives. Once I have completed this stage of the process, I

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can then move on to the Initiation stage and define the people and resources needed to complete the
project to the required standards and specification.

Q10. What steps would you take to ensure our organization maintained compliance?
Sample Answer:
There are essentially four different steps I would take. The first step would be to conduct suitable
compliance risk assessments using the process I outlined in a previous answer. Risk assessments are a
fundamental element of compliance, so I would be spending some time creating and developing these.
The second step would be to make sure I personally maintained my own competence in regard to
keeping up-to-date with developments from a compliance perspective. It would be vital that I monitor
compliance regulations and laws on a consistent basis. The third step would be to assess all

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organizational processes, materials, presentations and relevant documents to ensure all members of

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staff are adhering to the policies the company has in place. Again, it would be my responsibility to make

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sure those policies are current and relevant. Finally, one of the most important aspects of my work would
be to ensure the organization develops and maintains a culture that is pro compliance.
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Q11. Describe your style of communication?
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Sample Answer:
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My style of communication is always open, transparent, confident and amenable. Whilst compliance is
absolutely fundamental to the successful running of an organization, I have to understand that the
terminology or phrasing of compliance can be confusing. It would be my responsibility to work with the
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organization, not against it, to ensure all compliance responsibilities are met and that there is also a
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culture of compliance embedded within the organization.

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Q12. How would you deal with a member of our organization who was not following compliance
policies or procedures?
Sample Answer:
I would deal with this quickly by pointing out to them that they were putting the organization at risk. I
would also explain in clear terms what they needed to do to put things right and then make sure I
monitored things moving forward. Whilst I would not be their line manager, I would explain that unless
things changed quickly I would report the issue. The safety and compliance of the organization is serious
and it must always come first.

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Q13. As a Compliance Officer, it is better to be feared or loved?

Sample Answer:
In my opinion, it is better to have a fine balance of both but lean towards being feared. I believe that, if
you are overly feared, people may not feel motivated to work for you or maintain the necessary
compliance standards. Conversely, if you are loved, people may take advantage of your good nature,
and processes and due diligence can slip. An effective Compliance Officer, in my opinion, is someone
who clearly defines the expectations and standards from the get-go, but who is also approachable and
can use competent leadership and motivational skills to drive their team forward to meet their compliance
objectives.

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Q14. Describe a situation when something didn't go to plan and how you dealt with it?

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Sample Answer:

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In a previous Compliance Officer role I was working with a department to help the product they were
developing meet compliance regulations. As time went on I felt the compliance regulations were
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hindering the development of the product and I knew something had to be done as we wouldn’t finish it
on time. I suggested we held a meeting with the Senior Management Team to put forward some possible
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alternatives to the product we were offering to our customers. This proved to be a wise move. During a
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day-long meeting with the product development team, myself and the Senior Management Team I was
able to present the compliance barriers that were hindering us from progressing so the rest of the team
could then suggest ways to alter the product specification in order to meet our compliance
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responsibilities. At the end of the meeting we had a clear way forward that allowed us to get everything
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finished on time.
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Q15. What qualities do you consider important when working in a team?

Sample Answer:
The most important qualities are making sure you communicate clearly, you support the other members
of the team, you are patient and understanding, you take into account each other’s strengths and
weaknesses, and you also ensure you are all focused clearly on the objectives of the team and the
development of a plan of action to allow you to get where you need to be. Finally, you also have to have
a can-do attitude and be prepared to learn as you all progress together.

Q16. Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

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Sample Answer:
I see myself working for you, as a competent and professional Compliance Officer, or even perhaps
having obtained advancement within your company to a senior level. Having researched your
organization in detail, you are clearly an innovative and forward-thinking company who has exciting plans
for the future. I see my career development and progression solely with your company and I am
genuinely excited to work for you, if you feel of course, that I am a suitable fit for your team and
organization.

Q17. What’s your biggest weakness?

Sample Answer:
I find it difficult at times waiting for others to come back to me when the completion of my own task

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depends on them. This demonstrates that I can be impatient at times, and one particular external

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company commented during a telephone conversation that she found me quite pushy to deal with at

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times. I stressed to her that my pushiness was simply down to me wanting to get the job done for my
employer as quickly and efficiently as possible. Compliance has to happen now, not tomorrow or the
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following day and on that basis, I would always push forward to get things completed.
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Q18. Why do you want to leave your job?

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Sample Answer:
I want to leave my job because I am looking for a fresh challenge with a company that has exciting and
ambitious plans for the future, and one that will also use my skills and compliance technical abilities to the
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full. My employer has been great, and we have achieved some fantastic things whilst I have been there,
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but I am now ready for a new challenge, and I would like that challenge to be with your company.
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Q19. What are your salary expectations in this Compliance Officer job?
Sample Answer:
I have carried out some research in relation to the average salary for this Compliance Officer position, and
the general range is between $48,000 and $65,000. Whilst I do personally feel I am worth the higher end
of the salary scale, I understand and appreciate I need to prove to you my worth. On that basis, I would be
comfortable with a salary of $60,000.
NOTE: Please conduct your own research into the general salary range for your Compliance Officer
position within your industry.

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Q20. That’s the end of your Compliance Officer interview. Do you have questions for the panel?
Q. In the past, what have been the major challenges for your organization from a compliance
perspective? I’d be interested to see how I can help improve things, if required, within this role.
Q. If I am successful, what would be the first thing you would want me to focus on as your Compliance
Officer?
Q. I noticed on your website you have launched a new service recently – how was the compliance
process during implantation for the new service?

How to Use These Interview Questions and Answers:

These interview questions and answers are intended to guide you in your preparation for your job

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interview. These questions have been picked by the PassMyInterview team because we believe

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that they are the best representative of what you will face in your interview.

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The sample answers in this resource are collated from years of experience and research in the
recruitment sector. The answers confidently display the appropriate qualities and competencies
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that the interviewer expects from successful candidates.

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Read the sample answers carefully, and take note of what skills and competencies they
demonstrate. You might notice that, when the question asks for examples, the answer uses the
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STAR method to construct the response:

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Situation. Start off your response to the interview question by explaining what the ‘situation’ was
and who was involved.

Task. Once you have detailed the situation, explain what the ‘task’ was, or what needed to be
done.

Action. Now explain what ‘action’ you took, and what action others took. Also explain why you
took this particular course of action.

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Result. Explain to the panel what you would do differently if the same situation arose again. It is
good to be reflective at the end of your responses. This demonstrates a level of maturity and it
will also show the panel that you are willing to learn from every experience.

In order to get the best possible results, apply this system to your own examples and experiences
in working life. These sample answers are intended to inspire you to create your own responses
to the questions.

Disclaimer:

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PassMyInterview is not responsible for anyone failing any part of any selection process as a result

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of the information contained within this resource. PassMyInterview and their authors cannot accept

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any responsibility for any errors or omissions within this resource, however caused. No
responsibility for loss or damage occasioned by any person acting, or refraining from action, as a
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result of the material in this publication can be accepted by PassMyInterview.
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Get more guides, books and training courses at the website www.How2Become.com.
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