Course at a glance
Introduction
Compliance is defined as a state in which someone or something is in accordance with established guidelines, specifications, or legislation. Software, for example, may be developed in compliance with specifications created by some industry body. Compliance in a regulatory context is a prevalent business concern, perhaps because of an ever-increasing number of regulations and a fairly widespread lack of understanding about what is required for a company to be in compliance with new legislation. It provides detailed learning theoretical background, with the use of actual case studies offering practical tools, compliance management techniques and compliance communication formats needed for everyday use.
The following unit descriptors are brief content guides to the course components and should provide a holistic overview of structure and format.
Benefits of the Course:
Students will expect to derive the following benefits from the diploma course:
- Students will have an opportunity to learn about compliance management
- To review the compliance manager role
- Look at compliance structure and environment
- A review of how to manage compliance process
- The course encourages the development of compliance management as a working role
Assessment Objectives (AO)
AO: 1
Students must select and demonstrate clearly relevant knowledge and understanding through the use of evidence, examples and correct language and terminology appropriate to the course of study. This assessment, involves two written assignments: one halfway through the course and following the final unit. Both are assessed and graded by the assigned tutor, according to college procedures. The grading procedure if Pass or Fail. If you Fail an assessment you have the opportunity to amend where your tutor has highlighted and resubmit.
AO: 2
Students must critically evaluate and justify a point of view through the use of evidence and reasoned argument. Students can include evidence in different formats to support their written work such as documentation or images to support their course remembering Confidentiality and Data Protection.
Quality of Written Communication (QWC)
In addition, COLC require students’ to produce written material in English, candidates must: ensure that text is legible and that spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPG) are accurate so that meaning is clear; select and use a form and style of writing appropriate to studying a complex subject matter; organise information clearly and coherently, using specialist vocabulary when appropriate and Harvard referencing of citation and sources. In this Specification, SPG will be assessed in all tutor marked assignments (TMAs)
To ensure that we maintain quality standards; all our students written assignments are subject to our plagiarism policy and procedure.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Entry Requirement
Entry to this Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma requires that potential students have gained GCSE/IGCSE or equivalent qualifications and have, good English oral, reading and writing skills.
Advice on enrolment and guidance of prior learning (APL) can be obtained through out contact centre. The course is a rolling programme and can be started at any point in the year. Successful students can go on to Higher Education, including remaining as students at COLC to complete courses in our portfolio of higher awards.
All students must be aged 16 or over.
Assessment
The coursework is assessed through continuous assessment with no formal exit examinations.
Study Hours
Approximately: 200 hours of personal study time for the entire course is recommended. All of which is supported by the COLC Course Tutor, who we greatly encourage students to access support from throughout their course.
Quality Assurance
This course has been developed by the College’s professional team of tutors to meet the needs of sector based employers and employees.
Further details of our accreditations are provided on our website.
Course Length
1 Year.
Awarding Body
Course Content
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 1: What is Compliance Management?
The ordinary person became concerned with compliance when large firms momentously failed in how they conducted honest business, the best example being Enron in the USA. In 2014, Tescos Supermarket in the UK was investigated for over-claiming on profits which made them look far more successful than they had been. This is considered to be business fraud. So a method for ensuring the delivery of high quality for discerning customers needed to be established. The first unit will introduce the modern concepts of compliance management (CM) terminology, skills, and how these can change and develop within a business management context. It examines the way CM theories evolved, and the compliance manager’s role in this process. A range of guidelines in practical compliance mandates exist with recognized regulatory Industrial bodies in all countries who give support and clarity, so these will be discussed for a range of businesses and industries.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 2: The individual as a Compliance Manager
Each individual has to take responsibility in knowing what their company or business does and their roles in completing work well and to a high standard. Some employers expect a SWOT analysis so each individual is aware of their strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The manager has to drive what is best for the whole company and encourage individuals to perform their best at all times, so he must get support from the executive to set benchmark targets by offering incentives and benefits to employees. We investigate the essential core skills needed for a compliance manager to deliver high standards. Tips and techniques are given for successful compliance management, compliance goal-setting, compliance problem-solving, effective compliance resolution meetings, compliance interviewing and giving or receiving compliance-related feedback. Relevant tools are explored, including compliance landscape analysis. Often it is easy to recognize failings and problems, but the most useful skill is how to inform and encourage the company on how to make changes to compile to best practice, maximize profits and meet legal requirements, so tips on how this can be achieved are learned through studying a real case study.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 3: Compliance Structure and Environment
Any company that is assessed will be seen differently through different eyes, and often management may make changes that do not make sense to the employees who actually deliver the work. Common sense tells us that any compliance strategy must consult every employee at every level; communication, transparency, and thoroughness of analysis are essential. This unit includes an assessment of different features and types of compliance organization structure and the various environments within which compliance organizations operate. So roles and responsibilities must be very clear, and specialist staff must be aware of the impact of their advice on the actual work being done. Recent trends and the move towards the use of compliance integration will be assessed for an actual company, and how this will help it to anticipate a compliance organization’s future evolution.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 4: Managing Compliance Processes
Again we start with a real case study of an Insurance company to first assess its working history and then suggest a Compliance request by setting goals, implementing changes, and seeing it through to completion. This unit takes an in-depth look at processes that the internal features of a compliance organization require, including planning and strategy, compliance costs and budgets, and the benefits of understanding the compliance processes of a business. Examples of how to implement the process and practical advice are provided on facilitation of training e.g. through workshops, in the context of compliance process improvement. Different models of compliance processes are assessed, both generally and by looking in-depth at a case study which has helped ground compliance management processes from start to finish, show its merits, and provide a guide on how to do it well.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 5: Managing Compliance Projects
In any project, a company will have hired the best team to set realistic goals and targets to complete a project, keeping to budget and timeframe, and meeting legal compliance requirements. How this can be achieved and failure to do this is investigated here. The unit helps to answer ‘What is a compliance project?’; this is achieved by providing a step-by-step breakdown of the key phases for managing compliance projects in order for them to be a success. It provides advice on financing compliance projects, and on quality compliance assessment. Guidance on compliance project team roles and effective brainstorming for problem-solving is provided in order to minimize risk and problems.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 6: Managing Compliance Diversity
Diversity, like the word itself, has several meanings or beliefs of what it is in reference to an issue, e.g. performance measure diversity, retail diversity, cultural diversity, product diversity. For each, it is essential a variation in two or more entities, but key to all, is that it must be managed professionally with attention to detail. A useful example is the request to banks from customers requiring moral and ethical investment of their funds. This unit embraces the increasingly diverse UK, EU, US and global compliance mandates and the business case for managing by diversity-unification principles. Key compliance issues, requests from discerning customers, and legislation will be examined, including common challenges and potential conflicts, and diverse compliance themes of international regulatory styles. Another example is the request for organic and fairly sourced products, and the battle to offer these at a competitive price but ensure they are as advertised (organic and fair trade).
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 7: Compliance and Change
Compliance and change may be regarded as a ‘chicken and egg principle’ – which comes first? This is very important in company compliance and how to manage governance during a period of necessary change to meet legal requirements. We define governance, organizational structure, and policies as these are the responsible control entities within a company. Accordingly, this unit includes a review of compliance-caused/affecting organizational changes. We discover that compliance is not as easy to manage and implement as legislature demands. However, managing the compliance-change process and dealing with individual resistance and cultural issues is covered in order to facilitate a start in the compliance process. Techniques on successfully achieving compliance and change involve the use of coaching, mentoring, and facilitation development, e.g. it may not be possible to change a large company all at once and so we begin a cyclic process of compliance and change.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 8: Quality and Compliance
If you cannot size it, you cannot measure it, and if you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it – this is a quality and compliance axiom. Numerous frameworks, standards, techniques, and concepts have evolved over the past decades to improve product and quality of service. The use of compliance goals, related compliance performance indicators, service level agreements, and benchmarking will be considered, along with a review of quality-compliance management improvement. It is the responsibility of every employee and manager to deliver the best possible product and service and this is easy to do if monitoring and evaluation measures and checks are in place. Annual reports containing statistics, accurate records of e.g. complaints, meeting targets, and profits are one method for measuring quality.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 9: Audit and Compliance
Audits, the evaluation of predetermined criteria of an entity, person, or company, are commonly known in the financial context, but it can be applied to any company and department. If you cannot audit it, you cannot measure it, and if you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it – this is an audit and compliance axiom. The use of audit objectives in different contexts, risk assessments, related audit-compliance performance indicators, service level agreements, and benchmarking will be considered, along with a review of audit-compliance management improvement. An audit is an indication of financial compliance so declarations made by a company are assessed in terms of transparency and honesty, e.g. there is no money laundering or fraud, reliability and use of resources e.g. IT are being appropriately used, and it carries out a check on the effectiveness of quality control.
Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma Unit 10: Ethics and Compliance
There have been a large number of scandals, particularly in the financial, banking, and large company dealings. It appears that fraud and corruption have always existed but they are being exposed more and more encouraging the growth of compliance and regulation to protect the general public. Talk of greed and mistrust is common, especially when in the UK the very people elected were found to be misclaiming expenses. This unit examines recent and historic trends in business ethics, corporate governance, environmental issues, and social responsibility. The benefits of ethical and corporate responsibility are discussed in a climate where case studies and examples show the ease of corrupt behavior in business. Common examples of failure to comply e.g. by avoidance of paying tax to mis-selling products are discussed. Practical advice is provided with tips and guidance on making ethics and compliance presentations.
Finally, the course review summary helps to reflect on learning and also to help set career goals in the field of compliance management.
Progression
This Accredited Level 3 Compliance Management Diploma can be used to gain entry to a Level 4+5 Diploma or higher.
You can view a lit of our Level 4+5 Diplomas here: Accredited level 4+5 Diplomas
