What does a compliance specialist do?
The role of compliance specialists is to ensure that companies comply with relevant industry standards and regulations. Their duties may vary depending on the industry they work in, such as healthcare or banking. Tasks include reviewing their company's business practices to ensure they follow specific regulations, resolving compliance issues that may arise, and being up-to-date with regulatory changes. As a compliance specialist, you should have industry expertise, in-depth knowledge of regulations, and auditing skills.
Compliance specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real compliance specialist resumes:
- Lead bi-weekly Medicaid meetings to maintain effective communication with all staff regarding AHCA updates and notifications.
- Manage and submit regulatory permit and notification applications to USDA to import, move and release regulate plant materials.
- Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
- Access the IDX system to obtain patient billing information in order to review Medicare and Medicaid payments.
- Develop training materials to be used company-wide for regulatory mandate continuing education; create written policy manual for ethics and compliance.
- Perform SOX control testing and validation.
- Maintain quality control and compliance utilizing GCP and (ICH) guidelines.
- Collect, review, and finalize essential EPA documents require for site initiation.
- Conduct GCP audits of investigational sites, databases, listings and clinical study reports.
- Administer to the public access system for permit requests under guidelines from the EPA.
- Type letters for the directors, assist counselors with presentation by preparing packets and PowerPoint.
- Submit SAR filings and are point of contact relating to regulatory investigations pertaining to AML, firm, and register representatives.
- Develop course material utilizing PowerPoint.
- Perform Sarbanes-Oxley design and operational testing for various locations worldwide.
- Conduct preliminary investigations and report findings on potential NCAA violations.
Compliance specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Compliance Specialists are proficient in Patients, Regulatory Compliance, and Strong Analytical. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Compliance Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 9%
Developed departmental templates with Physician Champions that help providers document more specificity regarding their patients diagnoses according to ICD-10CM metrics.
- Regulatory Compliance, 7%
Provided consultation with design advice, testing and training for manufacturers and companies requiring Product Safety and EMC regulatory compliance assistance.
- Strong Analytical, 5%
Position required a high level of accuracy and strong analytical skills.
- FDA, 5%
Developed and implemented standard operating procedure for the compliance specialists that ensured FDA compliance and regulations are tracked and followed.
- Customer Service, 5%
Initiated department's first customer service feedback program in an effort to mitigate disputes, increase resident/staff communication and overall satisfaction.
- PowerPoint, 4%
Facilitated meticulous Unit-to-Unit and PowerPoint training on pharmaceutical waste regulations with all clinical and non-clinical hospital employees.
Most compliance specialists use their skills in "patients," "regulatory compliance," and "strong analytical" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential compliance specialist responsibilities here:
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling compliance specialist duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "accountants and auditors must be able to listen to and discuss facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders." According to a compliance specialist resume, here's how compliance specialists can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "supported the implementation and enhancement of compliance programs, including rollout of communication, training, monitoring and audit programs. "
Detail oriented. compliance specialists are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to compliance specialist responsibilities, because "accountants and auditors must pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documents." A compliance specialist resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "conducted detailed reviews in accordance with global wealth management compliance program for high visibility latin america remediation project. "
Math skills. A big part of what compliance specialists do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to compliance specialist responsibilities because "accountants and auditors must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical compliance specialist tasks: "prepared statistics and status report for senior management, internal auditors and regulators upon request. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a compliance specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what compliance specialists relies on this skill, since "strong organizational skills are important for accountants and auditors, who often work with a range of financial documents for a variety of clients." How this skill relates to compliance specialist duties can be seen in an example from a compliance specialist resume snippet: "conduct and analyze routine compliance reviews to ensure lihtc properties were in compliance with organizational and regulatory agency rules and regulations. "
The three companies that hire the most compliance specialists are:
- CBRE Group186 compliance specialists jobs
- Dell62 compliance specialists jobs
- Thermo Fisher Scientific60 compliance specialists jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable compliance specialist resume templates
Build a professional compliance specialist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your compliance specialist resume.
Compare different compliance specialists
Compliance specialist vs. Lead auditor
Lead auditors are professionals who are responsible for providing leadership and coordinating work schedules to a team of audit experts within an organization. These lead auditors are required to prepare audit plans and conduct team meetings before conducting internal or external audits at the end of the quarter or year. They must conduct audits to provide reviews to the management about the effectiveness of the overall quality system. Lead auditors must also develop action plans to improve the financial reporting systems of the organization.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between compliance specialists and lead auditor. For instance, compliance specialist responsibilities require skills such as "patients," "strong analytical," "customer service," and "powerpoint." Whereas a lead auditor is skilled in "medicare," "audit reports," "oil gas," and "audit procedures." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Lead auditors really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $87,426. Comparatively, compliance specialists tend to make the most money in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $73,015.The education levels that lead auditors earn slightly differ from compliance specialists. In particular, lead auditors are 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a compliance specialist. Additionally, they're 3.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Compliance specialist vs. Corporate compliance officer
A regulatory affairs specialist assists in securing and maintaining government approval for nutritional products, drugs, medical devices, and related supplies. They are often employed by medical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies. They may also work in the government or law. Typically, they work on document preparation, file maintenance, information management, and coordination of tasks across various departments. They expanded their duties and responsibilities as a result of company acquisitions and restructuring, worldwide globalization of markets, and constantly evolving regulations.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real compliance specialist resumes. While compliance specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "strong analytical," "fda," and "customer service," corporate compliance officers use skills like "oversight," "risk management," "corporate compliance," and "direct compliance issues."
Corporate compliance officers may earn a higher salary than compliance specialists, but corporate compliance officers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $100,300. On the other hand, compliance specialists receive higher pay in the pharmaceutical industry, where they earn an average salary of $73,015.In general, corporate compliance officers achieve higher levels of education than compliance specialists. They're 9.6% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Compliance specialist vs. Regulatory affairs specialist
A CCO or Chief Compliance Officer's primary responsibility is to ensure all procedures or activities are compliant with the company's overall policy and adhering to legal protocols with state and federal laws. Thus, the CCO drafts, proposes and develops compliance programs for the company to implement. Through the chief compliance officer's work, the company can lessen its liabilities and issues that may cause disruptions in production. The CCO is also part of the team that ensures quality in all company processes and activities.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, compliance specialists are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "powerpoint," "risk assessments," and "compliance program." But a regulatory affairs specialist is more likely to have skills like "regulatory affairs," "medical devices," "regulatory submissions," and "excellent interpersonal."
Regulatory affairs specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to compliance specialists. Specifically, they're 3.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Compliance specialist vs. Chief compliance officer
Types of compliance specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
