SEI Poll: CCOs Hampered by Too Many Responsibilities, Too Few Resources

Chief compliance officers continue to take on more and more responsibility while struggling to keep up with the pressure of ongoing regulatory changes, according to a poll released Tuesday by SEI. The poll was conducted at the company's recent fifth annual CCO Forum.

The results showed that 68% of CCOs felt that having too many other responsibilities was the greatest impediment to their ability to be effective. Another 14% cited a lack of resources or funding as their greatest deterrent to success.

SEI said in a statement that its poll points to CCOs’ continuing struggle to keep up with a dramatically changing regulatory environment in the face of shrinking or stagnant resources. The CCOs surveyed represented organizations ranging from $500 million to $5 billion in assets under management.

Half of all CCOs said their biggest challenge in 2010 has been preparing for new or pending regulatory changes. The poll also showed that 82% of respondents were more concerned about their personal liability than they were two years ago, pointing to the ongoing pressures compliance professionals must deal with. At the same time, 73% said their compliance budgets had either not changed or had decreased.

"The harsh reality is that CCOs are being asked to do more and more and their resources aren't growing to meet the need," Jim Volk, CCO for SEI's Investment Manager Services division, said in the statement.