By Michelle A. Knight

This blog is a commentary on the recently held 2023 Caribbean Regional Compliance Conference (‘CRCA’)

The Caribbean Regional Compliance Conference (CRCA) 2023 brought together compliance professionals across the Caribbean. We were graciously hosted by the Cayman Islands; and quite evident, was the support of the public sector to this convergence of compliance professionals in their space.

With the overarching theme of the conference ‘Leading’ – CRCA recognised clearly that sustainable socio-economic development of our countries is tied to sound internal governance, risk, and compliance frameworks.  Their sage advice was that, –‘Leading is the relentless pursuit of next. It means never settling. We do it best by example.’

One particular takeaway for me was the idea that perhaps it is time to rid ourselves of the negative association of “offshore” which has over many years of official and un-official blacklisting been made synonymous with “dark” or “dirty”.  Our legal incorporation of international compliance principles regarding the proper conduct of business certainly justifies the stripping of ourselves of such a notion. The question is not, therefore, whether we will comply, but how best we can comply.

Compliance can present complex challenges and so, there is a need to  discuss our strategies to fight the common threats to our national economies. The 2023 conference highlighted compliance issues which were topical and critical to governance, risk, and compliance professionals in the region and of course, internationally. Compliance officers are now further equipped to lead on topics which are important to their respective businesses.

Another highlight of the 2023 conference was the appreciation of compliance officers as the value creators that they are. Compliance officers are there to nurture the kind of decision-making which enables sustainable growth for businesses and not simply – growth. Our voice matters. In compliance parlance – ‘it’s not simply a box ticking exercise.’ The fact that countries become grey listed or black listed post incorporating, for example the international anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism recommendations suggests that we do need to stay abreast and keep re-evaluating our compliance infrastructures for effectiveness.

We also need to applaud the work of the CRCA teams past and present for highlighting the need for the Caribbean to lead in compliance. This CRCA conference was the first for me and I must say I look forward to the 2024 CRCA conference to learn, grow, and lead alongside my Caribbean counterparts.

Ms. Michelle Knight is the Managing Director, Legal and Regulatory Consultant, Knight Corporate Street Inc and can be reached at michelle@knightcorporatestreet.com