In this article Compliance Matters interviews an expert in permanent compliance employment in the City of London. Among other things, he calculates the amount of a compliance officer's salary that the typical recruiter charges the hiring manager.

Q: Is it good for a compliance person's career to take a job on secondment at the Financial Conduct Authority? Does that look well on his CV?

A: It absolutely does look well. It's great experience. It gives him a grasp of the rulebook and it allows him to "see what good looks like." I've seen some people coming out of normal compliance for a year to do it and some doing it for longer.  

Q: Do you ever see compliance management consultants - at such firms as ACA, SimplyBiz and CCL - going back into the fray and working as compliance officers at banks?

A: Yes, for numerous reasons. In management consultancy if you're a partner they pay you far more than if you're a senior consultant. If you're a senior consultant and you have another spell at a bank's compliance department it can help you go back into consultancy as a partner. But even if you don't do that, you're better off money-wise at a bank than being an ordinary consultant. Other people go back to being compliance officers at banks because they want to be able to say that they have delivered another project. Sometimes they spend 5-6 years in management and then go to a bank for 2-3 years, but there are no normal figures - there are multiple moves to make.

Realistically, if you're going to have a strong career, you really have to stay somewhere for a while and see some projects through and move up the food chain.

You get consultants going into the Big 4 accountancy firms - that's a good career move. Then they might go back into management consultancy again.

Q: Is being a compliance consultant an easier 'gig' than being a compliance officer at a bank?

A: I wouldn't say so. It's a different gig. If you're a management consultant, you make suggestions to banks but you don't stay to see them through, so it's a different gig.

Q: If there is one lesson that you have to teach aspiring young compliance people, what is it?

A: Make sure that you network! The ones who do best in this game are the really great networkers. The new breed of compliance officers are very cognisant of networking. Its value cannot be underestimated. Without it, you're not going to progress. It's also a good idea to go to a roundtable and make a good impression.

Q: What are these roundtables? Are they hosted by events companies?

A: Sometimes they are hosted by events companies, sometimes they are just compliance monitoring heads at banks meeting to discuss regulations. They tend to be regular, once a quarter usually. Some compliance heads organise chats on WhatsApp.

* Ben Harris can be reached on +44 207 092 0168 or at bharris@morganmckinley.com