When I started, there was no one to ask. We had to invent whatever this new thing "compliance" was going to become...and that's where we screwed up.
In our eagerness to give it a name, we chose a word with no meaning. That's right, Webster defines "compliance" as a noun meaning "conformity in fulfilling official requirements." In other words, it's the end result of a successful process. Webster does not define the word as an adjective or any other part of speech...so expressions like "compliance officer", "compliance exam", or (my personal favorite) "compliance regulation" are grammatically incorrect...leading to confusion...sometimes intentional.
For years I struggled with managers and staff in certain departments who weren't confused at all. Their understanding was "your title is 'Compliance Officer' and mine is 'Marketing Officer' (or 'Loan Officer' or...) so that means you "do compliance" and I "do marketing (or lending, or whatever)". Occasionally, these exchanges included the other person's favorite 4-letter word s/he used as a reference to all regulations.
I finally realized the root of the "dumping ground" and respect problems was the word "compliance"...so I replaced it wherever possible with language that was more specific, like "regulatory management." Those changes made it easier for me to sell the concept that regulatory compliance had to be everyone's goal, that getting there was a joint effort, and that it always cost the company fewer cents-per-share if we did it right the first time.
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...gone fishing.