Peter Mulcahy MCSI, Compliance Advisory Officer at ICAP and a member of the CISI's Compliance Forum Committee, talks to Change Editor Christopher Bond, Chartered MCSI about the move of the publication from a print to a digital platform
I am at the offices of the CISI to speak to Change Editor Christopher Bond, Chartered MCSI about the new format of Change – the CISI’s regulatory update, which he has edited since it was first published ten years ago. As a compliance practitioner, and member of both the Compliance Professional Forum Committee and European Regulation Forum Committee, any developments in the Institute’s regulatory coverage are of particular interest to me.
I begin by questioning why the paper version of the magazine has been discontinued, and the first reason reveals itself very quickly – I am speaking to a man with many and varied interests beyond the work he does for the CISI. He a bank board director and editor of The International Banker magazine. He also has a very active life in the country, edits a gardening magazine and organises an increasingly popular annual run around the Glastonbury Festival site (taking place on Sunday 9 October this year, for anyone wanting to sign up!).
Even more compelling are the other two reasons provided: “It is ten years since Change started, and the world has changed around it. Readers want crisper, more up-to-date information, rather than 80 pages of hardcopy on a quarterly basis. Just as financial regulation, and indeed the regulators, has undergone a massive transformation in the space of the last ten years, the methods we use to access news and information have advanced beyond recognition. Going digital also brings about cost savings, both in terms of production and design, and with regard to the environment.”
Christopher stresses that the CISI “certainly intends to continue to provide regulatory information to members, but to change the way we do it”. The compliance profession is an important part of the Institute’s 40,000 membership, and the Compliance Professional Forum is flourishing. However, much of the regulatory content will be of interest to the wider membership, and the new multi-channel approach will make it more accessible to them. The CISI Regulation Panel of members will continue its valuable work, providing comment to the Institute. The members of this Panel, who are all practitioners, contribute many regulatory articles and opinion pieces.
"The CISI intends to continue to provide regulatory information to members, but to change the way we do it"
The CISI now provides regulatory information to its members via three main channels. There is a four-page section focused on the most topical regulatory points in the print edition of the Review, which is sent to members quarterly. The first was in the March edition [and has since been reproduced online]. The digital platform, designed for compliance professionals, carries detailed coverage of the impact of regulation on specific financial sectors. The first section, written by Mark de Ste Croix MCSI, covers private wealth management and was published recently. The Change platform will also host periodic opinion pieces on hot topics, and Christopher mentions that “the door is open for any member to submit articles on any regulatory subject”. Most of the online content will be written by and for practitioners, making it both relevant and timely.
Having recently visited the online version of the Review, it appears to me that the Institute is fostering a vibrant online community, where members can contribute opinions and share information on regulatory subjects. Christopher notes that the platform will also carry periodic news from the professional forums, and he invites members to come up with any further ideas regarding future coverage. As someone who participates in the CISI’s CPD scheme, it is pleasing to learn that reading online articles goes on to your CPD record automatically (up to a maximum of five hours for one CPD year), and that you can also obtain CPD time for contributing articles.
I am sure all of those members who have benefited from reading Change over the years will join me in thanking Christopher for all of his hard work. As our discussion draws to a close, I wonder if this might be my last visit to the Institute’s Eastcheap offices, following the recent announcement that it will soon be relocating to the Walkie Talkie building in Fenchurch Street. As Christopher reminds me: “The only constant in life is change.”
To express views on the change in coverage: contact Christopher Bond at christopher.bond@cisi.org; or Sara Merry (Assistant Director, Marketing & Communications) at sara.merry@cisi.org.