Compliance is a crucial function that should be established in business entities supervised by regulatory authorities to ensure compliance with the instructions and requirements mandated by the relevant regulators.
What is Compliance Consulting?
Certain business entities that have an established organizational unit for compliance function with its related job structure seek to engage the services of a consulting firm to obtain compliance consulting, provided that the employees of the compliance unit will implement and follow up on the output of such consultation.
What are the key regulatory authorities in the State of Kuwait?
- Central Bank of Kuwait: It supervises banks, financing companies, exchange companies, credit information companies, and electronic payment businesses.
- Capital Markets Authority: It supervises listed companies and companies licensed to carry out securities business.
- Insurance Regulatory Unit: It supervises insurance companies, reinsurance companies, brokerage companies for insurance and reinsurance, and insurance-related professions.
What is the importance of compliance in business entities supervised by regulatory authorities?
The regulatory authorities in the State of Kuwait issue executive regulations and instructions regarding the business practice frameworks. Such regulations are applicable and enforceable immediately upon issuance or over different timeframes. The importance of the compliance function lies in ensuring that the business entities comply with the regulations and instructions in place since failure to comply may expose such entities to financial penalties and violations that could even lead to the suspension of business activity.
What business entities should do to comply with the requirements of the regulatory authorities?
- Business entities should establish an organizational unit for compliance function and set up job structure that will be able to meet the requirements of the regulatory authorities.
- Ensure compliance with the instructions issued by the relevant regulatory authorities, in particular the instructions issued by the Central Bank of Kuwait regarding the Corporate Governance Rules in Kuwaiti Banks under the Instruction dated 20 June 2012, as amended by Circular dated 15 September 2019; the Capital Markets Authority’s instructions regarding Corporate Governance set forth in Module 15 of the CMA Executive Bylaws; and the Insurance Regulatory Unit’s Instruction regarding Corporate Governance Rules issued under the Resolution No. 58 of 2023.
What is the added value to business entities from Compliance Consulting Services?
- Ensure that regulatory compliance is achieved, including compliance with laws, regulations, resolutions, rules, and instructions issued by the regulators;
- Ensure compliance with the up-to-date international standards and practices, which are relevant to the entity’s business activities;
- Promote the stakeholders’ confidence in the business entities and enhance its reputation in the marketplace where it operates; and
- Utilize the expertise and experience provided by the compliance consulting services.
What are the services offered by Baker Tilly Kuwait?
- Preparing processes, policies, and procedures Manuals for the organizational unit in charge of compliance activities.
- Preparing the checklist of the regulators’ requirements related to the compliance activity.
- Preparing an action plan for implementing and meeting the regulators’ requirements based on the prescribed deadlines.
- Training in preparing responses to the regulators’ communications.
- Training in the preparation for the requirements of inspections by the regulatory authorities.
- Training in attendance of inspections by the regulatory authorities.
- Preparing the responses to the inspection reports issued by the regulatory authorities.