On 03.11.2023. The Annual Conference of the Corporate Compliance Association: ” Change of Perspective ” was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade.

More than 180 participants, lecturers and panelists from Serbia, Montenegro, BiH, Croatia and Slovenia contributed to the promotion of Compliance at the largest Compliance conference in the region.

The conference was supported by the Association of Serbian Banks, the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade, the Association of Financial Directors, Partners Serbia and Net Consulting, while the official donors of the conference are the law firm Petrikić and Partners (CMS), Janković Popović Mitić (JPM), Radovanović Stojanović and partners (RSP), Moravčević Vojnović and partners (Schoenherr), Relio, Algotech and Deurić winery.

The opening address of the president of the Association, Miloš Bogdanović, which preceded the lectures and panels, highlighted the importance of the way companies in Serbia and the region do business, corporate culture and ethics in business, as prerequisites for the sustainable business of every company. On this occasion, we heard answers to the questions of why compliance in business is an important topic both for individuals and corporations as well as for the whole society, how we deal with this topic in Serbia today, what awaits us in the future and how we will respond to the challenges that lie ahead of us, as well as what is the role of the Association for compliance in business in this. It was also pointed out that a balance between the desire for profit and the sustainability of business is necessary, in order to respect the interests of individuals and society as a whole, in addition to the interests of the company, its management and owners. Furthermore, the concept of Compliance, the development and tasks of the Compliance function, as well as the need for constant adaptation to new requirements and social reality embodied in accelerated technological development and general digitalization of business, are explained. The need for a constant change of perspective was emphasized, where in addition to looking at what is new on the horizon and trying to predict and prepare for future challenges, it is necessary to understand what will not change in the years ahead, in order to invest the resources of the Compliance community there. Furthermore, the role of the Association, created as an expression of the aspirations of various individuals and companies from many sectors of the economy, to contribute to better education, synergy and overall improvement in the sphere of business, as well as the improvement of the entire society in these areas, was highlighted. Finally, the participants of the conference had the opportunity to hear about the main activities of the Association this year, among which the launch of studies for knowledge innovation at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade, which was attended by more than 60 participants, as well as active participation in the public debate which was led to the adoption of the Association’s proposal and the first explicit legal solution introducing the obligation to form a Compliance function in legal entities with majority state ownership.

The conference included several lectures and panels that spoke about the importance of the Compliance function in modern business, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and digitization, ESG, Cyber ​​security and DORA, the future of the Compliance function.

Speakers included prominent Compliance professionals from various companies and business sectors, university professors, Big 4 consultants, lawyers, representatives of associations and regulatory bodies, etc.

The conference showed the universality of the topics and provided a more concrete insight into how different organizations approach compliance with the legal framework, best business practices and rules of the profession, which are the basic resources needed to influence the business culture of the corporation, as well as which are the biggest challenges with which representatives of various industries and institutions encounter in their daily work, in conditions of constant changes, technological development and digitization.

Balancing risk and profit, ensuring an appropriate level of education at all levels of the organization, as well as with partners with whom the organization cooperates, providing the necessary resources and tools for implementing procedures, local implementation of EU standards and best practices, are recognized as the main challenges in the work of the Compliance function. in some cases, management support. Also, new risks accompanying the use of new technologies were highlighted, so the subject of a special panel was information security, the use of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, especially in the context of cryptocurrencies.

The role and appropriate support of the state and state institutions is recognized as crucial in the process of raising public awareness about the direct connection of business compliance with the sustainability of companies’ operations, but also the development of the economy and society as a whole. That is why the Association for Compliance in Business sees the state as one of the main partners in the process of training staff and implementing processes that favor compliance in business, welcoming new legal solutions that explicitly introduce the obligation to form a Compliance function in the public sector.

After the lectures and panels, the working part of the conference was formally closed with the closing words of the organizer, the Association for Compliance in Business, before which the President of the Association, Miloš Bogdanović, addressed the audience:

“The future of our function is in understanding its role and responsibility, new topics that are coming, but also the principles on which Compliance as a function was created. This means that in addition to investing in understanding and mastering upcoming topics, many of which were the subject of lectures and panels at this conference, we must understand that the important question is what will not change in the context of the requirements for the Compliance function in the future? What should we be in order to be useful to society and successful in our work even in 10 years? Therefore, it is important to understand that, for example, ESG, AI, cryptocurrencies are a systemic business change that no one will be immune to even outside the field of application, but it is also important to know that the importance of education, integrity of the Compliance professional and understanding of the basic principles of this function will be something that will not change, which will help us to overcome new challenges and what we need to invest in in order to ensure a safe future for our profession, but also the benefit that its existence has on the entire society.”

After thanking all the participants and announcing next year’s event, the conference ended with a festive cocktail where the conference participants had the opportunity to summarize their impressions and exchange ideas.