This excerpt is taken from our interview of Pat Gnazzo, who discussed his experiences and observations from working as a compliance officer.
I think most companies are reluctant to take on somebody that’s an unknown and put them into a position of confidence immediately. Then that individual is taking in issues where the company potentially has problems, and they have to rely on that individual to help them solve problems, rather than cause more problems. A better example to say is “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.” So unless you have real need—meaning you’re under a deferred prosecution agreement or the government is forcing you to hire somebody that is higher profile—you’re going to want somebody that is a known commodity to you in your organization and somebody you can rely on.
Pat Gnazzo's interview is included in Working for Integrity: Finding the Perfect Job in the Rapidly Growing Compliance and Ethics Field.
(All interviewees spoke to us about their own personal experiences and opinions; interviewees were not acting as a spokesperson or otherwise representing their current or former employers.)
